Table 1.

Preanalytical and Postanalytical Factors That Affect Test Results.

Point-of-care testing for blood glucose	Central laboratory testing for blood glucose
Preanalytical factors
Improper instrument cleaning	Incorrect or inadequate electronic or manual test requisition
Incorrect quality control measures	Mislabeling patient sample
Extremes of temperatures	Mishandling of sample while withdrawal or transport
Incorrect strip handling	Lost sample
Inappropriate sampling technique	Contamination of sample
	Degradation of sample due to delay in either transport or processing of sample after arrival at the laboratory
Postanalytical factors
Misreading of result display	Lost data
Data entry error	Delayed reporting of critical result
	Misreporting result
	Data entry error
	Misreading of result display