The status of management and use of cold storage equipment in laboratories of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, 2017 - 2018

Abstract

A cross - sectional study describing the status of cold storage equipments (CSE) used in laboratories at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology was conducted from June 2017 to June 2018. A standardized survey questionnaire was used to collect information and measure the power consumption of CSE. The survey results of 119 items and 27 related laboratories showed that at the five surveyed contents about sample management status, reception and management of CSE, CSE usage, and current power consumption of the CSE items all have existing issues that could be related to unnecessary cost increased for cold storage at the Institute. The main factors associated with the power consumption of CSE were set temperature, low current voltage, ambient temperature, and frost condition in the refrigerator and freezer. These results suggest that urgent improvement measures are needed to enhance the efficiency of the CSE and the quality of specimen management in the laboratories.