African Journal of Laboratory Medicine最新文献

{"title":"COVID-19 mass testing and sequencing: Experiences from a laboratory in Western Kenya.","authors":"John N Waitumbi,&nbsp;Esther Omuseni,&nbsp;Josphat Nyataya,&nbsp;Clement Masakhwe,&nbsp;Faith Sigei,&nbsp;Allan Lemtudo,&nbsp;George Awinda,&nbsp;Eric Muthanje,&nbsp;Brian Andika,&nbsp;Rachel Githii,&nbsp;Rehema Liyai,&nbsp;Gathii Kimita,&nbsp;Beth Mutai","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1737","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1737","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The Basic Science Laboratory (BSL) of the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Walter Reed Project in Kisumu, Kenya addressed mass testing challenges posed by the emergent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in an environment of global supply shortages. Before COVID-19, the BSL had adequate resources for disease surveillance and was therefore designated as one of the testing centres for COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Intervention: </strong>By April 2020, the BSL had developed stringent safety procedures for receiving and mass testing potentially infectious nasal specimens. To accommodate increased demand, BSL personnel worked in units: nucleic acid extraction, polymerase chain reaction, and data and quality assurance checks. The BSL adopted procedures for tracking sample integrity and minimising cross-contamination.</p><p><strong>Lessons learnt: </strong>Between May 2020 and January 2022, the BSL tested 63 542 samples, of which 5375 (8.59%) were positive for COVID-19; 1034 genomes were generated by whole genome sequencing and deposited in the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data database to aid global tracking of viral lineages. At the height of the pandemic (August and November 2020, April and August 2021 and January 2022), the BSL was testing more than 500 samples daily, compared to 150 per month prior to COVID-19. An important lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic was the discovery of untapped resilience within BSL personnel that allowed adaptability when the situation demanded. Strict safety procedures and quality management that are often difficult to maintain became routine.</p><p><strong>Recommendations: </strong>A fundamental lesson to embrace is that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach and adaptability is the key to success.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1737"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350206/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40678160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Therapeutic drug monitoring of phenytoin and valproic acid in critically ill patients at Windhoek Central Hospital, Namibia.","authors":"Bonifasius S Singu,&nbsp;Helen Morrison,&nbsp;Lydia Irengeya,&nbsp;Roger K Verbeeck","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1628","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Phenytoin and valproic acid, anticonvulsants, have a low therapeutic index and are highly plasma protein bound, mainly to albumin. Hypoalbuminaemia is common in critically ill patients and increases the unbound drug concentration. Thus, monitoring unbound rather than total plasma drug concentrations is recommended to optimise the dosing of these drugs.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This retrospective study determined unbound plasma concentrations of phenytoin and valproic as a more accurate value of drug levels than total plasma drug concentrations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Total plasma concentrations were retrieved for 56 Intensive Care Unit patients for phenytoin and 93 for valproic acid. Total drug concentrations were converted to unbound concentrations using a serum albumin-based normalising equation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Total phenytoin plasma concentration was below (41.1% of patients), within (46.4%) or above (12.5%) the therapeutic range (10 μg/mL - 20 μg/mL). However, the predicted unbound plasma concentration of phenytoin was above the therapeutic range (1 μg/mL - 2 μg/mL) in the majority of patients (57.1%). For valproic acid, the total plasma concentration of most patients (87.1%) was below the therapeutic range (50 μg/mL - 100 μg/mL); among remaining patients (12.9%), it was within the therapeutic range. In the majority of patients (91.4%), the predicted unbound plasma concentration of valproic acid was between 2.5 μg/mL and 20 μg/mL.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The usefulness of monitoring the total phenytoin or valproic acid levels for dose optimisation is limited as it is an inaccurate indicator of a patient's drug therapeutic state. Thus, the unbound plasma drug concentrations should be quantified experimentally or predicted in resource-limited settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1628"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350491/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40678156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of <i>Salmonella</i> species from poultry farms in Ibadan, Nigeria.","authors":"Terese G Orum,&nbsp;Olayinka O Ishola,&nbsp;Oluwawemimo O Adebowale","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1606","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong><i>Salmonella</i> species are among the major foodborne pathogens causing diseases of economic and public health implications in poultry and humans globally.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to determine the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of <i>Salmonella</i> isolates from chickens in poultry farms in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Cloacal swab samples (<i>n</i> = 360) were obtained from chickens randomly selected from 10 poultry farms in five local government areas of Ibadan, Oyo State, from 04 April 2018 to 20 November 2018. Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed using established protocols. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's chi-squared test at <i>P</i> ≤ 0.05 significance level.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The overall prevalence of <i>Salmonella</i> was 21.4%. There were statistically significant associations between <i>Salmonella</i> prevalence and the farm location (<i>p</i> = 0.003), age of chickens (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and health status of chickens (<i>p</i> < 0.001). All <i>Salmonella</i> isolates (<i>n</i> = 77; 100.0%) were resistant to cefuroxime. The isolates were also highly resistant to cotrimoxazole (<i>n</i> = 74; 96.1%), chloramphenicol (<i>n</i> = 73; 94.8%), meropenem (<i>n</i> = 72; 93.5%), gentamicin (<i>n</i> = 69; 89.6%), and tetracycline (<i>n</i> = 64; 83.1%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The presence of drug-resistant <i>Salmonella</i> in commercial layer chickens in Ibadan is a potential threat to consumer health as it increases the risk of carcass contamination and pathogen propagation, and limits the options to control and treat infections in humans and animals. Well-integrated national surveillance systems for monitoring <i>Salmonella</i> and antimicrobial resistance in poultry are critical.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1606"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350445/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40701412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Challenges with the pursuit of ISO 15189 accreditation in a public health laboratory in Ghana.","authors":"Seth Attoh,&nbsp;Francis K M Tetteh,&nbsp;Mary McAddy,&nbsp;Kingsley Ackah,&nbsp;Richmond Kyei,&nbsp;Marcus Moroti,&nbsp;Cynthia Boateng,&nbsp;Laurinda Adusu-Donkor,&nbsp;Joseph Boafo,&nbsp;Alhassan Yakubu,&nbsp;Sarah Kwao,&nbsp;Emmanuel Sarkodie,&nbsp;Nana-Banyin Koranteng,&nbsp;Monica A Addo,&nbsp;Frederick Hobenu,&nbsp;Kwasi Agyeman-Bediako,&nbsp;Raymond D Fatchu","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1448","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1448","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Accreditation is important for all medical laboratories, particularly public health laboratories in developing countries. Several laboratories in Ghana implemented the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189 but were unable to proceed to accreditation. This article describes the challenges faced by the Pathology Division Laboratory of the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana, during the acquisition of ISO 15189 accreditation and suggests solutions for a better approach.</p><p><strong>Intervention: </strong>Following ISO 15189 accreditation in 2017, an online survey was conducted between 01 and 30 March 2020 among the laboratory staff. Respondents were required to grade, on a scale of 0 (least) to 5 (most), the extent to which 16 key challenges influenced the process of obtaining accreditation. Key informant interviews were also held with laboratory personnel who were directly involved in the establishment of the quality management system in the laboratory and the accreditation acquisition process.</p><p><strong>Lessons learnt: </strong>Documentation, laboratory safety measures, laboratory management support, and reagent unavailability were estimated as the challenges that most affected the acquisition of laboratory accreditation. Challenges such as poor communication, staff apathy and workload had the least effect on the accreditation process. There was no difference in challenges identified between persons who worked in the laboratory before or after accreditation (<i>p</i> = 0.11).</p><p><strong>Recommendations: </strong>To surmount the anticipated challenges, there is the need for national strategic direction for laboratory accreditation, hospital and laboratory management support for the accreditation acquisition and maintenance processes, and sufficient technical assistance in the form of training and mentorship.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1448"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350552/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40701407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Formulation of phage cocktails and evaluation of their interaction with antibiotics in inhibiting carbapenemase-producing <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> in vitro in Kenya.","authors":"Noutin F Michodigni, Atunga Nyachieo, Juliah K Akhwale, Gabriel Magoma, Abdoul-Salam Ouédraogo, Andrew N Kimang'a","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1803","DOIUrl":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1803","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The development of alternative control measures, such as phage therapy or adjunctive therapy, is urgently needed to manage the dissemination of carbapenemase-producing <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae.</i></p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of formulated phage cocktails and their interaction with select antibiotics in inhibiting the growth of carbapenemase-producing <i>K. pneumoniae</i> clinical isolate in vitro in Kenya.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study was conducted from February 2021 to October 2021 at the Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya. Phage cocktails were formulated based on the morphology and biological properties of precipitated <i>Klebsiella</i> phages. The efficacy of individual bacteriophages and phage cocktails as well as their combination with antibiotics were determined for their inhibitory activity on carbapenemase-producing <i>K. pneumoniae</i> (KP20).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The precipitated bacteriophages were members of <i>Myoviridae, Siphoviridae and Podoviridae</i>. Regarding the evaluation of the phage cocktails, the absorbances at 600 nm of the bacterial culture treated with the two-phage cocktail (2φ MA) ranged from 0.173 to 0.246 at 16 h and 20 h whereas it peaked from 2.116 to 2.190 for the positive control. Moreover, the results of the adjunctive therapy showed that the optical density at 600 nm of the bacterial culture treated with 2φ MA was 0.186 at 24 h post-incubation time while it was 0.099 with the bacterial culture treated with imipenem in combination with 2φ MA.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study demonstrated that the two-phage cocktail in combination with imipenem was able to synergistically delay the increase in carbapenemase-producing <i>K. pneumoniae</i> growth in vitro.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":"11 1","pages":"1803"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350486/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9965070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of fixed-panel, multicolour ClearLLab 10C at an academic flow cytometry laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa.","authors":"Deborah K Glencross,&nbsp;Leanne Swart,&nbsp;Melanie Pretorius,&nbsp;Denise Lawrie","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1458","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1458","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Flow cytometric immunophenotyping is well established for the diagnosis of haematological neoplasms. New commercially available systems offer fixed, pre-aliquoted multi-parameter analysis to simplify sample preparation and standardise data analysis.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The Beckman Coulter (BC) ClearLLab™ 10C (4-tube) system was evaluated against an existing laboratory developed test (LDT).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Peripheral blood and bone marrow aspirates (<i>n</i> = 101), tested between August 2019 and November 2019 at an academic pathology laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa, were analysed. Following daily instrument quality control, samples were prepared for LDT (using > 20 2-4-colour in-house panels and an extensive liquid monoclonal reagent repertoire) or ClearLLab 10C, and respectively analysed using in-house protocols on a Becton Dickinson FACSCalibur, or manufacturer-directed protocols on a BC Navios. Becton Dickinson Paint-a-Gate or BC Kaluza C software facilitated data interpretation. Diagnostic accuracy (concordance) was established by calculating sensitivity and specificity outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Excellent agreement (clinical diagnostic concordance) with 100% specificity and sensitivity was established between LDT and ClearLLab 10C in 67 patients with a haematological neoplasm and 34 participants with no haematological disease. Similar acceptable diagnostic concordance (97%) was noted when comparing ClearLLab 10C to clinicopathological outcomes. Additionally, the ClearLLab 10C panels, analysed with Kaluza C software, enabled simultaneous discrimination of disease and concurrent background myeloid and lymphoid haematological populations, including assessing stages of maturation or sub-populations.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>ClearLLab 10C panels provide excellent agreement to existing LDTs and may reliably be used for immunophenotyping of haematological neoplasms, simplifying and standardising sample preparation and data acquisition.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1458"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350555/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40677694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Appropriate disposal of waste in the laboratory: Neglected but not forgotten.","authors":"Christoffel J Opperman,&nbsp;Sarishna Singh,&nbsp;Francois Barton","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1786","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1786","url":null,"abstract":"Copyright: © 2022. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Laboratory waste management should focus on environmental and worker safety in a costeffective manner to ensure ongoing diagnostic testing in accredited laboratories, especially in lowand middle-income countries with limited resources.1 For example, facilities focusing on Mycobacterium tuberculosis generate biosafety level three infectious material that must be decontaminated and disposed of correctly to maintain good laboratory practice within a legislative framework.2 Therefore, a holistic outline to support sustainable waste management in the laboratory is essential. This may include various components, such as waste disposal awareness campaigns, keeping abreast of technological advances,3 or implementing managerial policies. In this letter, we discuss practical suggestions for appropriately disposing of different waste types generated in most laboratories, with specific reference to a high-throughput, public, M. tuberculosis diagnostic laboratory.","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1786"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350477/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40677248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cost of running a full-service receiving office at a centralised testing laboratory in South Africa.","authors":"Naseem Cassim,&nbsp;Neeshan Ramdin,&nbsp;Sadhaseevan Moodly,&nbsp;Deborah K Glencross","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1504","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1504","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The National Health Laboratory Service operates a platform of 226 laboratories across South Africa, ranging from highly sophisticated central academic hospitals to distant rural hospitals. The core function of the National Health Laboratory Service is to provide cost-effective and efficient health laboratory services in the public healthcare sector.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to assess the comprehensive cost of running a full-service receiving office (RO) at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) laboratory.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Top-down costing was conducted, with the cost per registration as the main outcome of interest. The annual equivalent costs (AEC) for the following categories were determined: registration materials, collection materials, staffing, laboratory equipment, building and electricity, and other operating costs. Data for the period from 01 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 were included in the analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The AEC was $1 657 483.00 United States dollars (USD) and the cost per registration was $0.766 USD. Staff contributed 59.9% of the total cost per registration, while collection materials contributed 21.4%. The RO core staff (data clerks) contributed 50.8% of the total staffing costs, while messengers and drivers contributed 31.2%. The introduction of order entry at the CMJAH and other primary healthcare facilities reduced the total AEC by 20%. A single order entry application would serve both the CMJAH and primary healthcare facilities - hence we would prefer to not refer to order entries.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Providing a comprehensive RO service costs approximately $1.00 USD per registration. The implementation of order entry at the CMJAH would reduce AECs substantially and improve efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1504"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350462/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40678153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementing an intensified mentorship approach towards accelerated medical laboratory accreditation in 10 counties in Kenya.","authors":"Susan K Musau,&nbsp;Christina Mwachari,&nbsp;Elvis Kirui,&nbsp;Junghae Muthoni,&nbsp;Taylor Lascko,&nbsp;Natalia Blanco,&nbsp;Alash'le Abimiku,&nbsp;Emily Koech","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1814","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1814","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite Kenya's roll-out of the Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation programme in 2010, most laboratories had not made significant or tangible improvements towards accreditation by 2016. In April 2016, the University of Maryland, Baltimore enrolled 27 facilities in the standard Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation programme.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to describe and evaluate the implementation of an intensified mentorship strategy on laboratory accreditation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In October 2017, the University of Maryland, Baltimore implemented intensive mentorship in 27 hospital laboratories in Nairobi, Kiambu, Meru, Embu, Muranga, Nyeri, Laikipia, Nyandarua, Tharaka-Nithi, and Kirinyaga counties in Kenya. Laboratories were paired with competent mentors whose skills were matched to facility gaps. Baseline and follow-up assessments were done between April 2016 and March 2019 using the World Health Organization's Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation Checklist and overall scores of the 12 Quality System Essentials and star ratings (from zero to five, based on scores) used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intensified mentorship.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In September 2017, 14 laboratories scored zero stars, three scored one star, eight scored two stars, one scored three stars, and one laboratory was accredited. By March 2019, eight laboratories were accredited, five scored four stars, 10 scored three stars, three scored two stars, and only one scored one star. The average score change with the intensified approach was 81.5 versus 53.9 for the standard approach.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The intensified mentorship strategy resulted in fast-tracked progress towards laboratory accreditation and can be adopted in similar resource-limited settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1814"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350484/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40678158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Togo national proficiency test pilot programme for basic clinical chemistry tests.","authors":"Kafui C Kouassi,&nbsp;Améyo M Dorkenoo,&nbsp;Komivi Gbada,&nbsp;Yaovi-Gameli Afanyibo,&nbsp;Minogblon Têko,&nbsp;Adjane Koura","doi":"10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1565","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A national proficiency test (PT) programme is not currently implemented in most low-income countries. However, participation in such PT programmes assists improves test performance and result accuracy.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study assessed how well 11 government hospital laboratories performed 18 basic clinical chemistry tests and identified areas needing improvement.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was carried out by the Division of Laboratories of the Ministry of Health of Togo from 01 July 2016 to 31 December 2016. The test performance was evaluated using panels provided by One World Accuracy, Canada (Vancouver). The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments criteria were used in evaluating the laboratories, and their success rates were compared with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa's target of 80%.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The overall rate of acceptable results at the laboratories was over 80% for glucose, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase and triglycerides tests. The laboratories using fully automated spectrophotometers had an acceptable results rate of 89% (<i>p</i> = 0.001). The overall performance of the laboratories by cycles varied from 71% to 82%.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This national PT programme identified the tests, which laboratories must improve their performance (urea, creatinine, uric acid, bilirubin, cholesterol, total protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus). It demonstrated the need for the use of routine appropriate internal quality control in all laboratories. The proficiency test programme should be extended to all clinical laboratories and target all biology disciplines.</p>","PeriodicalId":45412,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Laboratory Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1565"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9257935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40579753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}