Abstract: The objective of this study is to evaluate international external quality assessment scheme (IEQAS) program participant laboratories in Ethiopia. Acceptable performance was defined as any proficiency testing (PT) score 80% and above. The retrospective PT database was reviewed and analyzed to assess the testing performance of the participating laboratories and the impact of the program over time. A total of 173, 275 and 334 laboratories participated in the EQA program in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively; enrollment increased from 173 laboratories in 2016 to 334 in 2018. As a result, the overall participation rate is 41% whereas failure to participate accounts 52.2% and the rest are due to reagent stock out, equipment down and test suspended during the test event; among the total PT challenges distributed and performed, the rate of scoring ACC were 66.00%, 67.61%, 67.22%, 67.35%, 67.48% and 70.87% in event 2, 3 of 2015, event 1, 2, 3 of 2016 and event 1 of 2017 respectively. Using 95% confidence interval with the hypothesized proportion of ≥ 80% to be acceptable by the ISO standard. One sample proportion test calculation showed the result generated from the laboratory is not significantly meet the standard requirement P value <0.05. The present evaluation conclude that IEQAS program in Ethiopia is not utilized for improvement in the quality of laboratory diagnostic services over time across the six PT events. The laboratory result generated from the Health facilities in Ethiopia is significantly out of the standard.Abstract: The objective of this study is to evaluate international external quality assessment scheme (IEQAS) program participant laboratories in Ethiopia. Acceptable performance was defined as any proficiency testing (PT) score 80% and above. The retrospective PT database was reviewed and analyzed to assess the testing performance of the participating labor...Show More
Abstract: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the immune system. Opportunistic intestinal protozoans are among the major contributors to the global intestinal parasite load. This study investigated the danger and complication due to intestinal protozoans’ infection among HIV/AIDS patients in Jalingo metropolis. The study also compared the prevalence of opportunistic intestinal protozoa infection and CD4+ T-Cell count between HIV/AIDS and non HIV patients. The procedure of wet mount technique and faecal concentration methods were employed. The CD4+ count of patients were determined using the Partee Cyflow Counter, which determines the percentage of CD4+ cells of individuals. The prevalence of opportunic intestinal protozoan parasites was higher among female positives, 68 (l9.60%) than the male, 50 (16.50%) with no significant difference (p>0.05). The infection based on age groups revealed that the age group 10-15 years had the highest prevalence of 27 (48.21%) while the age group 41-45 years had the least prevalence of 2 (2.63%). The prevalence of intestinal parasites was highly significant among the study participants with CD4+ count <200 cells/μl. Cryptosporidium spp was significantly associated with HIV positive subjects who had CD4+ count of less than 200 cell/μl. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was highly significant among the study participants with CD4+ count <200 cells/ul. The implications of these findings are discussed and solution proposed to curb opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients.Abstract: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the immune system. Opportunistic intestinal protozoans are among the major contributors to the global intestinal parasite load. This study investigated the danger and complication due to intestinal protozoans’ infection among HIV/AIDS patients in Jalingo metropolis. The study also compa...Show More
Abstract: Background: Medical laboratory diagnosis is a critical component of patient management in the healthcare setup. Despite the availability of laboratory tests, clinicians may not utilise them to make clinical decisions. We investigated utilsation of laboratory tests for patient management among clinicians at Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH) and Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital (ADCH), two large referral hospitals in the Copperbelt Province, Ndola, Zambia. Method: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study among clinicians. The study deployed self-administered questionnaires to evaluate clinicians’ utilisation, querying and confidence in laboratory results. Additional data on demographics and possible laboratory improvements were also obtained. Data were entered in Microsoft excel and exported to SPSS version 16 for statistical analysis. Results: Of the 80 clinicians interviewed, 96.2% (77) reported using laboratory tests and their results in patient management. 77.5% (62) of the clinicians indicated they always used laboratory results to influence their patient management decisions. Of the selected laboratory tests, clinicians were more confident in using haemoglobin test results (91.2%). There was no statistically significant association between the clinicians’ gender or qualification and use of test results in patient management. Conclusion: Our findings show that despite the majority querying laboratory results, most of the clinicians use laboratory results for patient management. There is need for interactions between the laboratory and clinical area to assure clinician’s confidence in laboratory results.Abstract: Background: Medical laboratory diagnosis is a critical component of patient management in the healthcare setup. Despite the availability of laboratory tests, clinicians may not utilise them to make clinical decisions. We investigated utilsation of laboratory tests for patient management among clinicians at Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH) and Arthur D...Show More
Abstract: Background: Urinary tract infection is a common pathology in practice. The most implicated bacterial species is Escherichia coli. Fluoroquinolones occupy a privileged place among the molecules most prescribed in the treatment of these infections. Objective: determine the fluoroquinolone resistance profile of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains at University Hospital Med VI of Marrakesh and analyze the evolution of this resistance over time in these isolates. Materials and methods: Descriptive study, over a period of 5 years (January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2017), covering all uropathogenic strains of E.coli isolated from outpatients and hospitalized at the University Hospital of Marrakesh. The samples were processed and analyzed in the Microbiology laboratory of the University Hospital. Results: During the study period, 1411 strains of uropathogenic E.coli were included. Women were mostly affected (68%). The prevalence of urinary tract infection was 22%. The number of strains studied and the resistance rates were calculated by combining the resistant strains and the intermediate strains. Resistance to ciprofloxacin increased from 16% in 2013 to 32% in 2017. An increase with age has been demonstrated for resistance to fluoroquinolones. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase production significantly affected the resistance rate to fluoroquinolones in E.coli (24% in C3G-sensitive strains and 56% in ESBL strains). Conclusion: This study demonstrates the serious emergence of the resistance of uropathogenic E.coli strains to fluoroquinolones, hence the interest of revising the empirical treatment of urinary tract infections in our country and monitoring use antibiotics to control the diffusion of quinolone resistance in E.coli.Abstract: Background: Urinary tract infection is a common pathology in practice. The most implicated bacterial species is Escherichia coli. Fluoroquinolones occupy a privileged place among the molecules most prescribed in the treatment of these infections. Objective: determine the fluoroquinolone resistance profile of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains a...Show More
