Screening test accuracy among potential blood donors of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV to detect hepatitis B and C virus infection in rural Cambodia and Vietnam.

The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of rapid tests for HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV in rural Cambodia and Vietnam to detect hepatitis B and C. In a cross-sectional epidemiological study of two populations of 1,200 potential blood donors in rural Cambodia and Vietnam the prevalence rates of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV as established by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) tests were compared to rapid test outcomes. The EIA reference test results were validated by Architect Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) technique. The actual rapid test demonstrated high specificity for all three test categories as claimed by the manufacturer. The test sensitivity observed was significantly lower than that claimed by the manufacturer: 86.5% for HBsAg, 86.6% for anti-HBc, and 76.4% for anti-HCV. There were large and significant variations in test performance between the two countries, especially for HBsAg detection. The low sensitivity of the actual rapid tests for HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV make them useless for blood donor screening in rural Southeast Asia. Rapid tests may be useful screening tools in blood transfusion services in low-resource settings, but tests should be carefully validated locally before being used for screening purposes since test performance varies by location.

Prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections in potential blood donors in rural Cambodia.

The aims of the present study were to provide accurate prevalence of acute and occult hepatis B infection and hepatis C infection among potential blood donors in Cambodia and to study the accuracy of ELISA tests used for blood donor screening. A cross-sectional study was performed on samples collected from potential volunteer blood donors (n = 1,200) in two districts in rural Cambodia. The samples were tested using the ELISA technique for HBsAg, anti-HBc, and anti-HCV at a local blood bank. To validate the ELISA outcomes, a subset (n = 319) was analyzed by Automated Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay Technique (CMIA) at the University Hospital North Norway. The overall prevalence of the HBsAg positives was 7.7% (95% CI 6.2-9.3); the prevalence of anti-HBc positive samples was 58.6% (95% CI 55.8-61.4), and the prevalence of anti-HCV positive samples was 14.7% (95% CI 12.7-16.7). The prevalence rate of samples being both HBsAg positive and anti-HBc positive was 7.3% (95% CI 5.9 - 9.0), and the prevalence rate of HBsAg negative and anti-HBc positive samples was 51.2% (95% CI 48.4 - 54.1). The overall agreement between the ELISA and the CMIA test results was very high both for HBsAg and anti-HBc (kappa 0.93), and high for anti-HCV measurements (kappa 0.83). However, the false-negative rate for the ELISA anti-HCV test was as high as 15% (95% CI 6 - 30).

Mirror therapy for phantom limb and stump pain: a randomized controlled clinical trial in landmine amputees in Cambodia.

Background and aims The aim of the study was to examine the effect of mirror and tactile therapy on phantom and stump pain in patients with traumatic amputations, with particular reference to amputees in low-income communities. Methods The study was conducted with an open, randomized, semi-crossover case-control design in rural Cambodia. A study sample of 45 landmine victims with trans-tibial amputations was allocated to three treatment arms; mirror therapy, tactile therapy, and combined mirror-and-tactile therapy. Non-responders from the mono-therapy interventions were crossed over to the alternative intervention. The intervention consisted of 5 min of treatment every morning and evening for 4 weeks. Endpoint estimates of phantom limb pain (PLP), stump pain, and physical function were registered 3 months after the treatment. Results All three interventions were associated with more that 50% reduction in visual analogue scale (VAS)-rated PLP and stump pain. Combined mirror-tactile treatment had a significantly better effect on PLP and stump pain than mirror or tactile therapy alone. The difference between the three treatment arms were however slight, and hardly of clinical relevance. After treatment, the reduction of pain remained unchanged for an observation period of 3 months. Conclusions The study documents that a 4-week treatment period with mirror and/or tactile therapy significantly reduces PLP and stump pain after trans-tibial amputations. Implications The article reports for the first time a randomized controlled trial of mirror therapy in a homogenous sample of persons with traumatic amputations. The findings are of special relevance to amputees in low-resource communities.