High sensitivity and specificity of clinical microscopy in rural health facilities in western Kenya under an external quality assurance program.
Am J Trop Med Hyg
; 91(3): 481-5, 2014 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24935953
ABSTRACT
Microscopic diagnosis of malaria is a well-established and inexpensive technique that has the potential to provide accurate diagnosis of malaria infection. However, it requires both training and experience. Although it is considered the gold standard in research settings, the sensitivity and specificity of routine microscopy for clinical care in the primary care setting has been reported to be unacceptably low. We established a monthly external quality assurance program to monitor the performance of clinical microscopy in 17 rural health centers in western Kenya. The average sensitivity over the 12-month period was 96% and the average specificity was 88%. We identified specific contextual factors that contributed to inadequate performance. Maintaining high-quality malaria diagnosis in high-volume, resource-constrained health facilities is possible.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atenção Primária à Saúde
/
Garantia da Qualidade dos Cuidados de Saúde
/
Pessoal de Laboratório Médico
/
Serviços de Saúde Rural
/
Malária
/
Microscopia
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am J Trop Med Hyg
Ano de publicação:
2014
Tipo de documento:
Article