| Title: |
Pre-analytical errors during HIV viral load (HIV-VL) and early infant diagnosis (EID) testing in Cameroon. |
| Authors: |
Atsama-Amougou, Marie; Atsinkou, Sabine Ndejo; Bouba, Yagai; Amadou, Hamadou; Ngo-Malabo, Teclaire Elodie; Fainguem, Nadine Nguendjoung; Nwobegahay, Julius; Vuchas, Comfort; Elise, Elong; Bille, Bertrand Eyoum; Nguiala, David Donchi; Biongolo, Emmanuel; Lamare, Boutgam Nadine; Liman, Yakouba; Tongo, Marcel; Mpabuka, Etienne; Ayouba, Ahidjo; Kouanfack, Charles; Meka, Albert Franck Zeh; Fokam, Joseph |
| Source: |
PLoS ONE; 4/27/2026, Vol. 21 Issue 4, p1-10, 10p |
| Subject Terms: |
LABORATORY management; DIAGNOSIS of HIV infections |
| Geographic Terms: |
CAMEROON |
| Abstract: |
Background: HIV Viral Load (HIV-VL) and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) play a pivotal role in the laboratory surveillance, monitoring of HIV/AIDS, and its elimination as a public concern. However, sample rejection due to sample nonconformity (SNC) resulting from inadequate collection, transportation, and management, especially during the pre-analytical phase, negatively affects laboratory performance. This study aimed to characterize errors observed during the pre-analytical phase of HIV-VL and EID testing across national reference laboratories in Cameroon and to identify factors associated with rejection. Methods: A descriptive and quantitative study of the nonconformities (NC) identified was collected from 11/01/2024 to 08/12/2024 in seventeen HIV reference laboratories, which constitute the national network of HIV-VL and EID testing coverage. For this study, the number of rejected samples, the reason for rejection, and the type of test ordered were recorded monthly. Results: During the study period, 326,885 and 38,354 specimens received for HIV viral load and EID. Of those 12,748 (3.9%) and 2.7% (1,039) were rejected. The SNC analysis indicates the presence of multiple errors or NC in some samples. For HIV viral load, our results indicate that specimen identification errors for viral load were the most common NC (63.14%; n = 8049; P = 0.031), followed by insufficient specimen volume (43.7%; n = 5571; P = 0.049) and quality errors, including hemolyzed specimens (27.8%; n = 3543; P = 0.054), and specimen transport packaging errors (9.1%; n = 1160; P = 0.069). For HIV EID, specimen rejections were primarily attributed to missing or mismatched identification on the request forms (37.12%, n = 386; P = 0.042), sample unavailability (13.4%; n = 139; P = 0.056), and information discrepancies (44.2%; n = 459; P = 0.033). The observed significant rejection rates for both HIV viral load and EID exceeded the established national rejection rate of |
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| Database: |
Complementary Index |