Table 2.
Ability of individuals in participating laboratories to perform thick blood film; results from on-site assessments (n = 88).
| Specialised laboratories (n=2) | Referral hospitals (n=14) | Clinics (n=18) | Health centres (n=34) | Private facilities (n=20) | Total (n=88) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collected the necessary materials for blood collection | 100,0 | 92,9 | 88,9 | 82,4 | 90,0 | 87,5 |
| Wore gloves | 100,0 | 71,4 | 72,2 | 67,6 | 60,0 | 68,2 |
| Slide identified | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 97,1 | 100,0 | 98,9 |
| Disinfected the sampling site | 100,0 | 100,0 | 94,4 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 98,9 |
| Let the disinfectant dry | 100,0 | 92,9 | 77,8 | 88,2 | 85,0 | 86,4 |
| Used single-use needle | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 |
| Discarded the lancet in sharps box | 100,0 | 92,9 | 83,3 | 76,5 | 80,0 | 81,8 |
| Collected the necessary materials for staining and microscopy | 100,0 | 100,0 | 77,8 | 67,6 | 85,0 | 79,5 |
| Good preparation of smear* | 100,0 | 85,7 | 94,4 | 94,1 | 90,0 | 92,0 |
| TBF and tBF] on the same slide | 100,0 | 42,9 | 44,4 | 32,4 | 15,0 | 34,1 |
| Work solution prepared correctly | 100,0 | 42,9 | 44,4 | 32,4 | 15,0 | 34,1 |
| Correct staining | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 91,2 | 95,0 | 95,5 |
| Time of staining respected | 100,0 | 92,9 | 100,0 | 97,1 | 100,0 | 97,7 |
| Slide dried before reading | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 94,1 | 95,0 | 96,6 |
| Slide read for 10 min before declaring negative | 50,0 | 100,0 | 88,9 | 94,1 | 80,0 | 89,8 |
| Using a good microscope | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 82,4 | 80,0 | 88,6 |
| If TBF positive, identified Plasmodium spp. | 50,0 | 28,6 | 50,0 | 35,3 | 20,0 | 34,1 |
| If TBF positive, counted asexual parasites | 0,0 | 42,9 | 33,3 | 17,6 | 15,0 | 23,9 |
| Correctly registered results | 50,0 | 35,7 | 38,9 | 14,7 | 15,0 | 23,9 |
| Used a specific register | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 100,0 | 95,0 | 98,9 |
| Overall scores | ||||||
| <50% | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 2,9 | 0,0 | |
| 50-70% | 0,0 | 7,1 | 16,7 | 23,5 | 35,0 | |
| 70-99% | 100,0 | 64,3 | 61,1 | 61,8 | 60,0 | |
| 100% | 0,0 | 28,6 | 22,2 | 11,8 | 5,0 |
* Criteria previously validated were considered: State of slide (new or reused), dimension and thickness, intactness of TBF, haemolysis of the red blood cells, staining and distribution of white blood cells, if TBF was positive (differential staining between Plasmodium nucleus and cytoplasm) and the presence of Giemsa stain precipitates).