Table 1. Sample analysis, external quality assessment of laboratories, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2011.
| Samplea | Information accompanying sample | No. of laboratories reporting | No. of laboratory reports that contained: |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No error | Minor error | Major error | |||
| Slide 1: P. falciparum gametocytes | 14-year-old patient with fever, abdominal pain, asthenia and diarrhoea | 268 | 120 | 97 (Plasmodium infection not reported) | 47 (Plasmodium infection reported but the developmental stage was not reported or incorrect) |
| 4 (gametocytes reported but no or wrong species identified) | |||||
| Slide 2: no parasites | 39-year-old patient, control visit | 269 | 218 | – | 51 (Plasmodium infection reported) |
| Slide 3: Trypanosoma brucei ssp. | Sample received at Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale for scientific research | 270 | 120 | 14 (both Plasmodium and Trypanosoma infection reported) | 136 (Trypanosoma infection not reported) |
| Slide 4: P. falciparum trophozoites (density: 113 530 per µl) | 44-year-old patient with general weakness, asthenia and headache | 271 | 37 | 23 (reported P. falciparum infection but not developmental stage) | 5 (Plasmodium infection not reported) |
| 103 (trophozoite density moderately below reference value)b | 30 (wrong or no species reported) | ||||
| 14 (trophozoite density moderately above reference range)b | 6 (P. falciparum gametocytes reported) | ||||
| 21 (no trophozoite density reported) | 30 (trophozoite density well below reference range)b | ||||
| 2 (trophozoite density well above reference range)b | |||||
P. falciparum, Plasmodium falciparum; SD, standard deviation; ssp., subspecies.
a Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood films.
b A reported trophozoite density within the reference range of 63 000 to 164 000 per μl (e.g. within 2 SDs of the reference value of 113 530 trophozoites per µl) was considered correct; a density between 11 353 and 62 999 per µl was moderately below the reference range; a density between 164 001 and 1 135 3-00 per µl was moderately above; a density of < 11 353 per µl was well below; and a density of > 1 135 300 per µl was well above.