Thakor Mahendra, Gautam Janesh Kumar, Panigrahi Ansuman, Garasiya Dharmendra, Brhamnia Shankar Lal, Mohanty Suman Sundar
ICMR-National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases, New Pali Road, Jodhpur 342005, India.
Office of Block Chief Medical Officer, Jhadol, Udaipur 313702, India.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2025 Feb 2;15(3):348. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics15030348.
: Sickle cell disease (SCD) individuals in India are mostly identified when they become symptomatic. To provide a timely diagnosis of SCD to participants, healthcare workers should be competent in using the point-of-care test (POCT). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the competence of healthcare workers to screen infants and adult populations through POCT. : This study was conducted in pilot mode over 8 months from April to November 2023. A random sampling method was used to select ten auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs), ten lab technicians (LTs), and five medical officers (MOs). Each selected ANM and LT was supposed to conduct ten tests and MOs to conduct five tests. The POCT used to diagnose sickle cell disease was HemoTypeSC. : Among the healthcare workers who participated in the study, 67% belonged to the scheduled tribes. When the ANM and LT competencies were compared for the pre-analytical phase (phase I), ANMs were more competent than the LTs. ANMs were more adept at handling people, whereas the LTs were more competent in conducting the test procedures. When the comparison was made for the analytical phase (phase II), both the ANMs and LTs were found to be equally competent. ANMs followed the standard operating procedure (SOP) more precisely than MOs and LTs. In the post-analytical phase, LTs were found to be more competent than ANMs. The approach used in this study with sub-centers and primary health centers (PHCs) appears to have encouraged the feasibility of the screening program. : The results of this study conclude that the healthcare workers in the region are competent to perform the POCT for the diagnosis of sickle cell disease. The POCT may be introduced in the program for the diagnosis of SCD.
印度的镰状细胞病（SCD）患者大多在出现症状时才被确诊。为了给参与者及时诊断SCD，医护人员应具备使用即时检验（POCT）的能力。在本研究中，我们旨在评估医护人员通过POCT筛查婴儿和成人人群的能力。
本研究于2023年4月至11月以试点模式进行了8个月。采用随机抽样方法选取了10名辅助护士助产士（ANM）、10名实验室技术员（LT）和5名医务人员（MO）。每个被选中的ANM和LT应进行10次检测，MO进行5次检测。用于诊断镰状细胞病的POCT是HemoTypeSC。
参与研究的医护人员中，67%属于在册部落。在分析前阶段（第一阶段）比较ANM和LT的能力时，ANM比LT更有能力。ANM更善于与人打交道，而LT在进行检测程序方面更有能力。在分析阶段（第二阶段）进行比较时，发现ANM和LT的能力相当。ANM比MO和LT更精确地遵循标准操作程序（SOP）。在分析后阶段，发现LT比ANM更有能力。本研究在分中心和初级卫生中心（PHC）采用的方法似乎促进了筛查项目的可行性。
本研究结果表明，该地区的医护人员有能力进行POCT以诊断镰状细胞病。POCT可引入SCD诊断项目中。
