SARS-CoV-2 testing in low- and middle-income countries: availability and affordability in the private health sector

Faust, Lena; Zimmer, A.; Kohli, Mikashmi; Saha, Senjuti; Boffa, Jody; Bayot, Marlon L; Nsofor, Ifeanyi; Campos, Leonel; Mashamba-Thompson, Tivani P.; Herrera, Rosa; Emeka, Elom; Shrestha, Suvesh; Ugarte-Gil, César; Katamba, Achilles; Pambudi, Imran; Bichara, David A.; Calderón, Róger; Ahmadzada, Namatullah; Safdar, Muhammad; Nikam, Chaitali; Lazari, Carolina dos Santos; Hussain, Hamidah; Win, Myint Myint; Than, Kyaw Zin; Ahumibe, Anthony; Waning, Brenda

doi:10.1016/j.micinf.2020.10.005

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“… 35 Furthermore, the delay in COVID‐19 diagnosis is a significant predictor of COVID‐19 severity that reflects in turn for COVID‐19 adverse outcomes. 53 In the cohort study of Kebudi et al, nearly two thirds of paediatric cancer patients with COVID‐19 infection had a delay/interrupted chemotherapy schedule. 45 The interruption or delaying of cancer treatment on paediatric patients during the pandemic involves multiple factors including understaffing of health care providers (either infected by COVID‐19 or serving as front line for the COVID‐19 cases) and the shortage of personnel protective equipment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PCR is the most specific and sensitive diagnostic test for COVID‐19; in LICs and MICs, PCR testing is expensive and most patients cannot afford it is cost. 53 In addition, infection from healthcare professional is not uncommon in LICs and MICs due to the shortage in the personal protective equipment. 56 , 57 Vaccination can be a potential tool for preventing risk of COVID‐19 severity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID‐19 outcomes in paediatric cancer: A large scale pooled meta‐analysis of 984 cancer patients

El‐Qushayri

Benmelouka²,

Dahy

et al. 2022

Reviews in Medical Virology

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We aimed to study the outcomes of COVID‐19 in paediatric cancer patients. On 26 October 2021, we did a systematic search for relevant articles in seven electronic databases followed by manual search. We included cancer patients aged ≤18 years. Event rates and the 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used to report the results. We included 21 papers after screening of 2759 records. The pooled rates of hospitalisation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality were 44% (95%CI: 30–59), 14% (95%CI: 9–21) and 9% (95%CI: 6–12), respectively. Moreover, subgroup analysis revealed that high income countries had better COVID‐19 outcomes compared to upper middle income countries and lower middle income countries in terms of hospitalisation 30% (95%CI: 17–46), 60% (95%CI: 29–84) and 47% (95%CI: 36–58), ICU admission 7% (95%CI: 1–32), 13% (95%CI: 7–23) and 18% (95%CI: 6–41), and mortality 3% (95%CI: 2–5), 12% (95%CI: 8–18) and 13% (95%CI: 8–20), in order. In general, absence of specific pharmacologic intervention to prevent infection with the scarcity of vaccination coverage data among paediatric groups and its impact, high priority caution is required to avoid SARS‐CoV‐2 infection among paediatric cancer patients. Furthermore, our results highlight the importance of promoting care facilities for this vulnerable population in low and middle income regions to ensure quality care among cancer patients during pandemic crisis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 outcomes in paediatric cancer: A large scale pooled meta‐analysis of 984 cancer patients

El‐Qushayri

Benmelouka²,

Dahy

et al. 2022

Reviews in Medical Virology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Limits to resources available for PCR testing are heightened in LMICs with high-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 where there are a lack of trained staff, finances, and infrastructure, including biosafety level 2 laboratories, therefore alternative testing strategies will also be needed. In settings where access to NAATs is limited or turnaround times are too long [ 5 , 71 , 72 ], antigen testing is also an acceptable option for the diagnosis of symptomatic patients, as it is more informative than no testing. Total and IgM-based antibody tests have also been shown to have some diagnostic benefit, in the absence of NAAT/antigen tests for acute infection [ 73 , 74 ].…”

Section: Different Testing Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, while NAATs are the most sensitive diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2 infection [ 3 , 4 ], the global demand for diagnostic testing is still such that the use of labor-intensive, specialist techniques needs to be carefully considered. This is particularly true in low-middle income countries (LMICs) where access to diagnostic tests, particularly NAATs, is limited due to a lack of medical resources, infrastructure, and trained technicians to facilitate testing [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Choice of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test: challenges and key considerations for the future

Baldanti

Ganguly

Wang

et al. 2022

Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences

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A plethora of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnostic tests are available, each with different performance specifications, detection methods, and targets. This narrative review aims to summarize the diagnostic technologies available and how they are best selected to tackle SARS-CoV-2 infection as the pandemic evolves. Seven key settings have been identified where diagnostic tests are being deployed: symptomatic individuals presenting for diagnostic testing and/or treatment of COVID-19 symptoms; asymptomatic individuals accessing healthcare for planned non-COVID-19-related reasons; patients needing to access emergency care (symptom status unknown); patients being discharged from healthcare following hospitalization for COVID-19; healthy individuals in both single event settings (e.g. airports, restaurants, hotels, concerts, and sporting events) and repeat access settings (e.g. workplaces, schools, and universities); and vaccinated individuals. While molecular diagnostics remain central to SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies, we have offered some discussion on the considerations for when other tools and technologies may be useful, when centralized/point-of-care testing is appropriate, and how the various additional diagnostics can be deployed in differently resourced settings. As the pandemic evolves, molecular testing remains important for definitive diagnosis, but increasingly widespread point-of-care testing is essential to the re-opening of society.

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“…Finally, studies evaluating the impact of NAATs versus rapid antigen tests performed at the POC are urgently needed. The higher sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 NAATs may provide greater impact than rapid antigen tests, as has been shown for influenza virus testing performed at the POC [96]. While more impact studies including cost-benefit analysis are needed for SARS-CoV-2 POC tests, the decentralized POC testing model should be part of the core global response toward suppressing COVID-19.…”

Section: Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Sars-Cov-2At the Point of Care

Loeffelholz¹,

Tang

2021

Bioanalysis

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiologic agent of COVID-19. Testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection is a critical element of the public health response to COVID-19. Point-of-care (POC) tests can drive patient management decisions for infectious diseases, including COVID-19. POC tests are available for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections and include those that detect SARS-CoV-2 antigens as well as amplified RNA sequences. We provide a review of SARS-CoV-2 POC tests including their performance, settings for which they might be used, their impact and future directions. Further optimization and validation, new technologies as well as studies to determine clinical and epidemiological impact of SARS-CoV-2 POC tests are needed.

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SARS-CoV-2 testing in low- and middle-income countries: availability and affordability in the private health sector

Cited by 13 publications

References 4 publications

COVID‐19 outcomes in paediatric cancer: A large scale pooled meta‐analysis of 984 cancer patients

COVID‐19 outcomes in paediatric cancer: A large scale pooled meta‐analysis of 984 cancer patients

Choice of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test: challenges and key considerations for the future

Detection of Sars-Cov-2At the Point of Care

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