Laboratory medicine in Africa: A barrier to effective health care
Laboratory medicine in Africa: A barrier to effective health care
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DOI：
10.1086/499363
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发表时间：
2006-02-01
影响因子：
11.8
通讯作者：
Sande, MA
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Petti, CA;Polage, CR;Sande, MA
撒哈拉以南非洲地区的医疗保健服务是一个复杂的问题。最近的报告呼吁提供更多资源来协助预防和治疗影响这一人群的传染病，但政策制定者、临床医生和公众常常无法理解诊断对于预防和治疗疾病至关重要。在该地区，获得可靠的诊断测试的机会受到严重限制，并且经常发生误诊。可以理解的是，将资源分配给诊断实验室检测并不是资源有限的医疗保健系统的优先事项，但不可靠和不准确的实验室诊断检测会导致本已受到资源短缺困扰的地区出现不必要的支出，助长人们认为实验室检测无用，并损害患者护理。我们探讨了在该地区实施一致检测的障碍，并说明需要采取更全面的方法来诊断传染病，重点是使实验室检测成为更优先的事项。
Providing health care in sub-Saharan Africa is a complex problem. Recent reports call for more resources to assist in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases that affect this population, but policy makers, clinicians, and the public frequently fail to understand that diagnosis is essential to the prevention and treatment of disease. Access to reliable diagnostic testing is severely limited in this region, and misdiagnosis commonly occurs. Understandably, allocation of resources to diagnostic laboratory testing has not been a priority for resource-limited health care systems, but unreliable and inaccurate laboratory diagnostic testing leads to unnecessary expenditures in a region already plagued by resource shortages, promotes the perception that laboratory testing is unhelpful, and compromises patient care. We explore the barriers to implementing consistent testing within this region and illustrate the need for a more comprehensive approach to the diagnosis of infectious diseases, with an emphasis on making laboratory testing a higher priority.