Field Evaluation of a Point-of-Care CD4 Analyzer for Monitoring HIV Patients in the Interior of the Amazon Region, Brazil

• Published in: PloS one 2015-04, Vol.10 (4), p.e0121400-e0121400
• Main Authors: Pinto, Ione Conceição, Sabidó, Meritxell, Pereira, Analice Barbosa, Mello, Maeve B, de Melo Xavier Shimizu, Andrea, Protti, Bruna Lovizutto, Benzaken, Adele Schwartz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptability; Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Adolescent; Adult; AIDS; Ambulatory care facilities; Analytical instruments; Antiretroviral agents; Bias; Blood; Blood Specimen Collection - methods; Brazil; CD4 antigen; CD4 Lymphocyte Count - methods; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Correlation coefficient; Correlation coefficients; Disease control; Drug therapy; Female; Health Personnel; Hepatitis; HIV; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV patients; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infrastructure; Laboratories; Male; Measurement methods; Medical personnel; Methods; Middle Aged; Monitoring; Monitoring instruments; Monitoring, Physiologic - methods; Patient monitoring equipment; Patients; Point-of-Care Systems; Sensitivity; Sensitivity and Specificity; Studies; Thresholds; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121400

To evaluate the accuracy of the PIMA point-of-care CD4 analyzer (PIMA) under field conditions in comparison to the current CD4 count system (FACSCalibur), and to evaluate the operational suitability and acceptability of health professionals (HP) and HIV-patients in using the PIMA in health clinics in the Amazon Region. CD4 counts were measured onsite by the PIMA using fingerprick blood and in the reference laboratory by both the PIMA and FACSCalibur using venous blood. We used the Bland-Altman method to estimate the mean bias, and calculated the sensitivity and specificity at