TY - JOUR
KW - Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
KW - Infectious Diseases
KW - Quality assessment scheme
KW - Nucleic acid amplification tests
AU - Cools P
AU - Lieshout LV
AU - Koelewijn R
AU - Addiss D
AU - Ajjampur SSR
AU - Ayana M
AU - Bradbury RS
AU - Cantera JL
AU - Dana D
AU - Fischer K
AU - Imtiaz R
AU - Kabagenyi J
AU - Lok JB
AU - McCarthy J
AU - Mejia R
AU - Mekonnen Z
AU - Njenga SM
AU - Othman N
AU - Shao H
AU - Traub R
AU - Van Esbroeck M
AU - Vercruysse J
AU - Vlaminck J
AU - Williams SA
AU - Verweij JJ
AU - van Hellemond JJ
AU - Levecke B
AU - Periago MV
AB - Background
Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are increasingly being used as diagnostic tools for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale and A. ceylanicum), Strongyloides stercoralis and Schistosoma in human stool. Currently, there is a large diversity of NAATs being applied, but an external quality assessment scheme (EQAS) for these diagnostics is lacking. An EQAS involves a blinded process where test results reported by a laboratory are compared to those reported by reference or expert laboratories, allowing for an objective assessment of the diagnostic performance of a laboratory. In the current study, we piloted an international EQAS for these helminths (i) to investigate the feasibility of designing and delivering an EQAS; (ii) to assess the diagnostic performance of laboratories; and (iii) to gain insights into the different NAAT protocols used.
Methods and principal findings
A panel of twelve stool samples and eight DNA samples was validated by six expert laboratories for the presence of six helminths (Ascaris, Trichuris, N. americanus, Ancylostoma, Strongyloides and Schistosoma). Subsequently this panel was sent to 15 globally dispersed laboratories. We found a high degree of diversity among the different DNA extraction and NAAT protocols. Although most laboratories performed well, we could clearly identify the laboratories that were poorly performing.
Conclusions/Significance
We showed the technical feasibility of an international EQAS for the NAAT of STHs, Strongyloides and Schistosoma. In addition, we documented that there are clear benefits for participating laboratories, as they can confirm and/or improve the diagnostic performance of their NAATs. Further research should aim to identify factors that explain poor performance of NAATs.
BT - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008231
IS - 6
LA - eng
N2 - Background
Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are increasingly being used as diagnostic tools for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale and A. ceylanicum), Strongyloides stercoralis and Schistosoma in human stool. Currently, there is a large diversity of NAATs being applied, but an external quality assessment scheme (EQAS) for these diagnostics is lacking. An EQAS involves a blinded process where test results reported by a laboratory are compared to those reported by reference or expert laboratories, allowing for an objective assessment of the diagnostic performance of a laboratory. In the current study, we piloted an international EQAS for these helminths (i) to investigate the feasibility of designing and delivering an EQAS; (ii) to assess the diagnostic performance of laboratories; and (iii) to gain insights into the different NAAT protocols used.
Methods and principal findings
A panel of twelve stool samples and eight DNA samples was validated by six expert laboratories for the presence of six helminths (Ascaris, Trichuris, N. americanus, Ancylostoma, Strongyloides and Schistosoma). Subsequently this panel was sent to 15 globally dispersed laboratories. We found a high degree of diversity among the different DNA extraction and NAAT protocols. Although most laboratories performed well, we could clearly identify the laboratories that were poorly performing.
Conclusions/Significance
We showed the technical feasibility of an international EQAS for the NAAT of STHs, Strongyloides and Schistosoma. In addition, we documented that there are clear benefits for participating laboratories, as they can confirm and/or improve the diagnostic performance of their NAATs. Further research should aim to identify factors that explain poor performance of NAATs.
PB - Public Library of Science (PLoS)
PY - 2020
EP - e0008231
T2 - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
TI - First international external quality assessment scheme of nucleic acid amplification tests for the detection of Schistosoma and soil-transmitted helminths, including Strongyloides: A pilot study
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0008231&type=printable
VL - 14
SN - 1935-2735
ER -