Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among COVID-19 RT-PCR laboratory workers in Bangladesh

BackgroundHealth care workers (HCWs) at the frontline are confronting a substantial risk of infection during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This emerging virus created specific hazards to researchers and laboratory staff in a clinical setting, underlined by rapid and extensive worldwide transmission. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among COVID-19 RT-PCR laboratory health workers in Bangladesh.Materials & MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted between October 2 to December 2, 2020. A total of 508 participants, including doctors, scientific officers, medical technologists, and cleaners working in several COVID-19 RT-PCR laboratories, were included in this study. Data were collected from each participant using a semi-structured questionnaire prepared in the format of an anonymous Google form. All participants provided informed consent. The Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Review Committee of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 25.0 software (SPSS, Inc).ResultsOut of the 508 participants, 295 tested positive for SARS CoV-2 RT-PCR. Among the positive cases, 202 were men, 93 were women, with the median age of 30 years. The most positive cases were medical technologists (53.22%) followed by doctors (28.8%). Out of the 271 symptomatic positive cases, the most typical symptoms were fever (78.5%), fatigue (70%), loss of smell and taste (65%), cough (64%), and others. Hypertension, obesity, and diabetes were found in 8.8%, 8.8%, and 7.1% positive cases. A + blood group was present in 37% of the positive cases, followed by the B+ blood group (27%) and O+ blood group (25%). Inadequate supply of personal protection equipment (PPE), absence of negative pressure ventilation, laboratory contamination, and no training on molecular test methods were found in 13.8%, 67.8%, 44.7%, and 40.6% of positive cases, respectively.ConclusionEvaluating the infection status of laboratory health workers is crucial for drawing attention from the public, providing practical suggestions for government agencies, and increasing protective measures for laboratory health workers.

An Effective Approach for Endocrine Dynamic Function Tests Workflow and Reporting Using Cerner Millennium®

Introduction/Objective Endocrine dynamic function testing (DFT), also known as hormone stimulation tests, are indispensable tools in the endocrine practice. Common pitfalls of ineffective testing and misdiagnosis are due to incorrect sample recordings, delay in sample collections and disorganized or confusing result presentation. Clinical and laboratory data deserves careful attention and discrepancies must be reviewed by a clinical biochemist before releasing results for proper patient diagnosis. The main objective of this Cerner DFT project is to design and implement Cerner Millennium applications for effective management and organized result reporting of hospital-wide DFT protocols. Methods/Case Report The DFT Cerner workflow is uniquely designed in-house and known as a pioneer build for Cerner Millenium. The design involves the use of Cerner Discern Analytics 2.0 and clinical modules to complete such a complex build. Five DFT panels are defined as care-sets with specific hormone discrete task assays (DTA). For each care-set, an ‘order sentence’ is created to produce the order priority rules. The DFT panels can only be requested as future orders in PowerChart and activated by the medical staff upon collection of the baseline sample. On Cerner PathNet, results are pre-verified by the medical technologists then auto-filtered in the clinical Review Queue (RQ) module for final verification and addition of comments by the biochemistry consultant. A word processing template is used to collate the results and present the summary of the DFT report where standardized canned comments are added using pre-defined codes. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) See Conclusion Section Conclusion The Cerner DFT project mproves the diagnosis and treatment of patients with hormone disorders. Before, there was a danger of misdiagnosis when samples are individually requested producing separate reports with no organized presentation. Report comments from the clinical biochemist consultant also served as good diagnostic guidance. This quality initiative has definitely improved the previous and long term issues of endocrine dynamic function tests.

Assessment of Clinical Laboratory Personnel Protective Equipment Inventory Management During COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines

Introduction/Objective COVID-19 pandemic has brought a worldwide scarcity of personal protective equipment, which prompted medical technologists to explore the inventory management strategies, specifically the maintenance, conservation, and alternative use of personal protective equipment. The study aimed to assess the impact of these strategies on the personal protective equipment shortage in laboratories, as well as identify and describe the clinical laboratory supply and demand of personal protective equipment during the outbreak. Methods/Case Report The researchers utilized a quantitative survey involving one hundred thirty-six medical technologists working in an institution-based laboratory of Makati and Taguig City. The collated data were encoded in Microsoft Excel for descriptive statistics containing frequency distribution. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) 27.9% of the respondents affirmed that they experienced a shortage of personal protective equipment in their workplace but most were unsure whether the contributing factors caused it. The respondents resorted to inventory management strategies to alleviate their lack of personal protective equipment. However, 41.9% and 38.2% of the respondents were undecided whether the efforts to conserve personal protective equipment and the supply management strategies were effective, respectively. Meanwhile, 40.4% of the respondents agreed that personal protective equipment alternatives can help in mitigating the demand for traditionally manufactured personal protective equipment. Conclusion Nonetheless, they were able to utilize inventory management strategies in which they were unsure if conservation and maintenance of personal protective equipment were effective but affirmed with the competency of an alternative use for alleviation.

Informing the increasing production of the health workforce in Bangladesh: evidence from a mapping exercise of health professional education institutions

This study aimed to evaluate the trend of production (2007-2016) and associated factors of seven health professionals i.e. physicians, dentists, diploma nurses, bachelor nurses, midwives, medical assistants and medical technologists in Bangladesh. The study team adopted a mapping approach to geographically locate all the health professional education institutions recognized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW). This was supported by a mixed-method design combining qualitative (e.g. group discussions and key informant interviews) and quantitative (questionnaire survey) methods. From 2007 to 2016, a total of 107,406 students graduated from all seven professional categories. Out of the total, about 40% belonged to the MBBS physician, 6% dentists, 15% medical assistants, 18% medical technologists, 21% nurses, and only 1% to the midwives. So, a skill-mix imbalance exists at the production level. Though the production had been on rising last 10 years, the production of the physicians was higher than any other professional categories. Feminization of the workforce is prominent as there was an average 14% increase of the female doctors than the male. The increasing production of health professionals needs to be supported by proper planning and policy interventions in order to avoid distortion of skill mix. Growing feminization of the workforce is also another area that requires special attention on the development of gender-sensitive employment conditions. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.12(2) July 2021: 30-46

The growth patterns of the medical technology profession in South Africa

Background: Constant appraisal of healthcare workforce trends is vital; this measure determines the adequacy of the workforce in meeting its society’s healthcare demands. This includes determining the number of the incoming workforce (students, interns) and the active or practising workforce relevant registries.Objective: This study aimed to examine patterns of workforce growth in the medical technology profession (students, interns and practitioners) from 2008 to 2018 in South Africa.Methods: Student, intern and practitioner medical technology registries, from the 2012/2013, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) annual reports, were analysed. The number of National Health Laboratory Service and private laboratory posts were secured from the National Health Laboratory Service plan performance report. A comparison between the total number of South African medical technology (private and public) posts occupied versus the HPCSA practitioner 2016 register was completed, to determine the saturation status.Results: Annual student, intern, and practitioner registries indicated a mean growth of 6.8%, 28.9%, and 0.7% from 2008 to 2018. The transition of interns to practitioners is progressively dwindling (2015–2018). The practitioner register showed a 1.2% decline in registration from 2013 until 2018. In 2016, only 55.9% of the HPCSA registered medical technologists were employed (p 0.001).Conclusion: There are more medical technologists than available public and private sector posts. The progressively growing student register compared to the dwindling practitioner register indicates attrition in the profession. An investigation identifying the reasons why graduates neglect to register as practising medical technologists should be undertaken.

Effects of Remuneration on Employee Turnover in Private Hospitals Samburu County

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Remuneration on employee turnover in private hospitals Samburu County.Methodology: This study adopted descriptive survey research design and was conducted in ten private hospitals in Samburu County. Information was issued by 71 medical practitioners such as senior doctors, senior nurses, senior pharmacists and senior medical technologists of each of the private hospitals in Samburu county. The71 medical practitioners were sampled using convenience sampling methods because medical practitioners in a hospital setting were generally very busy hence data was collected through closed ended questionnaires from the available ones. Linear regression was used to test each hypothesis while multiple regression analysis was used to measure the effects of renumeration on employee turnover in private hospitals Samburu County. The analysis was later presented using tables and detailed explanations.Results: The study discovered that there was a positive relationship and statistically significant between that renumeration and employee turnover. That simply explained meant that how employees are rewarded at the end of the agreed contract duration or at the end of the month play a very key part in determining whether they will leave in the near future or not. Poor and inconsiderate renumeration will often make them want leave and look for other better paying ventures.Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: Human resource managers should ensure that renumeration structure is reviewed where employees receive all the benefits gotten at various job groups without biasness. Once an employee attains the required qualifications, they should automatically be enrolled to the improved renumeration structure without too much bureaucracies. This will motivate employees to work harder so as to attain their personal goals in the job ladder. Future researchers should aim to concentrate on other regions in Kenya to determine whether renumeration will be the key causal determinant on employee turnover.