External Quality Assessment Of Afb Smear Microscopy And Associated Factors In Selected Private Health Facilities In Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Background: Tuberculosis is still public health problem in sub Saharan African countries. Inrnresource-limited settings, tuberculosis diagnosis relies on sputum smear microscopy, with low andrnvariable sensitivities, especially in paucibacillary pediatric and HIV-associated TB patients. AFBrnsmear microscopy laboratories present several weaknesses like overworking, insufficiently trainedrnpersonnel, inconsistent reagent supplies, and poorly maintained equipment; thus there is a criticalrnneed for investments in laboratory infrastructure, capacity building, and quality assurance.rnObjectives: The main objective of the study was to assess laboratory performance quality of AFBrnsmear microscopy and its associated factors in selected private health facilities in Addis Ababa,rnEthiopiarnMaterial and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in 33 selected private health facilities ofrnwhich 7 hospitals, 2 NGO health centers, 23 higher clinics and 1diagnostic laboratory that providernAFB smear microscopy services in Addis Ababa from January to April 2014. A total of 283 stainedrnsmears were randomly collected for rechecking. 320 slides of panel testing were sent to 32rnmicroscopy centers to evaluate reading, staining and reporting performance of individuals. Checkrnlists were used to assess quality issues of laboratories. Data were captured, cleaned and analyzedrn2rnusing SPSS version 16.0; X tests, kappa values were used for comparison purpose. P value

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