QASI: A collaboration for implementation of an independent quality assessment programme in India

OBJECTIVE: The HIV pandemic remains a significant global health concern. Accurate determination of CD4+ T-cells in patient samples relies on reliable CD4 enumeration. The Quality Assessment and Standardization programme for Immunological measures relevant to HIV/AIDS (QASI) programme of the Public Health Agency of Canada provides clinical laboratories from resource-limited countries with a mechanism to evaluate the quality of CD4 testing and develop the implementation of an independent national External Quality Assessment (EQA) programme. This study describes how QASI helped develop the capacity for managing a sustainable national CD4 EQA programme in India. DESIGN: Supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative, QASI engaged with the National AIDS Control Organization and the Indian National AIDS Research Institute to assist in technology transfer in preparation for the implementation/management of an independent CD4 EQA programme. Technology transfer training was provided to support corrective actions and to improve the quality of CD4 testing. Inter-laboratory variation of EQA surveys between pre- and post-skill development was compared. RESULTS: Prior to training, coefficient of variation values were 14.7% (mid-level CD4 count controls) and 39.0% (low-level). Following training, variation was reduced to 10.3% for mid-level controls and 20.0% for low-level controls. CONCLUSION: This training assisted the National AIDS Control Organization and the Indian National AIDS Research Institute in identifying the information necessary for management of an EQA programme, and developed the foundation for India to provide corrective actions for sites with challenges in achieving reliable results for CD4 enumeration. This led to a demonstrable improvement in CD4 testing quality and illustrates how country-specific training significantly improved CD4 enumeration performance for better clinical management of HIV care in India.