Performance d’Hemocue Hb 201+ dans le diagnostic de l’anémie de l’enfant dans les structures sanitaires du niveau périphérique au Togo

Performance of HemoCue Hb201+ in the diagnosis of anaemia in children in health facilities at the peripheral level in Togo BACKGROUND: Anaemia is a global public health problem, especially in developing countries. Anaemia has major repercussions on health status, as well as on the economic and social development of a country. Effective care of anaemic patients requires a reliable and precise diagnostic test that can determine haemoglobin levels. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the Hemocue test Hb201+(®). METHOD: This study compared haemoglobin levels measured using the photometer Hemocue Hb201+(®) with those measured by analysers of haematology. Children aged 6 to 59 months who suffered from uncomplicated malaria were eligible for inclusion. Haemoglobin levels determined by the analysers were considered the reference for evaluation of the levels measured using Hemocue Hb201+(®). RESULTS: 72.8% of the values obtained by Hemocue Hb201(®) were within ±1g/dl of the reference value. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.80. The prevalence of anaemia was 79.3% using the reference method and 77.9% using Hemocue 201+(®). The sensitivity and the specificity of Hemocue Hb201+(®) were 95.1% and 65.3% respectively. CONCLUSION: The study results showed that the Hemocue Hb201 test+(®) provided good sensitivity, average specificity and average precision, both for the diagnosis of anaemia and for the determination of haemoglobin levels. It may be used in peripheral centres to facilitate the laboratory diagnosis of anaemia and its management in populations that live in areas with difficult accessibility.