Long Turnaround Times in Viral Load Monitoring of People Living with HIV in Resource-Limited Settings

INTRODUCTION: Routine viral load (VL) testing is fraught with challenges in resource-limited settings which lead to longer turnaround times for the return of VL results. We assessed the turnaround times for VL testing and factors associated with long turnaround (>30 days) in Marondera, Zimbabwe, between January and September 2018. METHODS: This was an analytical study of routine program data. Data were extracted from electronic records and paper-based reports at two laboratories and at antiretroviral therapy (ART) facilities. The unit of analysis was the VL sample. Duration (in days) between sample collection and sample testing (pre-test turnaround time), duration between sample testing and receipt of VL result at ART the site (post-test turnaround time), and duration between sample collection and receipt of result at the ART site (overall turnaround time) were calculated. Days on which the VL testing machine was not functional, and workload (number of tests done per month) were used to assess associations. We used binomial log models to assess the factors associated with longer turnaround time. RESULTS: A total of 3348 samples were received at the two VL testing laboratories, and 3313 were tested, of these, 1111 were analyzed for overall turnaround time. Pre-test, post-test, and overall turnaround times were 22 days (interquartile range (IQR): 11–41), 51 days (IQR: 30–89), and 67 days (IQR: 46–100), respectively. Laboratory workload (relative risk [RR]: 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–1.14) and machine break down (RR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.14–1.17) were associated with long turnaround time. CONCLUSIONS: Routine VL turnaround time was long. Decentralizing VL testing and enhancing laboratory capacity may help shorten the turnaround time.