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Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria

OBJECTIVES: Telemedicine can compensate for the lack of health care specialists in response to protracted humanitarian crises. We sought to assess the usability of a teleclinical microbiology (TCM) program to provide diagnostic services in a hard-to-reach region of Syria. METHODS: A semimobile stati...

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Autores principales: Karah, Nabil, Antypas, Konstantinos, Al-toutanji, Anas, Suveyd, Usama, Rafei, Rayane, Haraoui, Louis-Patrick, Elamin, Wael, Hamze, Monzer, Abbara, Aula, Rhoads, Daniel D, Pantanowitz, Liron, Uhlin, Bernt Eric
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8973258/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34643678
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqab160
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author Karah, Nabil
Antypas, Konstantinos
Al-toutanji, Anas
Suveyd, Usama
Rafei, Rayane
Haraoui, Louis-Patrick
Elamin, Wael
Hamze, Monzer
Abbara, Aula
Rhoads, Daniel D
Pantanowitz, Liron
Uhlin, Bernt Eric
author_facet Karah, Nabil
Antypas, Konstantinos
Al-toutanji, Anas
Suveyd, Usama
Rafei, Rayane
Haraoui, Louis-Patrick
Elamin, Wael
Hamze, Monzer
Abbara, Aula
Rhoads, Daniel D
Pantanowitz, Liron
Uhlin, Bernt Eric
author_sort Karah, Nabil
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: Telemedicine can compensate for the lack of health care specialists in response to protracted humanitarian crises. We sought to assess the usability of a teleclinical microbiology (TCM) program to provide diagnostic services in a hard-to-reach region of Syria. METHODS: A semimobile station was equipped with conventional micrograph and macrograph digital imaging systems. An electronic platform (Telemicrobiology in Humanitarian Crises, TmHC) was created to facilitate sharing, interpreting, and storing the results. A pilot study was conducted to identify the bacterial species and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of 74 urinary clinical isolates. An experience survey was conducted to capture the feedback of 8 participants in the program. RESULTS: The TmHC platform (https://sdh.ngo/tmhc/) enabled systematic transmission of the laboratory records and co-interpretation of the results. The isolates were identified as Escherichia coli (n = 61), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 12), and Proteus mirabilis(n = 1). All the isolates were multidrug resistant. The performance of our TCM module was rated 4 (satisfying) and 5 (very satisfying) by 6 and 2 users, respectively. Data security of and cost-effectiveness were the main perceived concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Although we encountered several context-related obstacles, our TCM program managed to reach a highly vulnerable population of 4 million people confined in the northwest region of Syria.
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spelling pubmed-89732582022-04-04 Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria Karah, Nabil Antypas, Konstantinos Al-toutanji, Anas Suveyd, Usama Rafei, Rayane Haraoui, Louis-Patrick Elamin, Wael Hamze, Monzer Abbara, Aula Rhoads, Daniel D Pantanowitz, Liron Uhlin, Bernt Eric Am J Clin Pathol Original Articles OBJECTIVES: Telemedicine can compensate for the lack of health care specialists in response to protracted humanitarian crises. We sought to assess the usability of a teleclinical microbiology (TCM) program to provide diagnostic services in a hard-to-reach region of Syria. METHODS: A semimobile station was equipped with conventional micrograph and macrograph digital imaging systems. An electronic platform (Telemicrobiology in Humanitarian Crises, TmHC) was created to facilitate sharing, interpreting, and storing the results. A pilot study was conducted to identify the bacterial species and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of 74 urinary clinical isolates. An experience survey was conducted to capture the feedback of 8 participants in the program. RESULTS: The TmHC platform (https://sdh.ngo/tmhc/) enabled systematic transmission of the laboratory records and co-interpretation of the results. The isolates were identified as Escherichia coli (n = 61), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 12), and Proteus mirabilis(n = 1). All the isolates were multidrug resistant. The performance of our TCM module was rated 4 (satisfying) and 5 (very satisfying) by 6 and 2 users, respectively. Data security of and cost-effectiveness were the main perceived concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Although we encountered several context-related obstacles, our TCM program managed to reach a highly vulnerable population of 4 million people confined in the northwest region of Syria. Oxford University Press 2021-10-13 /pmc/articles/PMC8973258/ /pubmed/34643678 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqab160 Text en © American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2021. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
spellingShingle Original Articles
Karah, Nabil
Antypas, Konstantinos
Al-toutanji, Anas
Suveyd, Usama
Rafei, Rayane
Haraoui, Louis-Patrick
Elamin, Wael
Hamze, Monzer
Abbara, Aula
Rhoads, Daniel D
Pantanowitz, Liron
Uhlin, Bernt Eric
Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria
title Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria
title_full Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria
title_fullStr Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria
title_full_unstemmed Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria
title_short Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria
title_sort teleclinical microbiology: an innovative approach to providing web-enabled diagnostic laboratory services in syria
topic Original Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8973258/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34643678
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqab160
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