Building clinical pharmacology laboratory capacity in low- and middle-income countries: Experience from Uganda
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Building clinical pharmacology laboratory capacity in low- and middle-income countries: Experience from Uganda | |
| Creator | Omali, Denis Buzibye, Allan Kwizera, Richard Byakika-Kibwika, Pauline Namakula, Rhoda Matovu, Joshua Mbabazi, Olive Mande, Emmanuel Sekaggya-Wiltshire, Christine Nakanjako, Damalie Gutteck, Ursula McAdam, Keith Easterbrook, Philippa Kambugu, Andrew Fehr, Jan Castelnuovo, Barbara Manabe, Yukari C. Lamorde, Mohammed Mueller, Daniel Merry, Concepta | |
| Description | Background: Research and clinical use of clinical pharmacology laboratories are limited in low- and middle-income countries. We describe our experience in building and sustaining laboratory capacity for clinical pharmacology at the Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda.Intervention: Existing laboratory infrastructure was repurposed, and new equipment was acquired. Laboratory personnel were hired and trained to optimise, validate, and develop in-house methods for testing antiretroviral, anti-tuberculosis and other drugs, including 10 high-performance liquid chromatography methods and four mass spectrometry methods. We reviewed all research collaborations and projects for which samples were assayed in the laboratory from January 2006 to November 2020. We assessed laboratory staff mentorship from collaborative relationships and the contribution of research projects towards human resource development, assay development, and equipment and maintenance costs. We further assessed the quality of testing and use of the laboratory for research and clinical care.Lessons learnt: Fourteen years post inception, the clinical pharmacology laboratory had contributed significantly to the overall research output at the institute by supporting 26 pharmacokinetic studies. The laboratory has actively participated in an international external quality assurance programme for the last four years. For clinical care, a therapeutic drug monitoring service is accessible to patients living with HIV at the Adult Infectious Diseases clinic in Kampala, Uganda.Recommendations: Driven primarily by research projects, clinical pharmacology laboratory capacity was successfully established in Uganda, resulting in sustained research output and clinical support. Strategies implemented in building capacity for this laboratory may guide similar processes in other low- and middle-income countries. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2023-02-07 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ajlm.v12i1.1956 | |
| Source | African Journal of Laboratory Medicine; Vol 12, No 1 (2023); 7 pages 2225-2010 2225-2002 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1956/2558
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1956/2559
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1956/2560
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1956/2561
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