Assessment of Histopathology Services in Ethiopia
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Date
2015-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: The scarcity of having histopathology laboratory in the nation will cause the
difficulty to diagnose as well as follow up cancer diseases. Besides, the scarcity of professionals
also contributes for the lack of the service in developing countries like Ethiopia. Laboratory
laboratory personnel per year were 508 and 640. The lowest turnaround time (TAT) of 1 week
for biopsy samples analysis was achieved by KGH and AFGH while three teaching hospitals had
longer TAT of 30 days. (JUSH, HUH, ASUH)
Conclusion: There is a scarcity of a histopathology laboratory set up as well as of pathologists
and laboratory personnel. The available histopathology laboratories are not adequate and their
distribution is concerned in Addis Ababa and major cities: besides; there is no histopathology
laboratory in two regions of the country (Afar and Somali regions).
Recommendation: The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) must give attention to the regular
distribution of histopathology laboratory service to avoid unnecessary traveling to find the
simplest technique FNAC by the population. Moreover, establishing a sample referral network
could help address the unmet gap as cancer is on the rise. It also recommended the training of
pathologists as well as histotechnologists and establishment of new histopathology laboratories
at non-available areas of the country.
technicians who do not have proper training and experience are active in the current
histopathology laboratories in these countries.
Objective: To assess the histopathology laboratory practices in Ethiopia.
Method: Cross sectional study-design, and convenient sampling method were used. Data were
collected by using pretested observational checklist. The Principal Investigator (PI) collected the
data in April 2015 at all histopathology laboratories in Ethiopia, which practice investigation of
both biopsy and cytology, Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and have set up of
histopathology laboratory. The number of histopathology specimen per year computed the data
by the number of pathologists and laboratory personnel in that laboratory. Data was entered and
analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2010 software.
Result: There were 11 histopathology laboratories who set up with equipment except Afar and
Somali region where no histopathology laboratories were available. The available laboratories
process and diagnose biopsy as well as FNAC. About 55% of laboratories in the country owned
cryostat. All laboratories own microtome, 82% of the laboratories use automatic tissue
processing and embedding machine whereas the rest use manually. All facilities use manual
mounting and staining method, and 36.4% owned automatic staining machine. Grossing
equipment and slide warmer table or oven is available at all facilities, whereas slide and block
storage cabinet is available in 54.5% of the laboratories.
The number of pathologists range between one and eight where AFGH, AGHMC, GGH have
one. AHRI, KGH, GUH, ASUH, HUH, and JUSH have two. EPHI /St. Paul have four, and
TASH has eight pathologists: thus the highest number of biopsies per pathologist per year was
received by EPHI/St. Paul (1144), GGH (1008), and TASH (813). The highest FNAC per
pathologist per year was practiced by GGH (4800), ASUH (1488), AFGH (1365), HUH (1200),
and GUH (1196). The overall average numbers of biopsies and FNAC per pathologist per year
were 715 and 901 respectively. Whereas the respective average numbers for histopathology
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Keywords
Histopathology Services