Laboratory Clinical Interphase: Use of LabPulse to reduce Laboratory Test Result Turnaround Time in 152 health facilities within Nairobi and Kajiado Counties, Kenya

Background

Timely delivery of laboratory test results to clinical teams is critical globally for prompt disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring across health conditions. Existing Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) lack the combination of real-time data sharing and supply chain coordination capabilities in a single integrated platform, leading to delays and inefficiencies in result dispatch and inventory management. We innovated and implemented an intervention, “LabPulse”, to address gaps in existing LIMS and improve laboratory diagnostic efficiency.

Aim

To reduce laboratory test turnaround time (TAT) in 152 Nairobi and Kajiado Counties health facilities, enabling faster treatment initiation and improved patient outcomes.

Methods/Intervention

Between January 2020 and June 2023, we implemented LabPulse across 152 health facilities (95 in Nairobi County and 57 in Kajiado County). LabPulse innovates an HIV-focused LIMS platform, strengthening implementation through real-time online test result availability and optimized inventory tracking for accelerated care coordination. Specifically, LabPulse integrates results from critical diagnostic tests like CD4 count, cryptococcal antigen (CrAg), and tuberculosis lipoarabinomannan (TB LAM) assays for screening and monitoring patients with advanced HIV disease. The platform provides instant access for various users, including clinicians, testing labs, and county coordinators, to enable rapid result communication. LabPulse synthesizes diagnostic data to empower clinical decisions and follow-up for advanced patients. Comprehensive commodity tracking demonstrates a commitment to uninterrupted testing availability.

By providing real-time inventory insights and optimizing supply chain management, LabPulse prevents stockouts that can delay diagnosis and treatment. These capa bilities promote quality care through optimized laboratory control and accelerated turnaround times.
Differentiating from traditional LIMS, LabPulse purpose-builds an integrated platform that accelerates CD4 count, CrAg, and TB LAM testing connectivity with stakeholders for streamlined monitoring and coordination.

Results

The mean test TAT from sample collection to result dispatch was seven days before LabPulse, with six days in Nairobi and eight days in Kajiado. After implementation, mean dispatch TAT improved significantly to 5 days overall (t=10.498, p <0.05, paired t-test), with four days in Nairobi and six days in Kajiado. The two-day reduction trans lates to more timely diagnosis, treatment initiation and improved patient outcomes

Conclusion

LabPulse delivered reduced laboratory turnaround time through its innovative integrated LIMS platform. By reducing TAT, LabPulse demonstrates potential to markedly improve patient outcomes through accelerated diagnosis, WHO staging, and care. Further expansion could compound these gains to improve patient outcomes more broadly.

Keywords:

HIV, Care, LabPulse, platform, Laboratory, real-time, Testing, Data, LIMS, diagnosticDeclaration: Ethics Approval: LabPulse maintains privacy through de-identified data per institutional guidelines and the Data Protection Act, 2019.