Quantitative G6PD Deficiency Screening in Routine Malaria Diagnostic Units in the Brazilian Amazon (SAFEPRIM): An Operational Mixed-Methods Study

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 11; p. 1328
• Main Authors: Brito-Sousa, Jose Diego, Murta, Felipe, Vitor-Silva, Sheila, Sampaio, Vanderson, Mendes, Maxwell, Souza, Brenda, Batista, Talita, Santos, Alicia, Marques, Leonardo, Barbosa, Laila, Balieiro, Patricia, Silva-Neto, Alexandre, Rabello, Renata, Brito, Marcelo, Silva, Emanuelle, Rodovalho, Sheila, Arcanjo, Ana Ruth, Melo, Gisely, Recht, Judith, Domingo, Gonzalo J, Valle, Suiane, Souza, Rodrigo, Nakagawa, Theresa, Monteiro, Wuelton, Lacerda, Marcus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.11.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Anemia; Biosensors; Cultural factors; Diagnosis; elimination; G6PD deficiency; Genotypes; Glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase; Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency; Glucosephosphate dehydrogenase; Hemoglobin; Hemolysis; Immune system; implementation; Malaria; Mixed methods research; Municipalities; Patients; Pharmacovigilance; Plasmodium vivax; Primaquine; Qualitative research; Quality control; Signs and symptoms; Supervision; Testing; Training; Vector-borne diseases; Brazil; United States > US; Amazon Basin; Plasmodium vivax; primaquine; implementation; quantitative G6PD test; Brazil; Standard G6PD; SD biosensor; malaria; operational study; elimination; G6PD deficiency
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111328

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency testing is not routinely performed before primaquine treatment in most endemic areas, despite the risk of primaquine-associated hemolysis. This is due to the operational challenges associated with pragmatic G6PD testing and as such needs to be addressed. This mixed-methods operational study was aimed at implementing the quantitative point-of-care Standard G6PD (SD Biosensor, Korea) screening test in malaria treatment units (MTUs) in the municipalities of Rio Preto da Eva and Mâncio Lima, in the Brazilian Amazon, between mid-January 2020 and December 2020. In total, 1286 cases were treated based on the Standard G6PD test: 1230 had activity equal to or greater than 4.0 U/g Hb, and 56 less than 4.0 U/g Hb. No G6PD deficient (G6PDd) genotypes were found in 96 samples from the 1230, and only 21 of the 56 G6PDd cases had confirmed G6PDd genotypes. Evaluations were conducted on the proficiency of health care professionals (HCPs) training to perform the test, the reliability of testing performed in the field, and the perceptions of HCPs and patients about the implementation. Post-training proficiency was 73.4% after a 4-hour training session. This study revealed that locations with lower malaria caseloads will need regular refresher training. The test was well accepted by both HCPs and patients. Signs and symptoms of hemolysis were not always associated with malaria treatment drugs by HCPs and patients. Point-of-care quantitative G6PD testing can be performed at MTUs in the Brazilian Amazon to inform treatment decisions with primaquine. Limitations related to technical and cultural aspects need to be addressed further when expanding screening to larger areas.