ArticleAfrican journal of laboratory medicine2021
Establishing the cost of Xpert MTB/RIF mobile testing in high-burden peri-mining communities in South Africa.
Article in African journal of laboratory medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Implementation strategies to increase the uptake and impact of molecular WHO-recommended rapid diagnostic tests: evidence from a mixed-methods systematic review.BMJ global health · 2025Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of Low-complexity Screening Tests in Community-based Case-finding for Tuberculosis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGlobally, tuberculosis remains a major cause of mortality, with an estimated 1.3 million deaths per annum. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is used as the initial diagnostic test in the tuberculosis diagnostic algorithm. To extend the national tuberculosis testing programme in South Africa, mobile units fitted with the GeneXpert equipment were introduced to high-burden peri-mining communities.
objectiveThis study sought to assess the cost of mobile testing compared to traditional laboratory-based testing in a peri-mining community setting.
methodsActual cost data for mobile and laboratory-based Xpert MTB/RIF testing from 2018 were analysed using a bottom-up ingredients-based approach to establish the annual equivalent cost and the cost per result. Historical cost data were obtained from supplier quotations and the local enterprise resource planning system. Costs were obtained in rand and reported in United States dollars (USD).
resultsThe mobile units performed 4866 tests with an overall cost per result of $49.16. Staffing accounted for 30.7% of this cost, while reagents and laboratory equipment accounted for 20.7% and 20.8%. The cost per result of traditional laboratory-based testing was $15.44 US dollars (USD). The cost for identifying a tuberculosis-positive result using mobile testing was $439.58 USD per case, compared to $164.95 USD with laboratory-based testing.
conclusionMobile testing is substantially more expensive than traditional laboratory services but offers benefits for rapid tuberculosis case detection and same-day antiretroviral therapy initiation. Mobile tuberculosis testing should however be reserved for high-burden communities with limited access to laboratory testing where immediate intervention can benefit patient outcomes.
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