The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Kisangani

Introduction Automatic micropipettes are widely used in clinical biology for quantitative analyses in medical diagnostics. However, in many hospitals in developing countries, this equipment is often not verified for accuracy in collecting biological sample volumes. This oversight can result in b...

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Main Authors: Joenna Bapite Musongiela, Jocelyn Mankulu Kakumba, Emile Tweni Baruti, Timothé Mavanga Mabaya, Jacquie Bolavie Bolande, Sara Munguakonkwa Byamungu, Jérémie Mbinze Kindenge
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Language:English
Published: Orapuh, Inc. 2025-01-01
Series:Orapuh Journal
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Online Access:https://orapuh.org/ojs/ojs-3.1.2-4/index.php/orapj/article/view/337
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author Joenna Bapite Musongiela
Jocelyn Mankulu Kakumba
Emile Tweni Baruti
Timothé Mavanga Mabaya
Jacquie Bolavie Bolande
Sara Munguakonkwa Byamungu
Jérémie Mbinze Kindenge
author_facet Joenna Bapite Musongiela
Jocelyn Mankulu Kakumba
Emile Tweni Baruti
Timothé Mavanga Mabaya
Jacquie Bolavie Bolande
Sara Munguakonkwa Byamungu
Jérémie Mbinze Kindenge
author_sort Joenna Bapite Musongiela
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Automatic micropipettes are widely used in clinical biology for quantitative analyses in medical diagnostics. However, in many hospitals in developing countries, this equipment is often not verified for accuracy in collecting biological sample volumes. This oversight can result in biased diagnoses with significant public health consequences, such as misdiagnosing a healthy individual as ill, or vice versa. Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the performance of automatic volumetric micropipettes used in hospitals across three cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Bukavu, Kisangani, and Kinshasa. Methods Fifty micropipettes were collected from hospitals in these three major cities. All micropipettes were air-displacement type A, single-channel, with fixed and variable volumes. For each micropipette, 10 repeatable deliverable volumes were weighed. The mass of water obtained was converted to volume using the density of water at room temperature (approximately 1 g/mL at 20°C). Precision was evaluated using the coefficient of variation, while accuracy was determined by comparing the delivered volume to the nominal volume. The tolerances recommended by ISO 8655:2002 were applied in analyzing the results. Results The findings revealed that 12 out of 50 (24%) of the micropipettes analyzed were non-compliant. Non-compliance rates included 14% in Kinshasa and 10% in Bukavu, while all micropipettes from Kisangani were compliant. Conclusion This research highlights the importance of reinforcing staff skills regarding equipment performance verification. Ensuring the performance of micropipettes is crucial to the quality assurance systems in clinical biology laboratories, as it guarantees reliable medical diagnostic results and safeguards public health.
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spelling doaj-art-2f89d9c89f74418aaf1f9d5470cf742c2025-01-30T06:12:03ZengOrapuh, Inc.Orapuh Journal2644-37402025-01-016210.4314/orapj.v6i1.12The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and KisanganiJoenna Bapite Musongiela0Jocelyn Mankulu Kakumba1Emile Tweni Baruti2Timothé Mavanga Mabaya3Jacquie Bolavie Bolande4Sara Munguakonkwa Byamungu 5Jérémie Mbinze Kindenge6University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the CongoUniversity of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI, Democratic Republic of the CongoUniversity of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the CongoUniversity of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI, Democratic Republic of the CongoHealth Sciences Research Institute, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoOfficial University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the CongoUniversity of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI, Democratic Republic of the Congo Introduction Automatic micropipettes are widely used in clinical biology for quantitative analyses in medical diagnostics. However, in many hospitals in developing countries, this equipment is often not verified for accuracy in collecting biological sample volumes. This oversight can result in biased diagnoses with significant public health consequences, such as misdiagnosing a healthy individual as ill, or vice versa. Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the performance of automatic volumetric micropipettes used in hospitals across three cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Bukavu, Kisangani, and Kinshasa. Methods Fifty micropipettes were collected from hospitals in these three major cities. All micropipettes were air-displacement type A, single-channel, with fixed and variable volumes. For each micropipette, 10 repeatable deliverable volumes were weighed. The mass of water obtained was converted to volume using the density of water at room temperature (approximately 1 g/mL at 20°C). Precision was evaluated using the coefficient of variation, while accuracy was determined by comparing the delivered volume to the nominal volume. The tolerances recommended by ISO 8655:2002 were applied in analyzing the results. Results The findings revealed that 12 out of 50 (24%) of the micropipettes analyzed were non-compliant. Non-compliance rates included 14% in Kinshasa and 10% in Bukavu, while all micropipettes from Kisangani were compliant. Conclusion This research highlights the importance of reinforcing staff skills regarding equipment performance verification. Ensuring the performance of micropipettes is crucial to the quality assurance systems in clinical biology laboratories, as it guarantees reliable medical diagnostic results and safeguards public health. https://orapuh.org/ojs/ojs-3.1.2-4/index.php/orapj/article/view/337verification of performancePrecisionaccuracyautomatic volumetric pipettes
spellingShingle Joenna Bapite Musongiela
Jocelyn Mankulu Kakumba
Emile Tweni Baruti
Timothé Mavanga Mabaya
Jacquie Bolavie Bolande
Sara Munguakonkwa Byamungu
Jérémie Mbinze Kindenge
The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Kisangani
Orapuh Journal
verification of performance
Precision
accuracy
automatic volumetric pipettes
title The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Kisangani
title_full The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Kisangani
title_fullStr The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Kisangani
title_full_unstemmed The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Kisangani
title_short The Performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the DRC: Case of Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Kisangani
title_sort performance qualification of automatic volumetric pipettes used in university hospitals in the drc case of kinshasa bukavu and kisangani
topic verification of performance
Precision
accuracy
automatic volumetric pipettes
url https://orapuh.org/ojs/ojs-3.1.2-4/index.php/orapj/article/view/337
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