Establishing a Stand-Alone Laboratory Dedicated to the Care of Patients With Ebola Virus Disease.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the process for establishment of a stand-alone laboratory dedicated to testing for Ebola virus disease (EVD).


METHODS
We selected 2 neighboring rooms for the EVD unit: 1 for patient care and 1 for laboratory testing. A limited test menu was developed after consultation with the team of healthcare providers treating patients with EVD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations, and other sites with EVD expertise.


RESULTS
We selected several point-of-care (POC) devices and manual assays to provide necessary testing. Three new instruments were purchased to meet testing needs (Abaxis Piccolo Xpress, Sysmex pocH-100i, and Helena Cascade) and accuracy, precision and reportable range were verified and found to be consistent with the manufacturers' claims. Training was obtained for volunteering laboratory staff members before the initiation of laboratory operation, involving simulation of all procedures.


CONCLUSIONS
The establishment of a stand-alone unit and laboratory dedicated to the care of patients with EVD minimizes the risk of spreading EVD among hospital patients and employees. Risk assessment, instrument validation, and employee training are major components that contribute to the success of establishing this type of laboratory.
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Jing
J
Cao
University of Minnesota Medical Center-West Bank, Minneapolis, MN.
Christine
C
Senn
University of Minnesota Medical Center-West Bank, Minneapolis, MN.
Pedro
P
Castaneda
University of Minnesota Medical Center-West Bank, Minneapolis, MN.
Sheree
S
Humphries
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.|University of Minnesota Medical Center-West Bank, Minneapolis, MN.
Amy B
AB
Karger
D029043:Ebolavirus; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D000067716:Point-of-Care Testing
Ebola; POC device validation; containment lab; infectious disease; method comparison; stand-alone laboratory