Bedside Expedited Testing for Anemia in Tanzania: the BETA Study

Background: Anemia causes significant morbidity and mortality in low-resource settings and is a common problem in sickle cell disease (SCD). Timely, accurate diagnosis of anemia enables appropriate triage and treatment. In the Bedside Expedited Testing for Anemia and Sickle Cell Disease (BETA) study, we aimed to evaluate the accuracy of two simple point-of-care diagnostic devices in the hands of the intended end-users: one for anemia and one for SCD. Here we present the results of the Anemocheck-LRS assay, a simple, inexpensive, color-based test that quickly quantifies hemoglobin concentration to diagnose anemia. Methods: BETA was performed at …