NEW YORK – The American Association for Clinical Chemistry announced Wednesday it will collaborate with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the CDC Foundation to expand access to lipid testing in resource-limited countries.
Under the partnership, AACC and CDC will provide new state of the art point-of-care lipid testing devices to remote sites globally and then will train local personnel on the use of the machines. The organizations will work with national clinical chemistry societies in the area to place the instruments and train users.
Testing for lipids, including cholesterol, can be used to determine a patient's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death around the world. Lipid testing enables clinicians to detect disease early and provide timely treatment. The quality of laboratory testing and equipment depends significantly on location in countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific, with some areas having well-equipped labs and others without easy access to any testing.