April 20, 2020—MedTest Dx announced the availability of its Pointe Scientific–branded assay for the highly sensitive quantification of G6PD in whole blood.
Understanding the G6PD status of COVID-19 patients is essential to prevent severe adverse reactions to chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, two antimalarial drugs that are being investigated for use as treatment for the novel coronavirus. G6PD deficiency is the most common enzymatic blood disorder, affecting about 400 million people worldwide. Most patients with this disorder do not know they have it, which makes testing prior to administration critical, the company said in a press statement.
“Unless the patient has a medical episode that uncovers it, most people are unaware that they have the G6PD deficiency,” Keely E Harris, president of the g6pd Deficiency Foundation, said in the release. “Physicians having the knowledge of a patient’s G6PD status provides them a complete picture as they choose and monitor therapies.”
MedTest Dx’s G6PD assay is designed to run concurrently with standard diagnostic tests, such as hemoglobin determination, on a range of analyzers. On-board lysis provides results in minutes.