WIDAL TEST: THE LABORATORIAN’S ALBATROSS

By

Nkereuwem Akpan Etok

LifeLink Specialist Laboratories, Uyo 

Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Aniekan Okure

Akwa Ibom State University Health Centre

Ikot Akpaden, Nigeria

&

Ubong Nyoho Essong

LifeLink Specialist Laboratories, Uyo

Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

Widal Test: The Laboratorian’s Albatross is a research that was conducted at Lifelink Specialist Laboratories, Uyo, Nigeria. The dataset consists of 520 respondents who were randomly selected from patients who visited the facility for Laboratory diagnosis over a period of six months. Nine categories of questions were deployed with a total of 24 varieties of questions under them. The results from the study suggest that Medical Doctors’ attitudes and referrals may influence the public’s perception of Widal test.63.5% of the respondents were self referred; for reason of ill health (90%). Most of them(92.3%) had already taken treatment for typhoid with no improvement in the symptoms (82.1%).The Chi square test results indicate statistical significance (p<0.05). There is a higher likelihood of choosing the test to confirm typhoid diagnosis without proper guidance by professionals.