Ann Clin Med Res | Volume 1, Issue 3 | Research Article | Open Access
Alshamrani HA1 , Abdel-Wahab MM2,3, Althobaiti Naif Saad M4 , Alfahmy Sharifah Atiah R5 , Ismail KA6,7*, Khalifa AM8 and Khalifa OM9
1 Chief of Laboratory & Blood Bank at King Faisal Medical Complex, Taif, KSA 2 Department of Parasitology, Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Giza, Egypt 3 Department of Medical Parasitology, at King Faisal Medical Complex, Taif, KSA 4 Laboratory Chief of Technicians at King Faisal Medical Complex, Taif, KSA 5 Supervisor of TB Unit at King Faisal Medical Complex, Taif, KSA 6 Department of Applied Medical Science, Taif University, KSA 7 Department of Medical Parasitology, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 8 Department of Forensic and Toxicology, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 9 Department of Medicine, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
*Correspondance to: Khadiga Ahmed Ismail
Fulltext PDFAbstract Saudi Arabia is considered as hypoendemic area for malaria thus its diagnosis is a challenge to many laboratories. For management and control of malaria, prompt and effective diagnostic methods are essential. Traditional methods of malaria diagnosis remain problematic as a result of the little expertise available. Therefore, to get over the limitations, new technologies have been developed and used. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs), CareStart™ and Optimal Malaria tests with the microscopic examination as the gold standard for diagnosis. Between January 2019 to February 2020, blood samples were collected from 360 patients, attending the internal medicine department at King Faisal Medical Complex at Taif, Saudi Arabia. Microscopy, CareStart™ and Optimal Malaria tests were done, and the accuracy was evaluated. In this study, 39 (10.6%) malaria positive slides were diagnosed, while 37 (10.2%) positive samples were detected with CareStart™ and Optimal Malaria tests. CareStart™ Malaria Test and Optimal Test gave (94.8%) sensitivity, (98.4%) specificity, (88.09%) positive predictive value, (99.3%) negative predictive value, and (98.6%) diagnostic accuracy. CareStart™ Malaria Test is considered one of the options in health areas especially those with limited laboratory functions despite their diagnostic accuracy problems. However, this study showed that the specify of CareStart™ Malaria Test is not always satisfactory when performed in clinical laboratories and so must be confirmed with other tests. Infections were significantly more in males than in females, (P<0.01). Malaria was primarily attributed to Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) mono-infections, followed by P. vivax monoinfections, and lastly to mixed infections accounting for 24 (61.5%), 12 (30.7%) and 2 (5%) of microscopy confirmed malaria cases. 95% was the overall percent agreement between microscopy and the RDTs.
Alshamrani HA, Abdel-Wahab MM, Althobaiti Naif Saad M, Alfahmy Sharifah Atiah R, Ismail KA, Khalifa AM, et al. Validation of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTS) vs. Microscopy. Ann Clin Med Res. 2020; 1(3): 1012..