You have no items in your shopping cart.
Abstract
Clinical misdiagnosis coupled with over prescription of anti-malarias are largely responsible for the emerging drug resistance in various malaria therapy. This study was carried out to determine the effectiveness of microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) in diagnosing malaria infection in patients at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo state Nigeria. Prior to the commencement of this research, approval was granted by the Research and Ethics Committee, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). A total of 500 blood samples were collected and screened for malaria parasites from Accident and Emergency unit, Antenatal clinic and Blood bank between December 2020 and May 2021. Thick and thin film blood smears were prepared and stained with field stain for microscopic examination, while rapid test was done using CareStart™ Malaria HRP-2 kits. It was observed that 29.0% (145) were positive for rapid test, 67.8% (339) were negative and 3.2% (16) were invalid. Thick film smears produced 32.4% positive results and 67.6% negative results while thin film produced 33.2% positivity and 66.8% negativity. Higher Sensitivity and specificity were observed in microcopy with values of 50.0% and 50.15% respectively as opposed to rapid test where 47.4% and 48.8% values were obtained for sensitivity and specificity. Rapid Diagnostic tests are fast, simple and efficient for malaria diagnosis where parasite density is high, while microscopic test though laborious, is still considered the gold standard as it helps in identifying the stage of the parasite for better prognosis in treatment of patients with malaria. The two methods each with characteristic strength and limitations together represent the best hope for accurate diagnosis as a component of successful malaria control.
