Informed decision-making before changing to RDT: a comparison of microscopy, rapid diagnostic test and molecular techniques for the diagnosis and identification of malaria parasites in Kassala, eastern Sudan
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are promoted for the diagnosis of malaria in many countries. The question arises whether laboratories where the current method of diagnosis is microscopy should also switch to RDT. This problem was studied in Kassala, Sudan where the issue of switching to RDT is under discussion. METHODS: Two hundred and three blood samples were collected from febrile patients suspected of having malaria. These were subsequently analysed with microscopy, RDT (SD Bioline P.f/P.v) and PCR for the detection and identification of Plasmodium parasites. RESULTS: Malaria parasites were detected in 36 blood samples when examined microscopically, 54 (26.6%) samples were found positive for malaria parasites by RDT, and 44 samples were positive by PCR. Further analysis showed that the RDT used in our study resulted in a relatively high number of false positive samples. When microscopy was compared with PCR, an agreement of 96.1% and k = 0.88 (sensitivity 85.7% and specificity 100%) was found. However, when RDT was compared with PCR, an agreement of only 81.2 and k = 0.48 (sensitivity 69% and specificity 84%) was found. CONCLUSION: PCR has proven to be one of the most specific and sensitive diagnostic methods, particularly for malaria cases with low parasitaemia. However, this technique has limitations in its routine use under resource-limited conditions, such as our study location. At present, based on these results, microscopy remains the best option for routine diagnosis of malaria in Kassala, eastern Sudan.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The same brand of RDT kit (SD Bioline P.f / P.v) compared with PCR in eastern Sudan among febrile non-pregnant patients had a sensitivity of 69% and specificity of 84%.
“The performance of the same brand of kit (SD Bioline P.f / P.v) was recently compared with PCR in eastern Sudan among febrile non-pregnant patients where it was found to have a sensitivity of 69% and specificity of 84% [28].”
From Reliability of rapid diagnostic test for diagnosing peripheral and placental malaria in an area of unstable malaria transmission in Eastern Sudan (2013) · cites this paper as [28]
Cites
Practical Statistics for Medical Research.
Walter, S., & Altman, D. G. (1992) · Biometrics · doi:10.2307/2532320 · Cited by 11,665 · see citing works
Practical Statistics for Medical Research
Altman, D. G. (1990) · doi:10.1201/9780429258589 · Cited by 10,668 · see citing works
Rapid and simple method for purification of nucleic acids
Boom, R., Sol, C. J. A., Salimans, M. M. M., Jansen, C. L., Dillen, P. M. E. W., & van der Noordaa, J. (1990) · Journal of Clinical Microbiology · doi:10.1128/jcm.28.3.495-503.1990 · Cited by 5,273 · see citing works
Practical Statistics for Medical Research.
Bartko, J. J., & Altman, D. G. (1992) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2290246 · Cited by 4,834 · see citing works
A Review of Malaria Diagnostic Tools: Microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT)
Wongsrichanalai, C., Barcus, M. J., Muth, S., Sutamihardja, A., & Wernsdorfer, W. H. (2007) · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2007.77.119 · Cited by 940 · see citing works
Snounou, G., Viriyakosol, S., Jarra, W., Thaithong, S., & Brown, K. N. (1993) · Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology · doi:10.1016/0166-6851(93)90050-8 · Cited by 906 · see citing works
Malaria Diagnosis: A Brief Review
Tangpukdee, N., Duangdee, C., Wilairatana, P., & Krudsood, S. (2009) · Korean Journal of Parasitology · doi:10.3347/kjp.2009.47.2.93 · Cited by 586 · see citing works
Barker, R. H., Banchongaksorn, T., Courval, J. M., Suwonkerd, W., Rimwungtragoon, K., & Wirth, D. F. (1992) · The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1992.46.416 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Brown, A. E., Kain, K. C., Pipithkul, J., & Webster, H. K. (1992) · Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.1016/0035-9203(92)90147-5 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Tham, J. M., Lee, S. H., Tan, T. M. C., Ting, R. C. Y., & Kara, U. A. K. (1999) · Journal of Clinical Microbiology · doi:10.1128/jcm.37.5.1269-1273.1999 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Mens, P., Spieker, N., Omar, S., Heijnen, M., Schallig, H., & Kager, P. A. (2007) · Tropical Medicine & International Health · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3156.2006.01779.x · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Self-citationTropical Medicine AND Hygiene.
Daniels, C. W., ALCOCK, A., & Wilkinson, E. (1914) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1914.02570140079042 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Reducing the burden of childhood malaria in Africa: the role of improved
Rafael, M. E., Taylor, T. E., Magill, A. J., Lim, Y.-W., Girosi, F., & Allan, R. J. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature05445 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Lubell, Y., Reyburn, H., Mbakilwa, H., Mwangi, R., Chonya, K., Whitty, C. W. M., & MILLS, A. J. (2007) · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2007.77.128 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Satoguina, J., Walther, B., DRAKELEY, C. J., Nwakanma, D. C., Oriero, E. C., Correa, S., Corran, P. H., Conway, D. J., & Walther, M. R. (2009) · Malaria Journal · doi:10.1186/1475-2875-8-274 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Reducing the Burden of Childhood Malaria in Africa: The Role of Improved Diagnostics
Rafael, M. E., Taylor, T. E., Magill, A. J., et al. (2006) · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Elamin, S. B., Malik, E. M., Abdelgadir, T., et al. (2005) · Malaria Journal · doi:10.1186/1475-2875-4-41 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Gillet, P., van Dijk, D. P. J., Bottieau, E., Cnops, L., Esbroeck, M. V., & Jacobs, J. A. (2009) · Malaria Journal · doi:10.1186/1475-2875-8-262 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Kuhn, W. “., Armstrong, D., Atteberry, S., et al. (2010) · The Open Microbiology Journal · doi:10.2174/1874285801004010030 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Jeremiah, Z. A., Uko, E. K., Buseri, F. I., et al. (2007) · Research Journal of Parasitology · doi:10.3923/jp.2007.39.44 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Salah, M. T., Faroug, M. A., Magzoub, M. M. A., et al. (2007) · Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research · doi:10.4314/tjpr.v5i1.14632 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Elhassan, E. M., Haggaz, A. E. D., Magzoub, M. M., & Adam, I. (2010) · Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine · doi:10.1016/s1995-7645(10)60095-8 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Nour, B. Y. M., Schallig, H. D. F. H., Mens, P. F., et al. (2009) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Mayor, A., Moro, L., Aguilar, R., Bardají, A., Cisteró, P., Serra-Casas, E., Sigaúque, B., Alonso, P. L., Ordi, J., & Menéndez, C. (2012) · Clinical Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1093/cid/cis236 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Kashif, A. H., Adam, G. K., Mohmmed, A. A., Elzaki, S. E., AbdelHalim, A. M., & Adam, I. (2013) · Diagnostic Pathology · doi:10.1186/1746-1596-8-59 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- Osman, M. M. M., Nour, B. Y. M., Sedig, M. F., De Bes, L., Babikir, A. M., Mohamedani, A. A., & Mens, P. F.
- Affiliations
- Kassala University (SD)
- University of Gezira (SD)
- Venue
- Tropical Medicine & International Health
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-10-25
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1442-1448
- ISSN
- 1360-2276 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1639668868
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 3.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Tropical Medicine & International Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Fakultet Medicinskih Nauka, Univerziteta U Kragujevcu
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Malaria Research and Control
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Biosensors and Analytical Detection
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality Control
- Keywords
- malaria diagnosis, rapid diagnostic tests, microscopy, PCR, Plasmodium species identification, diagnostic accuracy, false positives, low parasitaemia, resource-limited settings, Kassala
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Aged, Child, Decision Making, Developing Countries, Female, Humans, Malaria, Male, Microscopy, Reagent Kits, Diagnostic, Sudan, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Malaria, Falciparum, Malaria, Vivax, Parasitemia
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
