Accuracy of routine laboratory diagnosis of malaria in the United Kingdom.
Open accessAbstract
AIMS--To study the accuracy of routine laboratory diagnosis of malaria with the aim of improving accuracy in diagnosis in the future. METHODS--A comparative study was made of all blood films submitted to two laboratories in London providing a slide-diagnostic service for malaria. RESULTS--There were 17 Plasmodium ovale infections, and of these only five (29.4%) were correctly diagnosed by the submitting laboratory; whereas of 210 other single species infections, 162 (77.1%) were correctly diagnosed (chi 2 = 18.4, p < 0.0001). There were six patients with mixed infections; only one (16.7%) was correctly diagnosed, whereas of 227 single species infections, 167 (73.6%) were correctly diagnosed (p = 0.007, using Fisher's exact test). There was no significant association between the presence of technical faults or numerous platelets and incorrect diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS--Plasmodium ovale and mixed infections were diagnosed incorrectly significantly more often than other species. The presence of technical faults or numerous platelets had no significant effect on whether or not submitting laboratories correctly diagnosed malaria.
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The current standard for diagnosis is the microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood smears.
“The current standard for diagnosis is the microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood smears (12, 16, 21, 22, 28).”
From Real-Time PCR for Detection and Identification of <i>Plasmodium</i> spp (2005) · cites this paper as [21]
The paper’s introductory passage (indexed under Abstract; page not provided) says malaria diagnosis is based on examining thick and thin blood films, and the Results describe microscopic examination of stained films. Our copy does not identify the stain as Giemsa, so that specific part of the claim is not supported. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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References 10 · Cited by 228
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Anonymous. The global problem of malaria. Communicable Diseases Report. 1992;2:227.
- Fleck SL, Moody AH. Diagnostic techniques in medical para- sitology. 1st edn. Cambridge: Wright, 1988:53-60.
- Hawthorne M, Chiodini PL, Snell JJS, Moody AH, Ramsay A. Parasitology: United Kingdom National Quality Assessment Scheme. Jf Clin Pathol 1992;45: 968-74.
- Bradley DJ, Warhurst DC, Blaze M, Smith V. Malaria imported into the United Kingdom 1989 and 1990. Communicable Diseases Report 1991;1:45-8.
- Authors
- Milne, L. M., Kyi, M. S., Chiodini, P. L., & Warhurst, D. C.
- Affiliations
- Hospital for Tropical Diseases (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Pathology
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 1994-08
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 740-742
- ISSN
- 0021-9746 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-4146
- PMC
- PMC502149
- OpenAlex
- W2003741250
- Cited by
- 228
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 2.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Pathology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Malaria Research and Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Hematological disorders and diagnostics
- Keywords
- malaria diagnosis, diagnostic accuracy, Plasmodium ovale, mixed malaria infection, blood film microscopy, laboratory errors, platelet count, United Kingdom
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Diagnostic Errors, United Kingdom, Humans, Laboratories, Malaria, Plasmodium malariae, Malaria, Falciparum, Malaria, Vivax
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