Original article / research
Year : 2023 Month : October Volume : 12 Issue : 4 Page : PO39 - PO43 Full Version

Utility of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for the Diagnosis of Malaria in Children: A Cross-sectional Study
K Dhivya, M Manoj Kumar, J Ganesh
1. Postgraduate, Institute of Social Paediatrics, Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. 2. Senior Resident, Institute of Social Paediatrics, Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. 3. Professor, Institute of Social Paediatrics, Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
 
Correspondence Address :
K Dhivya, M Manoj Kumar, J Ganesh,
K Dhivya,
No. 4/82, Nathakadu, Sakkarampalayam, Tiruchengode TK, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India.
E-mail: dhivyak253@gmail.com
 
ABSTRACT
: Introduction: Malaria is one of the primary causes of paediatric deaths. Rapid and accurate diagnosis, followed by effective treatment, is the main strategy for malaria control. Microscopy has been the gold standard test for diagnosing malaria for over a century. It offers good sensitivity, identifies various species, and measures parasitaemia levels. However, microscopy is time-consuming, labour-intensive, and requires technical expertise. Therefore, there is a need for an easily performed test that is more sensitive and reliable, especially in resource-limited settings. Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) are a viable alternative due to their simplicity, ease of use, accuracy, and reproducibility.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare RDT with microscopy for diagnosing malaria in children.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Paediatric Ward of Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, from September 2020 to February 2021. The study included children under 12 years of age with acute febrile illness, hepatosplenomegaly/splenomegaly, or anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Thick and thin blood smears, as well as RDT, were performed using venous samples. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23.0. To determine significance in categorical data, the Chi-square test/Fisher's exact test was used. The efficacy was evaluated using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, which provided sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy.

Results: Among the 71 participants, 49 (69%) were males and 22 (31%) were females. Malaria presence, as determined by microscopy and RDT, was observed in 20 (28.2%) and 47 (66.2%) children, respectively, out of the total 71 enrolled in this study. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of RDT compared to microscopy were 100%, 48%, 44.7%, 100%, and 63.4%, respectively. The Area under the ROC (AUC) curve of RDT for diagnosing malaria was 0.740 (95% CI, 0.628 to 0.852; p-value=0.001). There was a statistically significant association between clinical response to antimalarials in microscopy-negative but RDT-positive subjects (p-value=0.0005).

Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that RDT could be used as an alternative to microscopy in the diagnosis of malaria.
Keywords : Microscopy, Rapid diagnostic test, Parasitemia, Protozoa
DOI and Others : DOI: 10.7860/NJLM/2023/56801.2776 Date of Submission: Jun 25, 2022 Date of Peer Review: Sep 08, 2022 Date of Acceptance: Jan 17, 2023 Date of Publishing: Oct 01, 2023 AUTHOR DECLARATION: • Financial or Other Competing Interests: None • Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes • Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes • For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHO
 
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