Accuracy of the rapid diagnostic test for malaria among pregnant women in the Kitutu Health Zone in eastern RD Congo.

Abstract

Malaria during pregnancy is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among women and their children. However, its clinical diagnosis still presents problems. The aim of this study was to study the accuracy of the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for malaria during pregnancy, compared with thick blood smears. 349 pregnant women seeking prenatal care in the Kitutu Health Zone were examined by the RDT and by microscopy in May and June 2015, with microscopy the reference test. Its sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, accuracy, and Youden J statistic were calculated. The prevalence of malaria among pregnant women was 33.5% by the thick smear and 35.0% by the RDT. The performance of the RDT for the diagnosis of malaria was excellent, with a sensitivity of 97.4%, specificity of 96.5%, and a Youden J statistic of 0.94). The RDT is invaluable in the early diagnosis of malaria during quality prenatal care to combat malaria effectively in pregnant women in a rural setting.