Abstract
Objective To assess the accuracy of Paracheck Pf® in reference to the conventional light microscopy. Methods A total of 400 patients visiting Awash, Methara and Ziway malaria centers were simultaneously screened with both light microscopy and Paracheck Pf® for the presence of Plasmodium falciparum ( P. falciparum) malaria. Results Of the 190 samples that were negative by light microscope, the Paracheck Pf® showed 11 false positive and 179 true negative results, and from a total of 210 samples positive by light microscope, Paracheck Pf® accurately diagnosed 200 true malaria cases. Taking the light microscopy as a standard test for malaria, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of Paracheck Pf® is 95.2% [cofidence interval (CI)=92.4–97.1], 94.2% (CI=91.1–96.3), 94.8% (CI=92.0–96.7) and 94.7% (CI=91.6–96.8), respectively. Conclusions Paracheck Pf® showed good sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of P. falciparum malaria, and fulfill the world health organization (WHO) recommendation that requires the sensitivity of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to be greater than 95%. Therefore, Paracheck Pf® can be used as an alternative to the Giemsa stain light microscopy in resource poor set ups.
Published Version
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