Diagnosis of malaria among children in Sokoto: A comparison of microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Tests

Abstract

Malaria is a life-threatening disease primarily found in tropical countries, and it is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children. Diagnosis of malaria depends largely on clinical presentations and laboratory diagnosis. Microscopy is the gold standard for laboratory malaria diagnosis but requires adequate training and time compared to Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs). The study compared the utility, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values between microscopy and RDTs in diagnosing malaria among children accessing care in Specialist Hospital Sokoto. A total of 367 blood samples of consented children who met the study inclusion criteria were examined. All samples were screened for malaria using RDT thin and thick blood films. Of the 367 samples assessed, RDT was positive for 202 (55.0%) and negative for 165 (45.0%), while microscopy was positive for 235 (64.1%) and negative for 132 (35.9%), a non-statistically significant (χ 2 = 0.090, P = 0.922) difference was observed when both positive tests were compared. The Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) showed a sensitivity of 85.95% and a specificity of 83.33%. This study confirms the higher positivity rate of microscopy to RDTs in diagnosing malaria. As such, RDTs are useful for rapid malaria diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings; microscopy should be encouraged as much as possible for children to avoid missing any positive cases.