الفهرس 
Malaria InfectionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 136 |  |  |
| | | from | 136 | | |
Abstract
Background: Malaria is a severe, sometimes fatal disease, so management is an emergency. Moreover, delay in treatment could increase morbidity and mortality. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends confirmation of the diagnosis by laboratory test before initiation of therapy. Smear microscopy and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are two methods approved by WHO for diagnosing malaria, but they are time-consuming, operator dependent, and require laboratory staff training. The WHO has recommended the Blood-based Rapid Diagnostic Test as an acceptable method for diagnosing malaria; it provides rapid results. It can be performed with limited resources and without much training, but it remains an invasive procedure with needs for blood collection, which may be followed by infection. Material and Method: A total of 414 febrile cases admitted to Khartoum North General Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan during January 2021 - June 2021 with clinical suspicion of malaria were examined for the presence of asexual forms of Plasmodium falciparum in peripheral blood smears. Blood smear microscopy-positive patients who matched the acceptance criteria were included, while negative patients were selected as control cases. Blood and urine samples were examined with the same commercially available RDT kits designed for blood. Results: Fifty-eight (58) blood smear-positive cases and 50 febrile blood smear-negative cases were enrolled in the study. The sensitivity and specificity of urine-based RDT were 82.76% and 92.00%, respectively, while blood-based RDT was 96.55% and 96.00%. Conclusion: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of urine-based RDT through comparison with blood-based RDT and the use of blood smear microscopy as the reference method. Although the results showed acceptable performance of both tests, more extensive sample size studies including all excluded subjects should be conducted to consider urine samples as an alternative sample for diagnosing P. falciparum malaria.