Comparative Assessment of Microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) As Malaria Diagnostic Tools in Kano, Northern Nigeria

The impact of malaria globally has motivated interest in developing prompt and accurate diagnostic strategies to provide an effective management of the disease. The aim of the study was to compare microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) as tools for diagnosis of malaria. A cross sectional study was conducted on 235 febrile patients, who were directed to Parasitology laboratory of Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital Kano State for blood screening for malaria parasites from February to July, 2017. A total of 235 samples of blood were collected from consented respondents and screened for malaria parasites microscopically using Blood film examination and by using Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) for detection of malaria parasites in the blood samples. A simple structured questionnaire was used to get demographics of the respondents. Of the 235 patients involved in the study, 158 (67.2%) tested positive for Plasmodium falciparum by RDT, whereas 173 (73.6%) tested positive by microscopy. There is no significant difference in the infection rates between microcopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). From the result, the specificity, sensitivity and negative predictive values of Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) were low when compared to microscopy while the positive predictive value was high. The microscopy test methods showed superior sensitivity compared to Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). However, Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) could be useful for quick intervention in order to eliminate dangers associated with delayed malaria diagnosis.