title: Diagnostic performance characteristics of rapid dipstick test for Plasmodium vivax malaria.
abstract: We compared the diagnostic performance characteristics of newly developed method, the rapid dipstick test, which provides colorimetric determination by developing antibody to the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme of parasites, with conventional standard thick-blood film examination. For the rapid test, OptiMAL commercial kits were used. The results were also evaluated with clinical findings from patients. The parasites were determined by microscopic examination of thick-blood films from 81 patients with vivax malaria from southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. The OptiMAL test results were found to be negative in five patients who were diagnosed clinically and through thick-film testing as having vivax malaria. There was no false positivity observed with the OptiMAL test. We concluded that this rapid malaria test has a lower level of sensitivity than the classical thick-blood-film test for malaria, but that these methods have equal specificity.
authors.affiliation: Research Hospital, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Medical Faculty, Mersin University, 33070 Zeytinlibahce, Mersin, Turkey. gaslantr@yahoo.com
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aslan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ulukanligil
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seyrek
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Erel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase