title: [Diagnostic Usefulness of SD Malaria Antigen and Antibody Kits for Differential Diagnosis of vivax Malaria in Patients with Fever of Unknown Origin.].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Examination of peripheral blood smear (PBS) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of malaria; however, its diagnostic utility will be dependent on the examiner's microscopic experience, the quality of the smear, and the degree of parasitemia. Therefore, it is essential to have available a rapid and simple test that is as sensitive and specific as PBS, at a small-middle range medical center, a health care center, and a military hospital in a malaria endemic area.
  
  
  METHODS
  Malaria antigen and antibody tests were performed on 120 febrile patients who were requested for complete blood count (CBC) and PBS at two military hospitals from May 2004 to August 2005.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 45 patients who were diagnosed with malaria by examination of peripheral blood smears, 42 were positive on both malaria antigen and antibody tests, and 2 were positive on either antigen or antibody test. Only 1 patient was negative on the both test. Furthermore, all 75 patients with negative microscopic examinations also had negative malaria antigen and antibody tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study show that a rapid differential diagnosis of malaria can be made by performing malaria antigen and antibody tests on febrile patients at hospitals in malaria endemic areas. Moreover, the test is simple and convenient enough to be performed without any special equipment or experience.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seungnam, Korea. hhkim@pusan.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Tae Sung
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ji Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Cheol In
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Byung Ho
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Byung Ryul
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Sun Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chulhun L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Eun Yup
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Han Chul
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Hyung Hoi
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kim