Comparison of the Accuracy and Efficacy of First Response and Standard Diagnostics for the Rapid Diagnosis of Plasmodum falciparum in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out to compare two rapid diagnostic test kits (Standard Diagnostics (SD) and First Response) which are often used locally for the diagnosis of P. falciparum. 300 patients participated in the study out of which 162(54%) were females and 138(46%) were males.109 samples (36.3%) of the total samples were positive for P. falciparum and 191(63%) negative with microscopy .67 samples (22.3%) were positive and 233(77.7%) negative with SD while 63(21%) and 237(79%) were negative with First Response.   The study shows that the sensitivity of SD is 61.5% with specificity of 100% while First Response has 57.8% sensitivity and 100% specificity when compared with thick blood film Microscopy performed by an expert microscopist. Both sensitivity and positive predictive value of SD prove it to be better than first Response. Parasite density as low as 40/µl was detected by Microscopy. Hence Standard Diagnostics (SD) is better than First Response RDT in the rapid diagnosis of P. falciparum though microscopy still remain the gold standard.