Fazal Rahim, Aminul Haq, Shiraz Jamal.
Comparison of Amrad ICT Test with Microscopic Examination for rapid diagnosis of Malaria.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;12(9):530-3.

Objective: To assess the sensitivity and specificity of an alternate and easy technique to diagnose malaria. Design: A prospective study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of pathology, DHQ Hospital, Timergara District, Dir, North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, from 19th September to 5th October 2000. Subjects and Methods: Smear positive 50 patients (27 males and 23 females, age ranging 2 years to 70 years) were included. Thick and thin smears were stained with Giemsa`s stain and examined by the principal author. The ICT malaria test was performed according to the instruction sheet of the manufacturer. Results: On microscopy there were 29 cases of Plasmodium falciparum (P.f) and 21 of Plasmodium vivax (P.v). On ICT malaria P.f/P.v, there were 29 samples positive for P. falciparum and 17 for P. vivax. These results demonstrated that the ICT malaria P.f/P.v test had sensitivity of 100% for P. falciparum and 81% for P. vivax and specificity of 100% for both, when compared to traditional blood films for the detection of P. vivax and P. falciparum malaria. Conclusion: The ICT malaria P.f/P.v test is an effective tool for the rapid diagnosis of malaria and may be used as a first line diagnostic tool.

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