A simple and fast method to exclude high Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia in travellers with imported malaria

作者：van Gool Tom^*; van Wolfswinkel Marlies E; Koelewijn Rob; van Thiel Pieter P A M; Jacobs Jan; van Hellemond Jaap J; van Genderen Perry J J

来源：Malaria Journal, 2011, 10: 300.

DOI：10.1186/1475-2875-10-300

• malaria
• traveller
• imported disease
• aldolase
• severe malaria
• rapid diagnostic test

Background: Counts of malaria parasites in peripheral blood are important to assess severity of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Thin and thick smears are routinely used for this purpose.
Methods: In this study the Binax NOW (R) Malaria Test, an easy-to-perform rapid diagnostic test, with Histidine Rich Protein-2 (HRP-2) and aldolase as diagnostic markers, was used for semi-quantitative assessment of parasitaemia of P. faciparum.
Results: In 257 patients with imported P. falciparum malaria, reactivity of aldolase increased with higher parasitaemia. In all patients with a parasitaemia above 50,000 asexual parasites/mu l (> 1%) co-reactivity of HRP-2 and aldolase was observed. Absence of aldolase reactivity in the presence of HRP-2 was a reliable predictive marker to exclude high (> 1%) parasitaemia in P. falciparum malaria.
Conclusions: Assessment of HRP-2 and aldolase co-reactivity can be of help in clinical decision making in the acute care setting of returning travellers suspected of having malaria.

• 出版日期2011-10-14