Rapid Diagnostic Tests Correlates With Microscopy But Not C-Reactive Protein Among Hiv Positive Rural Population With Malaria In Central Uganda (Research Note)

Objectives: To assess the correlation between three diagnostic methods in tropical malaria: Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT); Microscopy; and C-reactive Protein (CRP) in clinically suspected cases of malaria in HIV positive rural Ugandan population.Patients and methods: Among 625 cases of clinically suspected malaria, 292 had provided all three types of tests RDT, CRP, plus routine microscopy (RM). Correlation between RTD and RM and CRP and fever was tested with t-test in a HIV positive population in the North Victoria Lake region which is highly endemic for tropical malaria.Results: Of 74 documented cases, both clinically and in laboratory (19% of all cases tested by three types of test), 67 had laboratory confirmed malaria (both RTD and microscopy positive). There is a strong correlation between RTD and microscopy (100% sensitivity and 97% specificity) but not with CRP, when only 47.5% of CRP positive cases had RTD and microscopically positive malaria.