Evaluation of paracheck Pf: An immunochromatographic test in the diagnosis of falciparum malaria

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the sensitivity of Paracheck Pf test in the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria. Paracheck Pf test is a rapid immunochromatographic dipstick test that detects Pf specific histidine rich protein - II (PfHRP-II) in whole blood. Methods: One hundred patients who presented at the Ebonyi State Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State with clinical symptoms indicative of malaria and test positive in the Giemsa thick stain test were also tested with the Paracheck Pf dipstick test. The parasite load was also quantified. Results: Our study revealed a sensitivity of 94%. A higher sensitivity was observed in those patients who presented with a high parasite load (98.8%). The sensitivity was lower (66.6%) when the parasite load was low. Conclusions: The Paracheck Pf Test is simple to perform. It is objective, rapid and easy to interpret. It consequently could be of tremendous usefulness in the rural areas where specially trained health providers are not available and also in the urban areas where malaria is a common scourge in areas of high endemicity.

Keywords

• plasmodium falciparum
• sensitivity
• paracheck-pf