Table 3.
Performance of light microscopy and Optimal-IT in the discrimination of Plasmodium species.
| Plasmodium sp. | Diagnostic test | Sensitivity | Specificity | PPV | NPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (95% CI) | (95% CI) | (95% CI) | (95% CI) | ||
| P. vivax | Microscopy | 80% | 100% | 100% | 88.8% |
| (71.7-86.7) | (98.1-100) | (96.2-100) | (83.8-92.7) | ||
| Optimal-IT | 81.7% | 100% | 100% | 89.7% | |
| (73.6-88.1) | (98.1-100) | (96.3-100) | (84.8-93.4) | ||
| P. falciparum | Microscopy | 86.4% | 100% | 100% | 96.5% |
| (75.7-93.6) | (98.5-100) | (93.7-100) | (93.4-98.4) | ||
| Optimal-IT | 84.8% | 100% | 100% | 96.1% | |
| (73.9-92.5) | (98.5-100) | (93.6-100) | (92.9-98.1) | ||
The overall performance of Optimal-IT and light microscopy were compared to the nested PCR as the gold standard. No significant statistical difference was found between the tests for the diagnosis of both P. vivax and P. falciparum. CI, confidence interval; PPV, positive predictive value; NPV, negative predictive value.