Table 3. Performance of rapid diagnostic testing and microscopic examination in establishing malaria diagnosis in 453 febrile patients, using PCR as reference standard, Atar, northern Mauritania, 2015–2016*.
| Performance | % (95% CI)† |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid diagnostic test |
Microscopic examination |
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| Pv | Pf | Pv–Pf | Pv | Pf | Pv–Pf | ||
| Sensitivity | 63.3 (55.3–70.8) | 28.6 (15.7–44.6) | 66.0 (58.2–73.3) | 82.9 (76.1–88.4) | 4.8 (0.6–16.2) | 91.4 (85.9–95.2) | |
| Specificity | 99.3 (97.6–99.9) | 99.0 (97.5–99.7) | 99.7 (98.1–99.9) | 96.9 (94.3–98.6) | 99.5 (98.3–99.9) | 97.9 (95.6–99.2) | |
| PPV | 98.0 (92.6–99.5) | 75.0 (50.3–89.9) | 99.1 (93.8–99.9) | 93.6 (88.4–96.5) | 50.0 (12.6–87.4) | 96.1 (91.8–98.2) | |
| NPV | 83.5 (80.4–86.1) | 93.1 (91.8–94.3) | 84.1 (81.0–86.7) | 91.4 (88.2–93.7) | 91.1 (90.5–91.6) | 95.3 (92.5–97.1) | |
| Accuracy | 86.8 (83.3–89.7) | 92.5 (89.7–94.7) | 87.6 (84.2–90.5) | 92.1 (89.2–94.4) | 90.7 (87.7–93.2) | 95.6 (93.3–97.3) | |
*NPV, negative predictive value; Pf, pure P. falciparum plus mixed P. falciparum–P. vivax; PPV, positive predictive value; Pv, pure P. vivax plus mixed P. falciparum–P. vivax; Pv–Pf, pure P. vivax plus pure P. falciparum plus mixed P. falciparum–P. vivax. †Percentages of PCR-positive patients (i.e., the percentage of positives for different Plasmodium spp. among included patients [n = 435]), were as follows: 34.9% (95% CI 30.5%–39.5%) for pure P. vivax; 9.3% (95% CI 6.8%–12.3%) for pure P. falciparum; and 35.8% (95% CI 31.3%–40.4%) for P. vivax–P. falciparum mixed infections. PCR showed that none of the samples had P. ovale or P. malariae.