Kar 1998.

Clinical features and settings	Presenting signs and symptoms: People attending a malaria clinic Previous treatment for malaria: No exclusion criteria based on prior antimalarial drug use; this information was recorded for each participants, but no data is presented Clinical setting: Malaria Clinic at a Malaria Research Centre Country: India (Chennai, Tamil Nadu) Malaria endemicity: Perennial Malaria endemic species:P. falciparum and P. vivax
Participants	Sample size: 93 Age: Not mentioned either as an inclusion criteria or characteristic of participants Sex: Not mentioned either as an inclusion criteria or characteristic of participants Co‐morbidities and pregnancy: No information presented on co‐morbidities or pregnancy Parasite density of microscopy positive cases: Less than 100 parasites per μl in 3 cases; between 100 and 1000 in 8 cases, over 1000 in 34 cases
Study design	Enrolment was prospective. The sampling method was not described. One RDT was tested.
Target condition and reference standard(s)	Target condition: Malaria parasitaemia Reference standard: Microscopy thick blood films Person(s) performing microscopy: Not stated Microscopy setting: Malaria clinic at malaria research centre Number of high power fields examined before declaring negative: Not stated Number of observer or repeats: Not stated Resolution of discrepancies between observers: Not applicable
Index and comparator tests	Commerical name of RDTs: ParaSight‐F (Beckton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) Parasite(s) designed to detect:P. falciparum Designated Type: Type 1 Batch numbers: Not stated Transport and storage conditions: Not described Person(s) performing RDT: Not stated RDT setting: Malaria clinic at malaria research centre
Follow‐up	Not applicable
Notes	Source of funding: Not stated
Table of Methodological Quality
Item	Authors' judgement	Description
Representative spectrum? All tests	Unclear	All participants were attending a malaria clinic, but their symptoms were not described and the sampling method was not described
Acceptable reference standard? All tests	Unclear	Study report did not state who performed the microscopy, how many observers or repeats were used, or how many high power fields were viewed before declaring a slide negative
Partial verification avoided? All tests	Yes	All participants who received the index test also received the reference test
Differential verification avoided? All tests	Yes	The same reference test was used regardless of the index test results
Incorporation avoided? All tests	Yes	The index test does not form part of the reference standard
Reference standard results blinded? All tests	Unclear	Blinding not described
Index test results blinded? All tests	Unclear	Blinding not described
Uninterpretable results reported? All tests	Unclear	The numbers of participants originally enrolled in the study was not clearly stated, therefore it is unclear whether there were any exclusions due to invalid test results
Withdrawals explained? All tests	Unclear	The numbers of participants originally enrolled in the study was not clearly stated, therefore it is unclear whether there were any withdrawals