Nicastri 2009b.

Clinical features and settings	Presenting signs and symptoms: Fever over 38 °C for less than 10 days Previous treatment for malaria: Participants with previous antimalarial treatment (timescale not stated) were excluded Clinical setting: Outpatient clinics at two peripheral hospitals Country: Tanzania (Pemba Island and Iringa) Malaria endemicity: Not stated Malaria endemic species:P. falciparum
Participants	Sample size: 336 Age: Inclusion criteria: adults and children aged over 12 months Sex: Not reported, no mention of sex as inclusion or exclusion criteria Co‐morbidities and pregnancy: Excluded patients with signs of severe malaria, or with diagnoses of mental illness, measles, chickenpox, otitis, infected wounds or pneumonia Parasite density of microscopy positive cases: Not clear
Study design	Enrollment was prospective. The sampling method was not described. One RDT was tested.
Target condition and reference standard(s)	Target condition: Malaria parasitaemia Reference standard: PCR
Index and comparator tests	Commerical name of RDT: ParaHIT‐f (Span Diagnostics Ltd, Surat, India) 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: Laboratory technician RDT setting: Hospital laboratory
Follow‐up	Not applicable
Notes	Source of funding: Part of the activities carried out by the Programme Aid 8282 in Tanzania, funded by the Italian Cooperation and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy. The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene assisted with the publication expenses
Table of Methodological Quality
Item	Authors' judgement	Description
Representative spectrum? All tests	Unclear	All participants were attending an outpatient department with fever, but the sampling method was not described
Acceptable reference standard? All tests	Yes	Reference standard was PCR
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	There do not appear to be any uninterpretable results, as the number of participants recruited into the study is clearly presented and corresponds with the number presented in the analysis
Withdrawals explained? All tests	Yes	There do not appear to be any withdrawals, as the number of participants recruited into the study is clearly presented and corresponds with the number presented in the analysis