Table 3. Parasitological outcome measures adopted and lab method used for measuring parasitaemia related endpoints.
| Number of studies (n = 85 studies) | |
|---|---|
| Parasitological measures adopted | |
| Negativisation | |
| Negativisation of culture | 1 (1.2%) |
| Negativisation using parasitology | 5 (5.9%) |
| Negativisation using PCR | 13 (15.3%) |
| Negativisation of serology | 20 (23.5%) |
| Combination of one or more of the above | 16 (18.8%) |
| Other measures | |
| Percentage of fluorescence positivity | 1 (1.2%) |
| Decrease in titres /drop in reactivity compared to baseline or earlier time point/seroconversion | 14 (16.5%) |
| Normalisation of hypercoagulability biomarkers | 1 (1.2%) |
| Change in parasitaemia (or immune) profile | 4 (4.7%) |
| Unclear | 10 (11.8%) |
| Lab method used for measuring parasitaemia related endpoints | |
| Serological | 14 (16.5%) |
| Molecular | 10 (11.8%) |
| Parasitological | 3 (3.5%) |
| Serological + molecular a | 27 (31.8%) |
| Serological + parasitological | 14 (16.5%) |
| Molecular + parasitological | 4 (4.7%) |
| Serological + molecular + parasitological | 10 (11.8%) |
| Serological + parasitological + microscopy | 1 (1.2%) |
| Parasitological + microscopy | 1 (1.2%) |
| Serological + molecular + parasitological + immunohistochemistry + microscopy | 1 (1.2%) |
a Molecular methods include polymerase chain reaction (PCR); Xenodiagnosis is considered as parasitological