Table 2.
Sensitivity and specificity of malaria diagnostic methods.
| Diagnostic methods | Sensitivity | Specificity | Specifications | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microscopy | 75.20% | 97.12% | Comparative study.Thick blood films are 20–40 times more sensitive than thin blood films. Parasite density interferes with the final result and is crucial to obtain a reliable conclusion. | Bejon et al. (2006), Wangai et al. (2011), Feleke et al. (2021) |
| QBC | 55.9% | 88.8% | Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. | Adeoye and Nga (2007) |
| 70.5% | 92.1% | University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. | Ifeorah et al. (2017) | |
| RDTs | 84.2% | 99.8% | BinaxNOW test. | DiMaio et al. (2012) |
| 63.4–100% | 53.4–99.9% | Mixed brands (Comparative study). | Boyce and O’Meara (2017) | |
| 84.2% | 95.2% | University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria / pLDH RDT Optimal. | Ifeorah et al. (2017) | |
| 37–88% (37 and 51% in asympt.) | 93–100% (28% in one outlier) | Mixed brands (Comparative study). | Feleke et al. (2021) | |
| LAMP | 100% | 86–99% | LAMP compared with PCR. | Feleke et al. (2021), Puri et al. (2022) |
| 95–98% | 91–99% | LAMP compared with PCR. | Morris and Aydin-Schmidt (2021) | |
| PCR | Considered 100% | Considered 100% | Used as a reference to be compared with other techniques. | Feleke et al. (2021), Mwenda et al. (2021) |
QBC: Quantitative Buffy Coat, RDTs: Rapid Diagnostic Tests, pLDH: Plasmodium lactose dehydrogenase, LAMP: Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification, PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction, asympt: Asymptomatic.