Are malaria rapid diagnostic test results stable over time to support verification of surveillance data?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have improved malaria case management by enabling point-of-care confirmation of infection, particularly in low-resource settings. In addition to clinical use, RDT results recorded in health facility registers are a critical component of national malaria surveillance systems. Recently, national programmes have explored using stored RDT cassettes to validate register data. However, manufacturers caution that results should be read within 15-30 min, raising concerns about result validity after this period. This study evaluated the stability of RDT results over a one-month period to assess whether stored cassettes can reliably reflect initial test outcomes.

Methods

A prospective, observational study was conducted in 48 health facilities a

SUBMITTER: Ngufor C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12542119 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature