ArticleMalaria journal2017
Self-diagnosis of malaria by travellers: a cohort study on the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests provided by a Swiss travel clinic.
Article in Malaria journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- How can interventions that target forest-goers be tailored to accelerate malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion? A systematic review of the qualitative literature.Malaria journal · 2019Pooled it
- The Laboratory Diagnosis of Malaria: A Focus on the Diagnostic Assays in Non-Endemic Areas.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Self-care interventions for preconception, antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Malaria Diagnosis in Non-Endemic Settings: The European Experience in the Last 22 Years.Microorganisms · 2021Review
- Setting-up a cross-border action-research project to control malaria in remote areas of the Amazon: describing the birth and milestones of a complex international project (Malakit).Malaria journal · 2021Article
- Forest work and its implications for malaria elimination: a qualitative study.Malaria journal · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe WHO recommends that all suspect malaria cases be tested before receiving treatment. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for malaria can be performed reliably by community health workers with no formal medical background and thus, RDTs could also be provided to travellers for self-diagnosis during visits to endemic regions.
methodsRDTs were proposed during pre-travel consultations to pre-defined categories of travellers. A training run on their own blood was performed and, if carried out correctly, the traveller was given a written procedure on how to perform the test and act on its result. The travellers were then proposed to buy a malaria RDT kit and were interviewed upon their return.
resultsFrom February 2012 to February 2017, 744 travellers were proposed RDTs and 692 performed the training run (one could not complete it due to a hand tremor). Among the 691 subjects included, 69% travelled to moderate- or low-risk areas of malaria, 18% to high-risk areas and 13% to mixed-risk areas. The two most frequent categories of travellers to whom RDTs were proposed were long-term travellers (69%) and those travelling to remote areas (57%). 543 travellers (79%) were interviewed upon return. During their trip, 17% (91/543) had a medical problem with fever and 12% (65/543) without fever. Among 91 febrile patients, 57% (52/91) performed an RDT, 22% (20/91) consulted immediately without using the test, and 21% (19/91) did neither. Four RDTs (4/52; 8%) were positive: 2 in low-risk and 2 in high-risk areas (0.7% attack rate of self-documented malaria). Two travellers could not perform the test correctly and attended a facility or took standby emergency treatment. Four travellers with negative results repeated the test after 24 h; all were still negative. Carrying RDTs made travellers feel more secure, especially when travelling with children.
conclusions1/6 travellers experienced fever and 4/5 of those reacted appropriately: more than half used RDTs and a quarter consulted immediately. Four travellers (including 2 from low-risk areas) diagnosed themselves with malaria and self-treated successfully. This strategy allows prompt treatment for malaria in high-risk groups and may avoid over-diagnosis (and subsequent inappropriate treatment) of malaria on-site.
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Registered trials
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