Sk. Dunyo et al., Health centre versus home presumptive diagnosis of malaria in southern Ghana: implications for home-based care policy, T RS TROP M, 94(3), 2000, pp. 285-288
Citations number
21
Categorie Soggetti
Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
A study was conducted in 1997 to compare the accuracy of presumptive diagno
sis of malaria in children aged 1-9 years performed by caretakers of the ch
ildren to that of health centre staff in 2 ecological zones in southern Gha
na. Similar symptoms were reported in the children at home and at the healt
h centre. In the home setting, symptoms were reported the same day that the
y occurred, 77.6% of the children with a report of fever were febrile (axil
lary temperature greater than or equal to 37.5 degrees C) and 64.7% of the
reports of malaria were parasitologically confirmed. In the health centre,
the median duration of symptoms before a child was seen was 3 days (range 1
-14 days), 58.5% of the children with a report of fever were febrile and 62
.6% of the clinically diagnosed cases were parasitologically confirmed. In
the 2 settings almost all the infections were due to Plasmodium falciparum.
Parasite density was 3 times higher in the health centre cases compared to
the home-diagnosed cases. Early and appropriate treatment of malaria detec
ted in children by caretakers may prevent complications that arise as a res
ult of persistence of symptoms and attainment of high parasitaemic levels.