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Correlation of Quantitative Buffy Coat,
Blood smear and Antigen Detection
in Diagnosing Malarial Infection
961-963
Correspondence
Binesh Lal MBBS, MD
Assistant Professsor, Department of Microbiology,
Saveetha Medical College, Saveetha University,
Thandalam, Kanchepuram District -602 105
Phone: 98419 27828
E-mail: drbineshlaly@yahoo.com
Objective: To correlate the diagnostic methods such as Quantitative Buffy coat (QBC), Blood smear and Antigen detection in diagnosing malarial infection.
Design: A hospital based prospective study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, Saveetha medical college, Thandalam, Kanchepuram district. From April 2010 to September 2010.
Material and Methods: A total of 572 blood samples from clinically suspected malaria patients were included in this study. All the samples were subjected to three different techniques suchas staining technique (thick and thin smear), antigen detection test and Quantitative Buffy Coat technique (QBC).
Results: Among the 572 samples, 92 (16.08 %) samples were found to be positive for malarial parasite. Of the positive samples, 90 (97.82%) samples were positive by smear, 78 (84.78%) samples were positive by QBC, 69 (75%) samples were positive by antigen detection test.
Conclusion: In conclusion we suggest using two diagnostic tools, antigen detection and smear in conjunction for the early diagnosis of malarial infection or use antigen detection as a primary test as well as a screening tool for obtaining a fast positive or negative result and confirming it with gold standard test.