Letters
Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria
Do rapid diagnostic tests improve overall quality of care?
BMJ 2017; 357 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j2290 (Published 11 May 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;357:j2290
- Emily W Johansson, affiliated researcher1,
- Helena Hildenwall, researcher2,
- Humphreys Nsona, programme manager3,
- Valentina Buj de Lauwerier, global malaria adviser4,
- Stefan Swartling Peterson, associate director, programme division, and chief, health section4
- 1Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, International Maternal and Child Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- 2Department of Paediatrics, Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden
- 3Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) Unit, Lilongwe, Malawi
- 4United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, NY, USA
- emily.johansson{at}kbh.uu.se
Hopkins and colleagues show that implementation of rapid diagnostic tests, although reducing overuse of malaria drugs, might increase unwarranted prescription of antibiotics.1 The paper focuses heavily on treatment outcomes, but quality of care is more important. Do rapid diagnostic tests improve overall quality of care, which could lead to more rational prescribing of antimicrobials?
Our recent analysis, based on a …
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