Diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria at delivery: Comparison of blood film preparation methods and of blood films with histology

Abstract

We compared peripheral and placental blood films (made by different techniques) with placental histology for diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in pregnancy. Samples from 464 women were examined, of whom 124 (26.7%) had active P. falciparum infection and 148 (31.9%) had past infection. Placental histology was more sensitive (91%) than peripheral blood film (47%) or placental blood film (63%) examination and also detected past infection. Few women had microscopically detectable infection without a positive histology. Infection detected by histology only and past infection were both associated with significantly lower infant birth weight and with lower hemoglobin concentrations compare..