Open AccessDetection of Imported Malaria with the Cell-Dyn 4000 Hematology Analyzer
Author(s) -
Peter C. Wever,
Yvonne Henskens,
Piet A. Kager,
J. Dankert,
Tom van Gool
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of clinical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.349
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1070-633X
pISSN - 0095-1137
DOI - 10.1128/jcm.40.12.4729-4731.2002
Subject(s) - malaria , hematology analyzer , parasitemia , hematology , plasmodium falciparum , medicine , hemozoin , immunology , diagnosis of malaria , biology , gastroenterology , virology
The sensitivity and specificity of the Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer in the diagnosis of imported malaria were studied with samples from patients in an academic hospital setting. The performance of the Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer was compared with that of conventional diagnostic methods for malaria. The Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer detected hemozoin-containing depolarizing monocytes in 29 of 58 patients with malaria and 2 of 55 patients without malaria. The presence or absence of depolarizing monocytes in patients with malaria was related to duration of symptoms before presentation for malaria analysis. A second parameter, pseudoreticulocytosis due to nuclear material of intraerythrocytic malaria parasites, was detected by the Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer almost exclusively in Plasmodium falciparum malaria patients with parasitemia levels of >/=0.5%. Attention to these abnormalities in medical centers without tropical disease expertise may decrease a delay in the diagnosis of malaria.