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J Med Microbiol 54 (2005), 449-452; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.45650-0
© 2005 Society for General Microbiology
ISSN 0022-2615

Sensitivity of laser light depolarization analysis for detection of malaria in blood samples

Manuel Martínez Padial1, Mercedes Subirats1, Sabino Puente2, Mar Lago2, Santiago Crespo3, Gonzalo Palacios4 and Margarita Baquero1

1,2Laboratory of Microbiology1 and Department of Infectious Diseases2, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain 3Megalab Laboratories, Madrid, Spain 4Abbott Diagnostics Division, Costa Brava 13, 28034 Madrid, Spain

Correspondence Manuel Martínez Padial mmpadial{at}terra.es

Received February 25, 2004
Accepted December 21, 2004

Automated light depolarization analysis could be a useful tool for diagnosing malarial infections. This work discusses the results of a diagnostic efficacy study on 411 samples from patients with suspected malaria infection performed with a Cell-Dyn 4000 analyser. Light dispersed at 90° and depolarized can be used for identifying and counting eosinophils. However, other cell populations with depolarizing capacity occur in malarial samples; these result from leukocytes ingesting haemozoin that is derived from the degradation of the haem group of haemoglobin performed by the parasite. A sensitivity of 72 % and specificity of 98 % were recorded, with positive and negative predictive values of 78 % and 97 %, respectively. Although the sensitivity level of the automated light depolarization analysis is not adequate to replace the existing methods for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases, it could alert clinicians to unsuspected infections by parasites, particularly those from the genus Plasmodium.

Abbreviations: IRF, immature reticulocyte fraction; RBC, red blood cell.






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