Test Performance of Expired Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests: A Pilot Diagnostic Accuracy Study Conducted in Western Uganda

Abstract

We evaluated the diagnostic agreement of expired malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs) with non-expired mRDTs in a clinical setting in western Uganda. Expired mRDTs (SD Bioline Ag Pf/Pan and First Response Ag pLDH/HRP2) were administered to each participant in parallel with a non-expired mRDT serving as the reference. Of 200 participants, 21 (10.5%) tested positive and 179 (89.5%) tested negative for malaria. All tests up to 9 months post-expiration were valid and consistent with reference mRDTs. All mRDTs 10–12 months post-expiration were invalid. These preliminary findings support further research into the use of expired mRDTs in resource-limited settings.