Parasites - blood
Last updated: Sunday, 28, May, 2006
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| Item | Process |
|---|---|
| Specimen | 5 mL blood in EDTA tube. |
| Method | Microscopic examination of thin and thick films for malaria and other parasites. |
| Application | Diagnosis of malaria. Monitoring therapy of Plasmodium falciparum malaria with parasite counts. Detection of other exotic parasitic infections. |
| Interpretation | Detection and species identification of intra-erythrocytic forms of malaria. See also Malaria antigen. Rarely, detection of other exotic intra-erythrocytic organisms (eg, Bartonella bacilliformis, Babesia spp) and detection and identification of exotic extracellular parasites (trypanosomes, microfilariae and Loa loa). See also Filaria - blood, Trypanosomes - blood. |
| Reference | Garcia LS. Diagnostic Medical Parasitology. 4th ed. ASM Press 2001. Bain NJ. Blood Cells. 3rd ed. Blackwell 2002. |