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BACKGROUNDMalaria is a major global health problem. An accurate and rapid clinical and laboratory diagnosis of malaria becomes essential to decrease the morbidity and mortality caused by it. The present study was conducted to study the clinical characteristics and haematological and biochemistry parameters in malaria patients.

Objective: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of three Malaria rapid antigen detection tests(RDTs) .To study the sensitivity of the RDTs in relation to parasitic index . Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital. Peripheral smear were prepared and stained.Parasite index was calculated. Three rapid antigen detection tests ; Optimal – IT, Paramax-3 and QDx malaria PAN/PF were tested. Results: Sensitivity for Optimal – IT was highest (98.47%). QDx malaria PAN/Pf gave highest specificity (97%). All the three RDTs gave sensitivity of 100% at a parasitic index of more than 100 parasites per µl. Sensitivity of Optimal – IT and QDx malaria PAN/Pf for P falciparum and P vivax was 100% and 88.88% respectively at a parasitic index of 51-100 parasites/ µl. Conclusion: Malaria RDTs are a good diagnostic tool in health care set ups where quick results are desired and expert microscopy is not available.