Test Performance of Expired Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests: A pilot diagnostic accuracy study conducted in Western Uganda.

Ndizeye, Ronnie; Gunderson, Annika K; Baguma, Emmanuel; Giandomenico, Dana A; Ntaro, Moses; Mulogo, Edgar M; Boyce, Ross M · J Infect Dis · 2026

cross_sectional · Level IV

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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 Reponse 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- to 12-months post-expiration were invalid. These preliminary findings support further research into the use of expired mRDTs in resource limited settings.