Thick vs Thin film comparison: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:51, 13 February 2025

Navigation
>Main Malaria Index
>>Malaria Biology Index
>>>Current page: Initial infection

Relative merits of thick or thin films in malaria diagnosis

COMPARISON OF THICK AND THIN FILMS
Feature	Thick Film	Thin Film
Sensitivity for detection	Higher: detects low parasitaemia ~5–10 parasites/µL	Lower: generally needs ~50 parasites/µL for reliable detection)
Species Identification	Poor: RBC morphology lost and species-specific features may be difficult	Excellent: Parasite morphology and RBC characteristics are readily observed
Quantification of parasitaemia	Difficult: requires estimation so is imprecise	Easier: parasites can be counted per number of RBCs
Preparation and staining	Longer: requires air drying before careful staining to avoid artefact	Faster: films are fixed and stained immediately with clearer morphology

COMPARISON OF THICK AND THIN FILMS
Sensitivity for detection	Higher: detects low parasitaemia ~5–10 parasites/µL	Lower: generally needs ~50 parasites/µL for reliable detection)
Species Identification	Poor: RBC morphology lost and species-specific features may be difficult	Excellent: Parasite morphology and RBC characteristics are readily observed
Quantification of parasitaemia	Difficult: requires estimation so is imprecise	Easier: parasites can be counted per number of RBCs
Preparation and staining	Longer: requires air drying before careful staining to avoid artefact	Faster: films are fixed and stained immediately with clearer morphology

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 |-
 ! Feature !! Thick Film !! Thin Film
+|-
+| Sensitivity for detection || Higher: detects low parasitaemia ~5–10 parasites/µL || Lower: generally needs ~50 parasites/µL for reliable detection)
+|-
+| Species Identification || Poor: RBC morphology lost and species-specific features may be difficult || Excellent: Parasite morphology and RBC characteristics are readily observed
+|-
+| Quantification of parasitaemia || Difficult: requires estimation so is imprecise || Easier: parasites can be counted per number of RBCs
+|-
+| Preparation and staining || Longer: requires air drying before careful staining to avoid artefact || Faster: films are fixed and stained immediately with clearer morphology
+|}
+{| class="wikitable" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 4px; border-color:light gray"
+|colspan="1" style = "font-size:100%; color:black; background: white"|<span style="color:navy></span>
+<div style="width: 95%; font-size:90%;">
+{| class="wikitable" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 4px; color:black"
+!colspan="3" style = "background:#e1f1fd; border:solid; border-width: 3px;"|<span style="font-size:90%;">'''COMPARISON OF THICK AND THIN FILMS'''</span></br>
 |-
 | Sensitivity for detection || Higher: detects low parasitaemia ~5–10 parasites/µL || Lower: generally needs ~50 parasites/µL for reliable detection)