Better TB, malaria and AIDS tests urged

MONTREAL, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A Canadian-led team of researchers is urging creation of better quality diagnostic studies for tuberculosis, malaria and human immunodeficiency virus tests.

The team, led by Dr. Madhukar Pai, an assistant professor at McGill University, said a rapid and accurate diagnosis is the first step towards treatment in the fight against infectious disease. But the team, in collaboration with researchers at the World Health Organization's Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, has highlighted the poor quality of published studies that evaluate the accuracy of diagnostic tests for the three major killer infections.

The researchers say their findings suggest the diagnostic studies on TB, malaria and HIV commercial tests have moderate to low quality and are often poorly reported. The scientists also said sources of bias and variation were present in all the studies.

"The necessary methodological elements such as patient selection criteria, recruitment methods or ... test interpretation were poorly reported," said Pai, who led the research. "Moreover, only a small percentage of these studies accurately described the manner in which the tests were conducted and whether they are reproducible.

"Poorly designed studies can lead to premature or misguided adoption of tests that may have little or no clinical and public health relevance, resulting in incorrect diagnosis and adverse consequences for the patient," Pai added.

The research appears in the online journal PLoS One.