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Time delays in the diagnosis and treatment of malaria in non-endemic countries: a systematic review

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posted on 2023-06-09, 11:47 authored by Hamad Bastaki, Jessica Carter, Louise Marston, Jackie Cassell, Greta Rait
Background Delays in diagnosis and treatment for malaria are associated with an increased risk for severe disease and mortality. Identifying the extent of patient and health system delay can provide a benchmark against which interventions to reduce delays can be measured. Methods We performed an electronic search in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and LILACS for studies reporting time to diagnosis and treatment after return from travel, onset of symptoms and seeking healthcare in non-endemic countries. Additionally, theses, conference proceedings and nationally reported surveillance data were also searched for information on time delays. There were no language restrictions and all the studies were assessed for methodological quality. Results Data from 69 papers out of 1719 identified records published between 2005 and 2017 were extracted; our findings show that median diagnosis delays of four or more days are common and patient delays accounted for a large proportion of diagnostic delay. There were limited data available on medical diagnostic delay. Conclusion Patient delays accounted for a large proportion of the overall diagnostic delay; however the retrospective nature of the studies could have overestimated patient delay since previous healthcare contacts were not included. Additionally, the high frequency of studies reporting a clinically significant delay is a major concern.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease

ISSN

1477-8939

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

21

Page range

21-27

Department affiliated with

  • Primary Care and Public Health Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-01-26

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-12-07

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-01-26

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