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Recent recommendations call for malaria treatment based on parasitological diagnosis, which is more feasible with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). But access to testing is difficult in areas where patients seek care in the private drug retail sector rather than health facilities. In a cluster-randomized trial conducted in Ghana, investigators assessed whether use of RDTs in private drug retail shops would change the proportion of febrile patients receiving appropriate treatment.
Twenty-four poor rural communities with chemical shops (where staff are licensed to sell authorized medications, including antimalarials) were randomized to use RDTs — provided free — or to dispense medication per usual practice. Intervention-arm staff received trainin…