Systematic Review of Rapid Typhoid Diagnostic Kits

Abstract

Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that can be fatal and a major concern globally. Due to the infection’s high morbidity and fatality rates, there is an urgent need for precise and quick diagnostic tests to help with disease management and prevention. The purpose of the current review is to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of the currently commercially available typhoid fever rapid diagnostic kits (RDTs). Publicly available English databases, such as PubMed and Google Scholar, were used to screen the research papers. We mined a total of 371 research documents, of which 18 articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies from 10 different developing countries evaluated the diagnostic performance of Typhidot, Typhidot-M, and Tubex. The average sensitivity and specificity were approximately 80%–90% and 65%–78% for Typhidot, 85%–94% and 77%–89% for Typhidot-M, and 94.7% and 80.4% for Tubex. The sensitivity and specificity of these diagnostics varied with the geographical location. In comparison to the widely used Widal test, the observed performance cannot support the exclusive use of a particular RDT. Hence, there is a need to develop affordable, antigen-based RDTs.