SOP – Malaria Microscopy - NVBDCP

Quality Assurance of Malaria Diagnostic testsWhile preparing the thick film remember the following points• using the corner of the spreader, quickly join the drops of blood and spread than tomake an even, thick film.• do not excessively stir the blood but spread in circular or rectangular form with 3 to 6movements.• the circular thick film should be about 1 cm (1/5 inch) in diameter.The thin film consists of a single layer of red blood cells and under the NVBDCP it is alwaysused as a label to identify the patient.After preparing the blood smear complete the following process :• label the dry thin film with a soft lead pencil by writing the blood slide number anddate of collection (in the thicker portion of the film).• do not use a ball point pen for labeling the blood smears.• allow the thick film to dry with the slide in the flat, level position protected from flies,dust and excessive heat.• fill up the MF2 form for details of patient as indicated in the columns.• when the thick film is dried / almost dry, put the slide in the slide box.• dispatch it to the laboratory as soon as possible.• second slide used for spreading the blood films may then be used for the nextpatient and another clean slide from the pack should be used as spreader.• NEVER WRAP THE SLIDE IN MF2 FORM.8.1.5 Drying the blood films• Place the blood films properly in order to allow the thick film to dry evenly.• Protect from flies and dust. The kind of box, good for both field and laboratory isshown in the Figure 4Figure 4 – Box used in the field to dry blood smears• Store the slides horizontally, which allows the thick film to dry and be at a level andwith even thickness. There is a door to keep out flies and dust and a handle forcarrying the box. When the thick film is completely dry, store the slides front to backin the cardboard slide box, previously used for the clean, wrapped slides.SOP – Malaria Microscopy© Copyright to Dte. NVBDCP Only. Any modification are prohibited