[Presumptive clinical diagnosis of malaria in children in a hospital in the North Region (Cameroon)].

The authors studied the correlation between the prescription of antimalarial drugs and the results of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and thick smear during dry and rainy seasons in a regional hospital outpatient clinic in North Cameroon. Clinical diagnosis, essentially based on the presence of fever, has a positive predictive value of 2% when compared with laboratory results during the dry season, against 44% during the rainy season. This study confirms the epidemic nature of malaria in the Sahelian zone of the North Region and challenges the currently available hospital statistics. In this epidemiological context, the authors recommend routine laboratory diagnosis of malaria before any treatment, especially during the dry season. This is justified both therapeutically and economically.