We aggregated published data from field studies documenting prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium infection and bladder pathology determined by ultrasonography or hematuria detected by reagent strip, questionnaire, or visual examination. A mathematical expression was used to describe the associations between prevalence of pathology/morbidity and infection. This allows for indirect comparison of these methods, which are rarely used simultaneously. All four methods showed a similar, marked association with infection. Surprisingly, ultrasound revealed higher prevalences of pathology in schools than in communities with the same prevalence of infection, implying a need for age-related cut-off values. Reagent strip testing yielded a higher prevalence than questionnaire, which in turn was higher than by visual examination. After correction for morbidity due to other causes, a consistent ratio in prevalence of hematuria of 3:2:1 resulted for the three respective methods. The simple questionnaire approach is not markedly inferior to the other techniques, making it the best option for field use.

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hdl.handle.net/1765/10353
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

van der Werf, M., & de Vlas, S. (2004). Diagnosis of urinary schistosomiasis: a novel approach to compare bladder pathology measured by ultrasound and three methods for hematuria detection. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/10353