New research suggests that diagnostic tests could improve treatment of malaria patients.

Researchers from the Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) Consortium at the Ministry of Health in Uganda and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the UK found that using malaria rapid diagnostic tests in registered drug shops in a highly endemic region in Uganda could reduce overprescription by 73 percent.

Researchers carried out the study because up to 80 percent of malaria cases in Uganda are treated in the private sector, a common source of treatment in many other malaria-endemic areas. Patients buy antimalarial drugs in shops to medicate themselves, although malaria is not always the cause of their fever, and thus inappropriate treatment is very common.

"Our findings show that it is feasible to collaborate with the private health sector and introduce malaria rapid diagnostic tests in drug shops," Professor Anthony Mbonye, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "The next step is to refine the strategy and understand the cost implications of scaling it up in Uganda. Our long term aim is to provide evidence to help the World Health Organization develop guidance to improve malaria treatment in the private sector."

The findings from their trial showed that rapid diagnostic tests can improve the use of artemisinin-based combination therapies -- the most effective treatment for malaria -- in drug shops, but it's not without its challenges.

"These tests alone will not improve the treatment of other diseases. We now need to continue working with the Ministry of Health to investigate how to improve our approach and expand it to other common illnesses," Dr. Sian Clarke, a principal investigator of the study, said in a statement.

Researchers said rapid diagnostic tests are simple tools that require minimal training to diagnose malaria, providing an alternative to microscopy (a method that requires laboratory equipment and qualified staff).

The findings are detailed in the journals PLOS One and Critical Public Health.