Do you treat empirically for malaria in a febrile returning traveler from a high-transmission area with a negative rapid diagnostic test while awaiting thick and thin blood smear confirmation?

I would not routinely treat empirically for malaria in a clinically stable returning traveler with a negative RDT (rapid diagnostic test) while awaiting urgent thick and thin smears. However, a negative RDT does not rule out malaria. If the first smear is negative but suspicion remains, smears shoul...

I do not do either. I go downstairs to the Hematology lab, wait for the technician to do the stain and look. I guess far too often. I like not guessing.