We determined the sensitivity and specificity of three rapid immunochromatographic malarial antigen detection test systems (RDTs) for the detection of Plasmodium falciparumand assessed the quality of follow-up results. ParaSight-F and ICT Malaria detect histidine-rich protein-2 (HRP-2), whereas OptiMal detects plasmodial lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH). ParaSight-F performed with 95.1% sensitivity and 97.1% specificity (554 patients tested of whom 144 had falciparum malaria). ICT Malaria performed with 95.7% sensitivity and 99.2% specificity (718 patients tested of whom 184 had falciparum malaria). OptiMal performed with 76.2% sensitivity and 99.7% specificity (539 patients tested of whom 130 had falciparum malaria). In follow-up investigations, HRP-2 did not appear to be a useful antigen due to its long half-life, whereas pLDH offers a reasonable correlation with the presence of viable parasites in those cases initially detected. We therefore conclude that a combination of both antigens might be the best option for creating a reliable RDT for the diagnosis of falciparum malaria.