Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23506136›Full record

ArticleMalaria journal2013

Predictive value of lymphocytopenia and the neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio for severe imported malaria.

Marlies E van Wolfswinkel, Klaske Vliegenthart-Jongbloed, Mariana de Mendonça Melo, Peter C Wever, Matthew B McCall, Rob Koelewijn, Jaap J van Hellemond, Perry J van Genderen

Open access · goldAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Malaria journal, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
37citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
5.5field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

37 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Naturally acquired antibodies toFrontiers in immunology · 2026
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  10. Overview of the host immune response toJournal of parasitic diseases : official organ of the Indian Society for Parasitology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Marlies E van WolfswinkelDepartment of Internal Medicine, Harbour Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Klaske Vliegenthart-Jongbloed
Mariana de Mendonça Melo
Peter C Wever
Matthew B McCall
Rob Koelewijn
Jaap J van Hellemond
Perry J van Genderen
Erasmus University Rotterdam · NLHarbour BioMed (Netherlands) · NLHavenziekenhuis Rotterdam · NLJeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLymphocytopenia has frequently been described in patients with malaria, but studies on its association with disease severity have yielded conflicting results. The neutrophil/lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) has been introduced as a parameter for systemic inflammation in critically ill patients and was found, together with lymphocytopenia, to be a better predictor of bacteraemia than routine parameters like C-reactive protein and total leukocyte count. In the present study, the predictive value of the NLCR and lymphocytopenia for severe disease was evaluated in patients with imported malaria.

methodsAll patients diagnosed with malaria at the Harbour Hospital between January 1st 1999 and January 1st 2012 with differential white cell counts determined within the first 24 hours after admission were included in this retrospective study. Severe malaria was defined according to the WHO criteria. The performance of the NLCR and lymphocytopenia as a marker of severe malarial disease was compared back-to-back with that of C-reactive protein as a reference biomarker.

resultsA total of 440 patients (severe falciparum malaria n = 61, non-severe falciparum malaria n = 259, non-falciparum malaria n=120) were included in the study. Lymphocytopenia was present in 52% of all patients and the median NLCR of all patients was 3.2. Total lymphocyte counts and NLCR did not differ significantly between groups. A significant correlation of total leukocyte count and NLCR, but not lymphocyte count, with parasitaemia was found. ROC analysis revealed a good negative predictive value but a poor positive predictive value of both lymphocytopenia and NLCR and performance was inferior to that of C-reactive protein. After complete parasite clearance a significant rise in total leukocyte count and lymphocyte count and a significant decrease in NLCR was observed.

conclusionThe NLCR was found to correlate with parasitaemia, but both lymphocytopenia and the NLCR were inferior to C-reactive protein as markers for severe disease in patients with imported malaria. The NLCR and lymphocytopenia are not useful as predictive markers for severe disease in imported malaria in the acute care setting.

Indexed as

BiomarkersLeukocyte CountTravelAdolescentAdultAgedAnimalsChildChild, PreschoolClinical Laboratory TechniquesCohort StudiesC-Reactive ProteinFemaleHumansLymphopeniaMalariaBiomarkersC-Reactive Protein

Identifiers

PMID23506136
PMCPMC3608093
OpenAlexW2031582428

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.