Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23555985›Full record

ArticlePloS one2013

Superiority of trans-oral over trans-nasal sampling in detecting Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization in adults.

Krzysztof Trzciński, Debby Bogaert, Anne Wyllie, Mei Ling J N Chu, Arie van der Ende, Jacob P Bruin, Germie van den Dobbelsteen, Reinier H Veenhoven, Elisabeth A M Sanders

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
66citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

66 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 127 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia using quantitative PCR targeting lytA and piaB in adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026
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  5. Digital PCR linkage analysis resolvesMicrobiology spectrum · 2026
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  11. mSphere · 2025
    Observational
  12. Observational
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. An abundance ofMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2025
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Frontiers in microbiology · 2025
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Krzysztof TrzcińskiDepartment of Pediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Wilhelmina's Children Hospital, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. K.Trzcinski@umcutrecht.nl
Debby Bogaert
Anne Wyllie
Mei Ling J N Chu
Arie van der Ende
Jacob P Bruin
Germie van den Dobbelsteen
Reinier H Veenhoven
Elisabeth A M Sanders
Wilhelmina Children's Hospital · NLAcademic Medical Center · NLStichting Apotheek der Haarlemse Ziekenhuizen · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The human nasopharynx is the main reservoir for Streptococcus pneumoniae. We applied conventional and molecular methods to determine the prevalence of S. pneumoniae nasopharyngeal colonization in adults. Paired trans-orally and trans-nasally obtained nasopharyngeal samples from 268 parents of 24-month-old children were assessed for pneumococcal presence. Parents were classified as colonized when live pneumococci were recovered from either sample cultured on medium selective for S. pneumoniae. Of the 52 (19%) colonized parents 49 (18%) were culture-positive in trans-nasal and 10 (4%) in trans-oral samples. Bacterial growth was harvested from these cultures, DNA isolated and tested by quantitative-PCR (qPCR) targeting lytA and piaA genes specific for S. pneumoniae. A sample was considered positive if signals for both genes were detected. Altogether 105 (39%) individuals were classified as positive for pneumococcus by qPCR including 50 (19%) in trans-nasal and 94 (35%) in trans-oral settings. Although significantly more trans-nasal compared to trans-oral samples were culture-positive for S. pneumoniae at the primary diagnostic step (p<0.001) the opposite was observed in qPCR results (p<0.001). To confirm the presence of live pneumococcus in samples positive by qPCR but negative at the initial diagnostic step, we serially-diluted cell harvests, re-cultured and carefully examined for S. pneumoniae presence. Live pneumococci were recovered from an additional 43 parents including 42 positive in trans-oral and 4 in trans-nasal samples increasing the number of individuals culture- and qPCR-positive to 93 (35%) and positive by either of two methods to 107 (40%). There were significantly more trans-oral than trans-nasal samples positive for pneumococcus by both culture and qPCR (n = 71; 27%; vs. n = 50; 19%; p<0.05). Our data suggest that pneumococcal colonization is more common in adults than previously estimated and point towards the superiority of a trans-oral over a trans-nasal approach when testing adults for colonization with S. pneumoniae.

Indexed as

AdultChild, PreschoolDNA, BacterialHumansNasopharynxParentsPneumococcal InfectionsPolymerase Chain ReactionStreptococcus pneumoniaeDNA, Bacterial

Identifiers

PMID23555985
PMCPMC3610877
OpenAlexW2018849212

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.