Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23674550›Full record

ArticleThorax2013

Incremental value of T-SPOT.TB for diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis in children in a high-burden setting: a multivariable analysis.

Daphne I Ling, Mark P Nicol, Madhukar Pai, Sandra Pienaar, Nandini Dendukuri, Heather J Zar

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Thorax, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

16 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Revolutionizing diagnosis of pulmonaryFrontiers in microbiology · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. Screening tests for active pulmonary tuberculosis in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Recommendations for the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2016
    Guideline
  5. Pooled it
  6. Article
  7. Review and Updates on the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Novel interferon-gamma assays for diagnosing tuberculosis in young children in India.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2017
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
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

6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Daphne I LingDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Mark P Nicol
Madhukar Pai
Sandra Pienaar
Nandini Dendukuri
Heather J Zar
McGill University · CAUniversity of Cape Town · ZAMcGill University Health Centre · CARed Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital · ZA

Funding

Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in HIV-infected children & development of microbiologicR01HD058971 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN · PI ZAR, HEATHER JOY · 2008 to 2012
$2.2M
CIHRNICHD NIH HHS 1R01HD058971-01NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD058971Wellcome Trust 085251Wellcome Trust 085251/B/08/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionInterferon γ release assays (IGRAs) are increasingly used for tuberculosis (TB) infection, but their incremental value beyond patient demographics, clinical signs and conventional tests for active disease has not been evaluated in children.

methodsThe incremental value of T-SPOT.TB was assessed in 491 smear-negative children from two hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa. Bayesian model averaging was used to select the optimal set of patient demographics and clinical signs for predicting culture-confirmed TB. The added value of T-SPOT.TB over and above patient characteristics and conventional tests was measured using statistics such as the difference in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), the net reclassification improvement (NRI) and the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI).

resultsCough longer than 2 weeks, fever longer than 2 weeks, night sweats, malaise, history of household contact and HIV status were the most important predictors of culture-confirmed TB. Binary T-SPOT.TB results did not have incremental value when added to the baseline model with clinical predictors, chest radiography and the tuberculin skin test. The AUC difference was 3% (95% CI 0% to 7%). Using risk cut-offs of <10%, 10-30% and >30%, the NRI was 7% (95% CI -8% to 31%) but the CI included the null value. The IDI was 3% (95% CI 0% to 11%), meaning that the average predicted probability across all possible cut-offs improved marginally by 3%.

conclusionsIn a high-burden setting, the T-SPOT.TB did not have added value beyond clinical data and conventional tests for diagnosis of TB disease in smear-negative children.

Indexed as

Interferon-gamma Release TestsArea Under CurveChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantMaleMultivariate AnalysisRadiographyROC CurveSouth AfricaTuberculin TestTuberculosis, PulmonaryClinical EpidemiologyTuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID23674550
PMCPMC3862980
OpenAlexW2108687073

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.