Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24023814›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2013

Evaluation of PCR in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia: a bivariate meta-analysis and systematic review.

Li-Chao Fan, Hai-Wen Lu, Ke-Bin Cheng, Hui-Ping Li, Jin-Fu Xu

Abstract readEvaluation StudyMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
73citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

73 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Polymerase Chain Reaction on Respiratory Tract Specimens of Immunocompromised Patients to Diagnose Pneumocystis Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Evaluation of the ELITe InGenius PCR assay compared with immunofluorescence for Pneumocystis jirovecii detection in respiratory samples.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Advances in pathogen detection ofInfectious medicine · 2025
    Review
  7. Article
  8. CRISPR-Cas12 Application for the Detection ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. An overview of the laboratory diagnosis ofJournal of clinical microbiology · 2025
    Review
  12. Diagnosis ofInfection & chemotherapy · 2025
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Clinical and Radiological Features ofJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Article
  20. Review

13 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

5 authors.

Li-Chao FanDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Hai-Wen Lu
Ke-Bin Cheng
Hui-Ping Li
Jin-Fu Xu

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAs a promising tool, PCR in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) has not been accepted as a diagnostic criterion for PJP.

objectiveWe undertook a systematic review of published studies to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of PCR assays in BALF for PJP.

methodsEligible studies from PubMed, Embase and Web of Science reporting PCR assays in BALF for diagnosing PJP were identified. A bivariate meta-analysis of the method's sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were analyzed. The post-test probability was performed to evaluate clinical usefulness. A summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curve was used to evaluate overall performance. Subgroup analyses were carried out to analysis the potential heterogeneity.

resultsSixteen studies published between 1994 and 2012 were included. The summary sensitivity and specificity values (95% CI) of PCR in BALF for diagnosis of PJP were 98.3% (91.3%-99.7%) and 91.0% (82.7%-95.5%), respectively. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 10.894 (5.569-21.309) and 0.018 (0.003-0.099), respectively. In a setting of 20% prevalence of PJP, the probability of PJP would be over 3-fold if the BALF-PCR test was positive, and the probability of PJP would be less than 0.5% if it was negative. The area under the SROC curve was 0.98 (0.97-0.99).

conclusionsThe method of PCR in BALF shows high sensitivity and good specificity for the diagnosis of PJP. However, clinical practice for the diagnosis of PJP should consider the consistent respiratory symptoms, radiographic changes and laboratory findings of the suspected patients.

Indexed as

Bronchoalveolar Lavage FluidAnalysis of VarianceClinical Trials as TopicHumansPneumocystis cariniiPneumonia, PneumocystisPolymerase Chain Reaction

Identifiers

PMID24023814
PMCPMC3762835

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.