Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24220352›Full record

Trial reportSexually transmitted diseases2013

Etiology of genital ulcer disease and association with HIV infection in Malawi.

Sam Phiri, Sabrina Zadrozny, Helen A Weiss, Francis Martinson, Naomi Nyirenda, Cheng-Yen Chen, William C Miller, Myron S Cohen, Philippe Mayaud, Irving F Hoffman

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Sexually transmitted diseases, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 3 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

19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. High Prevalence of Haemophilus ducreyi Among Patients With Suspected Primary syphilis in Malawi, 2019-2022.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026
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  5. Clinical characteristics ofResearch square · 2026
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  6. Infections caused byClinical microbiology reviews · 2024
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  19. Etiological profile of male urethritis and genital ulcer disease and antimicrobial susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Southeastern Brazil.The Brazilian journal of infectious diseases : an official publication of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases
    Article
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

10 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Sam PhiriFrom the *Lighthouse Centre, Lilongwe, Malawi; †University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; ‡Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; §University of North Carolina Project, Lilongwe, Malawi; §Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; and ¶Clinical Research Unit, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Sabrina Zadrozny
Helen A Weiss
Francis Martinson
Naomi Nyirenda
Cheng-Yen Chen
William C Miller
Myron S Cohen
Philippe Mayaud
Irving F Hoffman
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBOffice of Infectious Diseases · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · USLighthouse Trust · MW

Funding

Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology CoreP30AI050410 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI DAVID M. MARGOLIS · 2001 to 2026
$76.9M
Medical Research Council MR/K012126/1NIAID NIH HHS P30 AI050410
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe World Health Organization recommends the use of syndromic management for patients presenting with genital ulcer disease (GUD) in developing countries. However, effective treatment guidelines depend on a current country-specific GUD etiological profile, which may change over time.

methodsFrom 2004 to 2006, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from patients presenting with GUD at a reference STI clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi. Participants were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of acyclovir added to syndromic management and followed up for up to 28 days. Serologies for HIV (using parallel rapid tests), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2; using Focus HerpeSelect IgG2 ELISA [Focus Technologies, Cypress Hill, CA]), and syphilis (rapid plasma reagin confirmed by Treponema pallidum hemagglutination) were determined, with plasma HIV-1 RNA and CD4 count in HIV-positive patients. Genital ulcer disease etiology was determined by real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction from lesional swabs.

resultsA total of 422 patients with GUD (313 men; 74%) were enrolled. Overall seroprevalence of HIV-1, HSV-2, and syphilis were 61%, 72%, and 5%, respectively. Ulcer etiology was available for 398 patients and showed the following: HSV-2, 67%; Haemophilus ducreyi, 15%; T. pallidum, 6%; lymphogranuloma venereum, 6%; mixed infections, 14%, and no etiology, 20%. Most HSV-2 ulcers were recurrent (75%). Among all patients with HSV-2, HIV prevalence was high (67%) and HIV seroprevalence was higher among patients with recurrent HSV-2 compared with patients with first-episode HSV-2 (78% vs. 39%, P < 0.001).

conclusionsHerpes simplex virus type 2 ulcers are highly prevalent in this symptomatic population and strongly associated with HIV. Unlike most locations in sub-Saharan Africa, H. ducreyi remains prevalent in this population and requires periodic monitoring and an appropriate treatment regimen.

Indexed as

AdultAIDS-Related Opportunistic InfectionsChancroidCross-Sectional StudiesDirective CounselingDouble-Blind MethodFemaleGenitaliaHaemophilus ducreyiHerpes GenitalisHerpesvirus 2, HumanHumansMalawiMalePrevalenceRisk Reduction Behavior

Identifiers

PMID24220352
PMCPMC12814162
OpenAlexW2047073251

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.