Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24560255›Full record

ArticleGlobal health action2014

Development of a clinical scoring system for assessment of immunosuppression in patients with tuberculosis and HIV infection without access to CD4 cell testing--results from a cross-sectional study in Ethiopia.

Sten Skogmar, Taye T Balcha, Zelalem H Jemal, Jonas Björk, Wakgari Deressa, Thomas Schön, Per Björkman

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Global health action, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 22% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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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

7 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Sten SkogmarInfectious Diseases Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden; sten.skogmar@med.lu.se.
Taye T BalchaInfectious Diseases Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden; Health Ministry, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Zelalem H JemalOromia Regional Health Bureau (ORHB), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Jonas BjörkResearch and Development Unit, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Wakgari DeressaDepartment of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Thomas SchönDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden; Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Kalmar County Hospital, Sweden.
Per BjörkmanInfectious Diseases Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.
Lund University · SEAddis Ababa University · ETGovernment of Ethiopia · ETLinköping University · SEOromiyaa Regional Health Bureau · ETSkåne University Hospital · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrently, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended for all HIV-positive patients with tuberculosis (TB). The timing of ART during the course of anti-TB treatment is based on CD4 cell counts. Access to CD4 cell testing is not universally available; this constitutes an obstacle for the provision of ART in low-income countries.

objectiveTo determine clinical variables associated with HIV co-infection in TB patients and to identify correlations between clinical variables and CD4 cell strata in HIV/TB co-infected subjects, with the aim of developing a clinical scoring system for the assessment of immunosuppression.

designCross-sectional study of adults with TB (with and without HIV co-infection) recruited in Ethiopian outpatient clinics. Clinical variables potentially associated with immunosuppression were recorded using a structured questionnaire, and they were correlated to CD4 cell strata used to determine timing of ART initiation. Variables found to be significant in multivariate analysis were used to construct a scoring system. Results : Among 1,116 participants, the following findings were significantly more frequent in 307 HIV-positive patients compared to 809 HIV-negative subjects: diarrhea, odynophagia, conjunctival pallor, herpes zoster, oral candidiasis, skin rash, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) <20 cm. Among HIV-positive patients, conjunctival pallor, MUAC <20 cm, dyspnea, oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL), oral candidiasis, and gingivitis were significantly associated with <350 CD4 cells/mm(3). A scoring system based on these variables had a negative predictive value of 87% for excluding subjects with CD4 cell counts <100 cells/mm(3); however, the positive predictive value for identifying such individuals was low (47%).

conclusionsClinical variables correlate with CD4 cell strata in HIV-positive patients with TB. The clinical scoring system had adequate negative predictive value for excluding severe immunosuppression. Clinical scoring systems could be of use to categorize TB/HIV co-infected patients with regard to the timing of ART initiation in settings with limited access to laboratory facilities.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAnti-HIV AgentsCD4 Lymphocyte CountCoinfectionCross-Sectional StudiesEthiopiaFemaleHIV InfectionsHumansImmunocompromised HostMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexAnti-HIV AgentsCD4 cellEthiopiaHIVscoring systemtiming of ARTtuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID24560255
PMCPMC3925806
OpenAlexW2137133657

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.