Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25540391›Full record

Observational studyJournal of clinical microbiology2015

(1,3)-β-d-glucan in cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosis of fungal meningitis associated with contaminated methylprednisolone injections.

Anurag N Malani, Bonita Singal, L Joseph Wheat, Ola Al Sous, Theresa A Summons, Michelle M Durkin, April C Pettit

Open access · bronzeAbstract readObservational StudyValidation Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of clinical microbiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% 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

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Case Report:Frontiers in neurology · 2020
    Article
  5. CNS Infections Caused by Brown-Black Fungi.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019
    Review
  6. The diagnostic performance of the beta-glucan assay in the detection of intra-amniotic infection with Candida species.The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians · 2019
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Innate Immune and Fungal Model of Alzheimer's Disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports · 2018
    Review
  10. Review
  11. 2017 Infectious Diseases Society of America's Clinical Practice Guidelines for Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2017
    Article
  12. Article
  13. 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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Anurag N MalaniDepartment of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA anurag.malani@stjoeshealth.org.
Bonita SingalDepartment of Clinical Research, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
L Joseph WheatMiraVista Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Ola Al SousDepartment of Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Theresa A SummonsMiraVista Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Michelle M DurkinMiraVista Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
April C PettitDepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital · USVanderbilt University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prompt diagnosis and treatment of fungal meningitis are critical, but culture is insensitive. (1,3)-β-d-Glucan (BDG) testing is FDA approved for serological diagnosis of invasive fungal disease; however, BDG testing is not approved for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and the appropriate cutoff value is unknown. We aimed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of CSF BDG measurements for fungal meningitis among patients exposed to contaminated methylprednisolone acetate (MPA). A retrospective observational study was conducted at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and Vanderbilt University from November 2013 to February 2014. Patients were included if they had received a contaminated MPA injection. Cases were classified as probable or proven meningitis according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. CSF BDG testing was performed according to the package insert instructions for serum samples, and results were validated using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute procedures (MiraVista Diagnostics). Of 233 patients, 45 had meningitis (28 proven cases), 53 had spinal/paraspinal infections (19 proven cases), and 135 did not develop disease. Using the manufacturer's cutoff value (≥80 pg/ml), the sensitivity and specificity were 96% and 95%, respectively, for proven meningitis and 84% and 95% for probable or proven meningitis. Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified the optimal cutoff value for proven meningitis to be 66 pg/ml (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 94%) and that for probable or proven meningitis to be 66 pg/ml (sensitivity, 91%; specificity, 92%). Our results suggest that CSF BDG measurements are highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of fungal meningitis associated with contaminated MPA injections. Further study on the utility of CSF BDG testing for other types of fungal meningitis is needed.

Indexed as

Drug ContaminationAdultAgedAged, 80 and overbeta-GlucansBiomarkersCerebrospinal FluidClinical Laboratory TechniquesFemaleHumansInjectionsMaleMeningitis, FungalMethylprednisoloneMiddle AgedProteoglycansbeta-GlucansBiomarkersMethylprednisolonepolysaccharide-KProteoglycans

Identifiers

PMID25540391
PMCPMC4390625
OpenAlexW2094050699

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.