Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25614466›Full record

ArticleSexually transmitted infections2015

Performance evaluation of automated urine microscopy as a rapid, non-invasive approach for the diagnosis of non-gonococcal urethritis.

Marcus J Pond, Achyuta V Nori, Sheel Patel, Ken Laing, Margarita Ajayi, Andrew J Copas, Philip D Butcher, Phillip Hay, Syed Tariq Sadiq

Open access · hybridAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Sexually transmitted infections, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Observational
  4. Mycoplasma genitalium Infection in Men.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2017
    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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Marcus J PondInstitute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK.
Achyuta V NoriInstitute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK Department of Genitourinary & HIV Medicine, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
Sheel PatelDepartment of Genitourinary & HIV Medicine, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
Ken LaingInstitute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK.
Margarita AjayiInstitute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK.
Andrew J CopasResearch Department of Infection and Population Health, University College London, Mortimer Market Centre, London, UK.
Philip D ButcherInstitute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK.
Phillip HayInstitute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK Department of Genitourinary & HIV Medicine, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
Syed Tariq SadiqInstitute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK Department of Genitourinary & HIV Medicine, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust · GBSt George's, University of London · GBMortimer Market Centre · GB

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilMedical Research Council G0901608Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesGram-stained urethral smear (GSUS), the standard point-of-care test for non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is operator dependent and poorly specific. The performance of rapid automated urine flow cytometry (AUFC) of first void urine (FVU) white cell counts (UWCC) for predicting Mycoplasma genitalium and Chlamydia trachomatis urethral infections was assessed and its application to asymptomatic infection was evaluated.

methodsReceiver operating characteristic curve analysis, determining FVU-UWCC threshold for predicting M. genitalium or C. trachomatis infection was performed on 208 'training' samples from symptomatic patients and subsequently validated using 228 additional FVUs obtained from prospective unselected patients.

resultsAn optimal diagnostic threshold of >29 UWC/µL gave sensitivities and specificities for either infection of 81.5% (95% CI 65.1% to 91.6%) and 85.8% (79.5% to 90.4%), respectively, compared with 86.8% (71.1% to 95%) and 64.7% (56.9% to 71.7%), respectively, for GSUS, using the training set samples. FVU-UWCC demonstrated sensitivities and specificities of 69.2% (95% CI 48.1% to 84.9%) and 92% (87.2% to 95.2%), respectively, when using validation samples. In asymptomatic patients where GSUS was not used, AUFC would have enabled more infections to be detected compared with clinical considerations only (71.4% vs 28.6%; p=0.03). The correlation between UWCC and bacterial load was stronger for M. genitalium compared with C. trachomatis (τ=0.426, p≤0.001 vs τ=0.295, p=0.022, respectively).

conclusionsAUFC offers improved specificity over microscopy for predicting C. trachomatis or M. genitalium infection. Universal AUFC may enable non-invasive diagnosis of asymptomatic NGU at the PoC. The degree of urethral inflammation exhibits a stronger association with pathogen load for M. genitalium compared with C. trachomatis.

Indexed as

AdultAutomation, LaboratoryChlamydia InfectionsFlow CytometryHumansLeukocyte CountMaleMicroscopyMycoplasma InfectionsROC CurveSensitivity and SpecificityUrethritisUrineCHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATISDIAGNOSISM GENITALIUMMOLECULAR TECHNIQUESURETHRITIS

Identifiers

PMID25614466
PMCPMC4413809
OpenAlexW2110753496

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.