Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26390924›Full record

SynthesisMalaria journal2015

A systematic review of sub-microscopic Plasmodium vivax infection.

Clarissa M Moreira, Mahmoud Abo-Shehada, Ric N Price, Chris J Drakeley

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyEvaluation StudySystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Malaria journal, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
57citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

57 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Population heterogeneity in Plasmodium vivax relapse risk.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022
    Trial
  4. Negligible Impact of Mass Screening and Treatment on Mesoendemic Malaria Transmission at West Timor in Eastern Indonesia: A Cluster-Randomized Trial.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2018
    Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Integrating parallelCommunications health · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Asymptomatic/submicroscopicParasite epidemiology and control · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Naturally-acquired and Vaccine-induced Human Monoclonal Antibodies tobioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. 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

4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Clarissa M MoreiraWorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN), Oxford, UK. clarissamoreira1@gmail.com.
Mahmoud Abo-ShehadaFaculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, UK. mnshehada@hotmail.com.
Ric N PriceNuffield Department of Medicine, Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. rprice@menzies.edu.au.
Chris J DrakeleyDepartment of Immunology and Infection, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. chris.drakeley@lshtm.ac.uk.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBUniversity of London · GBUniversity of Oxford · GBWorldwide Veterinary Service · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust 091625Wellcome Trust 091924
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAn accurate estimate of Plasmodium vivax prevalence is essential for the successful implementation of malaria control and elimination programmes. Prevalence estimates both inform control strategies and are used in their evaluation. Light microscopy is the main method for detecting Plasmodium parasitaemia in the peripheral blood, but compared to molecular diagnostics, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has limited sensitivity.

methodsA systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of detection method on the prevalence of P. vivax and to quantify the extent to which P. vivax infections are undetected by microscopy. Embase, Medline and the Cochrane Database were searched for studies reporting prevalence by PCR and by microscopy and that contained all of the following key words: vivax, PCR, and malaria. Prevalence estimates and study meta-data were extracted systematically from each publication. Combined microscopy:PCR prevalence ratios were estimated by random effects meta-analysis. Sensitivity and specificity of microscopy were calculated using PCR as the gold standard.

resultsOf 874 studies reviewed, 40 met the criteria for inclusion contributing 54 prevalence pairs. The prevalence of P. vivax infection measured by PCR was consistently higher than the prevalence measured by microscopy with sub-patent parasitaemia. The mean prevalence of infection detected by microscopy was 67 % (95 % CI 59-73 %) lower than the prevalence detected by PCR. The detection of sub-patent parasitaemia did not vary according to the microscopy method (thick or, thick and thin smears), the PCR prevalence (as a measure of the true P. vivax prevalence), the type of blood used or DNA extraction method.

conclusionsQuantifying P. vivax parasitaemia by PCR rather than microscopy consistently increased prevalence estimates by a factor of 2.3. Whilst the sensitivity of microscopy can be improved by better methods, molecular methods have potential to be scaled up to improve the detection of P. vivax transmission reservoirs.

Indexed as

MicroscopyMolecular Diagnostic TechniquesHumansMalaria, VivaxPrevalenceSensitivity and Specificity

Identifiers

PMID26390924
PMCPMC4578340
OpenAlexW2169585492

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.