Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27198215›Full record

ArticleTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene2016

Policy to practice: impact of GeneXpert MTB/RIF implementation on the TB spectrum of care in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Kashmira S Chawla, Cecilia Kanyama, Abineli Mbewe, Mitch Matoga, Irving Hoffman, Jonathan Ngoma, Mina C Hosseinipour

Open access · greenAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Diagnostic Yield of Tongue Swab- Compared to Sputum-Based Molecular Testing for Tuberculosis in Four High-Burden Countries.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026
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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 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Kashmira S ChawlaUNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi kashmira.chawla@gmail.com.
Cecilia KanyamaUNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Abineli MbeweUNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Mitch MatogaUNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Irving HoffmanUNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC USA.
Jonathan NgomaDepartment of Medicine, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Mina C HosseinipourUNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC USA.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USKamuzu Central Hospital · MW

Funding

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

Abstract

backgroundWhile previous research has provided evidence of the diagnostic accuracy of the GeneXpert MTB/RIF (GeneXpert), further information is needed about implementation in the real-world. This study evaluated the impact of the introduction of GeneXpert testing in a tertiary medical center according to the testing algorithm proposed by the National TB Control Program (NTP) guidelines.

methodsAll adult medicine inpatient persons with presumptive TB admitted between November 2013 and March 2014 were eligible for GeneXpert sputum testing and followed to TB treatment initiation status.

resultsWe identified 932 persons with presumptive TB, of which 307 (32.9%) were GeneXpert tested. Those tested had an average age of 40 years, 49.2% (151) were male, 34.5% (106) were HIV positive, and 84.1% (249) presented with a cough. Of those GeneXpert tested, 28/307 (9.1%) tested positive, a 55.5% increase in detection compared to smear microscopy. However, the majority (44/72, 61%) of TB diagnoses were made by other modalities and not confirmed microbiologically. Of the 58 patients recommended to start treatment and discharged from the hospital, only 23 (40%) were documented to have started treatment at regional directly observed treatment short (DOTS) centers.

conclusionsGeneXpert contributed minimally to overall TB diagnosis and the cascade of care due to implementation challenges of sputum collection, empiric treatment, and weak linkage to care between inpatient and outpatient settings.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAlgorithmsBacterial Typing TechniquesCoughDrug Resistance, BacterialFemaleHIV InfectionsHumansMalawiMaleMicroscopyMiddle AgedMycobacterium tuberculosisRifampinSensitivity and SpecificityRifampinDiagnosisGeneXpertGeneXpert negative TBHIVMalawiPulmonary tuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID27198215
PMCPMC4914880
OpenAlexW2402129219

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.