SynthesisTuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland)2016
Culture is an imperfect and heterogeneous reference standard in pediatric tuberculosis.
Synthesis in Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Parallel use of low-complexity automated nucleic acid amplification tests on respiratory and stool samples with or without lateral flow lipoarabinomannan assays to detect pulmonary tuberculosis disease in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Performance of stool-based molecular tests and processing methods for paediatric tuberculosis diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Microbe · 2025Pooled it
- Pathways of TB Transmission in Children-A Systematic Review of Molecular Epidemiological Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay for tuberculosis disease and rifampicin resistance in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Concordance of Drug-resistance Profiles Between Persons With Drug-resistant Tuberculosis and Their Household Contacts: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021Pooled it
- Xpert MTB/RIF and Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assays for active tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Diagnostic accuracy of molecular detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in pediatric stool samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2019Pooled it
- An Fc Receptor and IgA Functional Signature Identifies TB Disease in Children Living With HIV.Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society · 2026Article
- Efficacy of a chemiluminescence-based urinary LAM (AIMLAM) assay in the diagnosis of active TB in Chinese children.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Ultrasensitive Enzyme-Free Detection of Proteins on Magnetic Beads.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026Article
- Tuberculosis Diagnostic Methods: Clinical Applicability, Implementation Challenges, and Integrated Testing Strategies.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- From gaps to progress: five-year global advances in the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- GeneXpert MTB/RIF Ultra in Pediatric Tuberculosis: How Disease Characteristics Modify Test Performances.Current pediatric reviews · 2026Article
- Performance of a Novel Stool Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Pediatric Tuberculosis Detection in Sub-Saharan Africa.Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society · 2025Article
- Clinical presentation, diagnostics, and outcomes of infants with congenital and postnatal tuberculosis: a multicentre cohort study of the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet).The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- A prospective study on enhanced recovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from children's stool using novel power ultrasound decontamination.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Young lungs cared enough? India's frontiers in diagnosing pediatric TB.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Review
- Early cost-effectiveness analysis of a novel rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis in rural Philippine settings.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Accuracy of CAD4TB (Computer-Aided Detection for Tuberculosis) on paediatric chest radiographs.The European respiratory journal · 2024Article
- Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transrenal DNA in urine samples among adults in Peru.Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn pediatric tuberculosis (pTB), culture is the accepted reference standard for assessing new diagnostic tests despite culture only confirming 10-50% of clinically diagnosed cases.
methodsUsing the studies previously included in the systematic review of Gene Xpert, we evaluated the diagnostic yield of culture. Children with symptoms and signs suggestive of TB were considered to have a clinical diagnosis if they were 1) culture positive or 2) followed clinically for at least one month and started on Anti-Tuberculosis Therapy (ATT).
resultsOf 1989 children with presumptive pTB, 229 (11.5%) had culture-confirmation. Of the remaining 1760 culture negative children, 710 (24.4) were classified as culture-negative clinical TB and 821 were classified as "not TB". Diagnostic yield of culture was 24.4% (median 28.7% IQR 15.6%-42.4%; range 1.5%-65%).
conclusionCulture, the accepted reference standard for pediatric TB diagnostics, has a low and variable yield that impacts how diagnostic studies should be reported as well as everyday clinical care.
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