Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27783678›Full record

ReviewPLoS neglected tropical diseases2016

The Relationship between Active Trachoma and Ocular Chlamydia trachomatis Infection before and after Mass Antibiotic Treatment.

Athumani M Ramadhani, Tamsyn Derrick, David Macleod, Martin J Holland, Matthew J Burton

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyReview
In one paragraph

Review in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
58citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
7.9field-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

58 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.

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  15. Trachoma.Lancet (London, England) · 2025
    Review
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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

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Athumani M RamadhaniClinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
Tamsyn DerrickClinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
David MacleodTropical Epidemiology Group. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
Martin J HollandClinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
Matthew J BurtonClinical Research Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBMoorfields Eye Hospital · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTrachoma is a blinding disease, initiated in early childhood by repeated conjunctival infection with the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. The population prevalence of the clinical signs of active trachoma; ''follicular conjunctivitis" (TF) and/or ''intense papillary inflammation" (TI), guide programmatic decisions regarding the initiation and cessation of mass drug administration (MDA). However, the persistence of TF following resolution of infection at both the individual and population level raises concerns over the suitability of this clinical sign as a marker for C. trachomatis infection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE

findingsWe systematically reviewed the literature for population-based studies and those including randomly selected individuals, which reported the prevalence of the clinical signs of active trachoma and ocular C. trachomatis infection by nucleic acid amplification test. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between active trachoma and C. trachomatis infection before and after MDA. TF and C. trachomatis infection were strongly correlated prior to MDA (r = 0.92, 95%CI 0.83 to 0.96, p<0.0001); the relationship was similar when the analysis was limited to children. A moderate correlation was found between TI and prevalence of infection. Following MDA, the relationship between TF and infection prevalence was weaker (r = 0.60, 95%CI 0.25 to 0.81, p = 0.003) and there was no correlation between TI and C. trachomatis infection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Prior to MDA, TF is a good indicator of the community prevalence of C. trachomatis infection. Following MDA, the prevalence of TF tends to overestimate the underlying infection prevalence. In order to prevent unnecessary additional rounds of MDA and to accurately ascertain when elimination goals have been reached, a cost-effective test for C. trachomatis that can be administered in low-resource settings remains desirable.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsChlamydia trachomatisConjunctivaHumansTrachomaAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID27783678
PMCPMC5082620
OpenAlexW2545282950

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.