SynthesisPloS one2016
The Accuracy of Diagnostic Tests for Lyme Disease in Humans, A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of North American Research.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Association between spirochaetal infection and neurodegenerative diseases: a systematic review and quantitative synthesis of observational studies.Journal of medical microbiology · 2026Pooled it
- Borrelia Infections Under B Cell-Depleting Therapies: A Systematic Review of Diagnostic Challenges and Outcomes With Special Focus on Neurological Forms.European journal of neurology · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review on the impact of gestational Lyme disease in humans on the fetus and newborn.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- Development of a fluorescent reporter strain to facilitate studies ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Lyme borreliosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- Probable European-profileFrontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Ecological and Epidemiological Consequences of Tick-Control Interventions in Residential Neighborhoods: A Synthesis of The Tick Project.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2026Review
- Interlaboratory Concordance of a Multiplex ELISA for Lyme and Lyme-like Illness Using Australian Samples and Commercial Reference Panels: A Proof-of-Concept Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Genetic landscape of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto in Canada: a study of genetic diversity.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A novel single-tier serologic test to diagnose all stages of Lyme disease.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- Lyme-Borreliosis Disease: IgM Epitope Mapping and Evaluation of a Serological Assay Based on Immunodominant Bi-Specific Peptides.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges in Lyme Disease and Co-Infections: Unraveling Neuropsychiatric and Neurological Complexities-A Comprehensive Case Series Analysis.Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) · 2025Article
- Development, Optimization, and Validation of a Quantitative PCR Assay forPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Retrospective validation of a rapid Lyme fluorescent immunoassay in differentiating Lyme arthritis from other musculoskeletal presentations in children in a Lyme-endemic region.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Aseptic Meningitis Linked toTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2024Article
- Pathogenicity and virulence ofVirulence · 2023Review
- Direct Detection of Lyme Borrelia: Recent Advancement and Use of Aptamer Technology.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Lyme borreliosis diagnosis: state of the art of improvements and innovations.BMC microbiology · 2023Review
- ClassicalLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Multiplex High-Definition Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Diagnosis of Tick-borne Infections in Children.Open forum infectious diseases · 2023Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There has been an increasing incidence of Lyme disease (LD) in Canada and the United States corresponding to the expanding range of the Ixodes tick vector and Lyme disease agent (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto). There are many diagnostic tests for LD available in North America, all of which have some performance issues, and physicians are concerned about the appropriate use and interpretation of these tests. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the North American evidence on the accuracy of diagnostic tests and test regimes at various stages of LD. Included in the review are 48 studies on diagnostic tests used in North America published since 1995. Thirteen studies examined a two-tier serological test protocol vs. clinical diagnosis, 24 studies examined single assays vs. clinical diagnosis, 9 studies examined single immunoblot vs. clinical diagnosis, 7 studies compared culture or PCR direct detection methods vs. clinical diagnosis, 22 studies compared two or more tests with each other and 8 studies compared a two-tiered serological test protocol to another test. Recent studies examining the sensitivity and specificity of various test protocols noted that the Immunetics® C6 B. burgdorferi ELISA™ and the two tier approach have superior specificity compared to proposed replacements, and the CDC recommended western blot algorithm has equivalent or superior specificity over other proposed test algorithms. There is a dramatic increase in test sensitivity with progression of B. burgdorferi infection from early to late LD. Direct detection methods, culture and PCR of tissue or blood samples were not as sensitive or timely compared to serological testing. It was also noted that there are a large number of both commercial (n = 42) and in-house developed tests used by private laboratories which have not been evaluated in the primary literature.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.