Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29092789›Full record

ArticleClinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases2018

A comparison of two molecular methods for diagnosing leptospirosis from three different sample types in patients presenting with fever in Laos.

K Woods, C Nic-Fhogartaigh, C Arnold, L Boutthasavong, W Phuklia, C Lim, A Chanthongthip, S M Tulsiani, S B Craig, M-A Burns and 9 more

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trends and advances inFrontiers in microbiology · 2024
    Pooled it
  3. Prevalence ofFrontiers in veterinary science · 2022
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Nucleic acid and antigen detection tests for leptospirosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019
    Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Molecular epidemiology of rodent-borneJournal of medical microbiology · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Detection ofVeterinary world · 2020
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Leptospirosis: a neglected tropical zoonotic infection of public health importance-an updated review.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2020
    Review
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

19 authors.

K WoodsNational Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK; Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos. Electronic address: Kate.woods2@nhs.net.
C Nic-FhogartaighLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos; Bart's Health Division of Infection, Pathology and Pharmacy Department, Royal London Hospital, London, UK.
C ArnoldNational Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK.
L BoutthasavongLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos.
W PhukliaLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos.
C LimMahidol-Oxford-Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
A ChanthongthipLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos.
S M TulsianiQueensland Health Forensic and Scientific Service, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
S B CraigQueensland Health Forensic and Scientific Service, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis, Brisbane, Qld, Australia; University of the Sunshine Coast, Faculty of Science Health, Education and Engineering, Sippy Downs, Qld, Australia; Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
M-A BurnsQueensland Health Forensic and Scientific Service, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
S L WeierFaculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
V DavongLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos.
S SihalathLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos.
D LimmathurotsakulMahidol-Oxford-Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK.
D A B DanceLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos; Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK; Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
N ShettyNational Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK.
M ZambonNational Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK.
P N NewtonLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos; Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK.
S DittrichLao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos; Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK; Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Geneva, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo compare two molecular assays (rrs quantitative PCR (qPCR) versus a combined 16SrRNA and LipL32 qPCR) on different sample types for diagnosing leptospirosis in febrile patients presenting to Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Laos.

methodsSerum, buffy coat and urine samples were collected on admission, and follow-up serum ∼10 days later. Leptospira spp. culture and microscopic agglutination tests (MAT) were performed as reference standards. Bayesian latent class modelling was performed to estimate sensitivity and specificity of each diagnostic test.

resultsIn all, 787 patients were included in the analysis: 4/787 (0.5%) were Leptospira culture positive, 30/787 (3.8%) were MAT positive, 76/787 (9.7%) were rrs qPCR positive and 20/787 (2.5%) were 16SrRNA/LipL32 qPCR positive for pathogenic Leptospira spp. in at least one sample. Estimated sensitivity and specificity (with 95% CI) of 16SrRNA/LipL32 qPCR on serum (53.9% (33.3%-81.8%); 99.6% (99.2%-100%)), buffy coat (58.8% (34.4%-90.9%); 99.9% (99.6%-100%)) and urine samples (45.0% (27.0%-66.7%); 99.6% (99.3%-100%)) were comparable with those of rrs qPCR, except specificity of 16SrRNA/LipL32 qPCR on urine samples was significantly higher (99.6% (99.3%-100%) vs. 92.5% (92.3%-92.8%), p <0.001). Sensitivities of MAT (16% (95% CI 6.3%-29.4%)) and culture (25% (95% CI 13.3%-44.4%)) were low. Mean positive Cq values showed that buffy coat samples were more frequently inhibitory to qPCR than either serum or urine (p <0.001).

conclusionsSerum and urine are better samples for qPCR than buffy coat, and 16SrRNA/LipL32 qPCR performs better than rrs qPCR on urine. Quantitative PCR on admission is a reliable rapid diagnostic tool, performing better than MAT or culture, with significant implications for clinical and epidemiological investigations of this global neglected disease.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedBacterial Outer Membrane ProteinsBlood Buffy CoatChildDNA, BacterialFemaleFeverHumansLaosLeptospiraLeptospirosisLipoproteinsMaleMiddle AgedBacterial Outer Membrane ProteinsDNA, BacterialLipL32 protein, LeptospiraLipoproteinsRNA, Ribosomal, 16SBayesianBuffy coatLaosLatent class modelLeptospiraLeptospirosisMolecular diagnosisQuantitative PCRSerumUrine

Identifiers

PMID29092789
PMCPMC6125144

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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.