Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29232692›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2017

Trachomatous scarring among children in a formerly hyper-endemic district of Tanzania.

Jacob T Cox, Harran Mkocha, Beatriz Munoz, Sheila K West

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 32% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jacob T CoxDana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Harran MkochaKongwa Trachoma Project, Kongwa, Tanzania.
Beatriz MunozDana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Sheila K WestDana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-0818-8100
Johns Hopkins Hospital · US

Funding

Surveillance & Treatment of Community Newcomers & Travelers for Trachoma ControlU10EY022584 · NEI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI WEST, SHEILA K · 2012 to 2015
$4.5M
NEI NIH HHS EY022584NEI NIH HHS U10 EY022584
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAssociations between repeated ocular infections with Chlamydia trachomatis in childhood and conjunctival scarring in adulthood are well established. Trachomatous scarring (TS) in children has also been observed in hyper-endemic areas, but data are scant regarding childhood scarring in areas where trachoma has been reduced to hypo-endemic levels. METHODS/PRINCIPLE

findingsIn this cross-sectional study, a random sample of children, ages 1-9 years, were selected from 38 communities in the formerly hyper-endemic district of Kongwa, Tanzania. Each participant received an ocular examination and eye-swab test for C. trachomatis infection. Conjunctival photographs were taken and analyzed at 5x magnification to determine scarring presence and severity. Community-level case clustering was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients, and associations between TS presence and demographic/clinical factors were assessed using contingency table analyses. 1,496 children (78% of eligible) participated in this study. The mean age was 5.5 years and 51% were female. Scarring prevalence was 2.1% (95% CI: 1.5%- 3.0%). The prevalence of follicular trachoma and ocular C. trachomatis infection were 3.2% and 6.5%, respectively. Most TS cases (68.7%) fell into the mildest category, grade S1. 18.7% were grade S2; 12.6% were grade S3. No significant associations were seen between TS presence and age, sex, follicular trachoma, or active ocular C. trachomatis infection (p-values: 0.14, 0.48, 0.27, 0.15, respectively). Thirty communities (78.9%) had 0-1 TS cases, and the most seen in any single community was four cases. Three years ago, follicular trachoma prevalence averaged 4.9% in communities with 0-1 TS cases, but 7.6% in communities with 2-4 TS cases (p-value: 0.08).

conclusionsIn this formerly hyper-endemic district of Tanzania, TS was rare in 1-9 year-olds and usually mild when present. Communities with higher rates of follicular trachoma in the past were more likely to have ≥2 cases of scarring, but the association was not statistically significant.

Indexed as

TrachomaChildChild, PreschoolCicatrixCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansInfantMaleNeglected DiseasesPrevalenceTanzania

Identifiers

PMID29232692
PMCPMC5741261
OpenAlexW2773059479

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.