Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29305538›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical microbiology2018

False-Positive Xpert MTB/RIF Results in Retested Patients with Previous Tuberculosis: Frequency, Profile, and Prospective Clinical Outcomes.

Grant Theron, Rouxjeane Venter, Liezel Smith, Aliasgar Esmail, Philippa Randall, Vishesh Sood, Suzette Oelfese, Greg Calligaro, Robin Warren, Keertan Dheda

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical microbiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
64citing papers in PubMed, 2 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

64 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Clinical management of XpertBMC infectious diseases · 2026
    Observational
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Development of a Rapid Automated Point-of-Care Test formedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Grant TheronLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-9216-2415
Rouxjeane VenterDST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research and SA MRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Liezel SmithLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Aliasgar EsmailLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Philippa RandallLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Vishesh SoodLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Suzette OelfeseLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Greg CalligaroLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Robin WarrenDST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research and SA MRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Keertan DhedaLung Infection and Immunity Unit, Division of Pulmonology and UCT Lung Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa keertan.dheda@uct.ac.za.
University of Cape Town · ZASouth African Medical Research Council · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Globally, Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) is the most widely used PCR test for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). Positive results in previously treated patients, which are due to old DNA or active disease, are a diagnostic dilemma. We prospectively retested sputum from 238 patients, irrespective of current symptoms, who were previously diagnosed to be Xpert positive and treated successfully. Patients who retested as Xpert positive and culture negative were exhaustively investigated (repeat culture, chest radiography, bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage, long-term clinical follow-up). We evaluated whether the duration since previous treatment completion, mycobacterial burden (the Xpert cycle threshold [

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAntibiotics, AntitubercularDatasets as TopicDiagnostic Tests, RoutineFalse Positive ReactionsFollow-Up StudiesHumansMiddle AgedMycobacterium tuberculosisNucleic Acid Amplification TechniquesProspective StudiesSensitivity and SpecificitySouth AfricaSputumAntibiotics, AntitubercularMycobacterium tuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID29305538
PMCPMC5824043
OpenAlexW2782156735

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.