ArticleThe Pediatric infectious disease journal2018
Multiplex Real-time PCR Detection of Intestinal Protozoa in HIV-infected Children in Malawi: Enterocytozoon Bieneusi Is Common and Associated With Gastrointestinal Complaints and May Delay BMI (Nutritional Status) Recovery.
Article in The Pediatric infectious disease journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- A global overview of microsporidia infection in HIV/AIDS patients: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.International health · 2026Pooled it
- The Global Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Parasitic Coinfection in People Living with Viruses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Microsporidia: evolution, infection mechanisms and host impact.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Prevalence, Genetic Diversity, and Risk Factors ofThe Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2026Review
- Influence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi Infection on Child Growth: A Secondary Analysis of the MAL-ED Birth Cohort Study.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- Prevalence and genetic characterization of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in children in Northeast Egypt.Parasitology research · 2022Article
- Intestinal microsporidiosis among HIV/AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in Sana'a city, Yemen: first report on prevalence and predictors.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Comparison of Two Real-Time PCR Assays Targeting Ribosomal Sequences for the Identification ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Comparative Assessment of In-House Real-Time PCRs Targeting Enteric Disease-Associated Microsporidia in Human Stool Samples.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- A new method of metabarcoding Microsporidia and their hosts reveals high levels of microsporidian infections in mosquitoes (Culicidae).Molecular ecology resources · 2020Article
- First identification of genotypes of Enterocytozoon bieneusi (Microsporidia) among symptomatic and asymptomatic children in Mozambique.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Performance of three rapid diagnostic tests for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in children with severe acute malnutrition and diarrhoea.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIntestinal protozoa are common opportunistic infections in HIV patients. Longitudinal studies on either the clinical relevance or the effect of immune reconstitution by antiretroviral therapy on intestinal protozoan infections in children are lacking however. This study investigates prevalence and clinical relevance of intestinal protozoa in HIV-infected Malawian children before and during their first year of antiretroviral treatment (ART).
methodsStool samples collected at enrolment and during follow-up were tested for nonopportunistic (Giardia lamblia, Dientamoeba fragilis, Entamoeba histolytica) and opportunistic protozoa (Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Cystoisospora belli) using multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction. Associations between infections and clinical symptoms were evaluated using univariate methods.
resultsNonopportunistic and opportunistic protozoa were detected in 40% (14/35) and 46% (16/35) of children at baseline, respectively. E. bieneusi was the most prevalent protozoa (37%, 13/35) and associated with gastrointestinal complaints (43% in positive (10/13) versus 18% (4/22) in E. bieneusi-negative children, P = 0.001. Body mass index recovery during 12 months of ART was more commonly delayed in E. bieneusi-positive children (+0.29 +standard deviation 0.83) than E. bieneusi-negative children (+1.03 +standard deviation 1.25; P = 0.05). E. bieneusi was not detected after 12 months of ART.
conclusionsE. bieneusi was the most prevalent opportunistic intestinal protozoa, present in over a third of study participants before initiation of ART. Although all children cleared E. bieneusi after 12 months of ART, E. bieneusi was associated with gastrointestinal complaints and may delay body mass index recovery. Trials to assess effect of treatment of E. bieneusi on nutritional status should be considered in HIV-infected African children.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.