ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2018
Evaluation of the analytical and diagnostic performance of a digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) assay to detect Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in blood samples.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Advances and Challenges in the Diagnosis of Vector-Borne Protozoal Infections in Veterinary Medicine.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Application of ddPCR for diagnosis and treatment monitoring of visceral leishmaniasis patients: addition of an ultrasensitive tool to the diagnostic arsenal.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Chagas Disease: An Opportunistic Infection in AIDS.Current infectious disease reports · 2026Article
- Molecular Identification and Phylogenetic Analysis ofVeterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Using Digital PCR to Unravel the Occurrence of Piroplasmids,Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- TropD-detector a CRISPR/LbCas12a-based system for rapid screening of Trypanosoma cruzi in Chagas vectors and reservoirs.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Recent developments in waterborne pathogen detection technologies.Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2025Review
- Highly viable gastrointestinal Chlamydia trachomatis in women abstaining from receptive anal intercourse.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Digital PCR detection of microsporidia in household pipe water of patients with microsporidial keratitis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- DetectingPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Present and Future Applications of Digital PCR in Infectious Diseases Diagnosis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Article
- Usefulness of polymerase chain reaction tests in Chagas disease studies.Frontiers in parasitology · 2024Article
- Chagas Disease Maternal Seroprevalence and Maternal-Fetal Health Outcomes in a Parturition Cohort in Western El Salvador.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- Multiplex ddPCR: A Promising Diagnostic Assay for Early Detection and Drug Monitoring in Bovine Theileriosis.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Accuracy of Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of Chagas Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Monitoring mRNA Half-Life in Arabidopsis Using Droplet Digital PCR.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A newly developed droplet digital PCR for Ehrlichia canis detection: comparisons to conventional PCR and blood smear techniques.The Journal of veterinary medical science · 2022Article
- Development of a droplet digital PCR assay for quantification of the proviral load of bovine leukemia virus.Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc · 2022Article
- Development and Efficacy of Droplet Digital PCR for Detection of Strongyloides stercoralis in Stool.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe recent development of novel Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technologies that confer theoretical advantages over quantitative PCR has considerable potential in the diagnosis of low load infections, such as Trypanosoma cruzi in the chronic phase of Chagas disease. We evaluated the utility of the digital droplet (dd)PCR platform in the detection of T. cruzi infection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsWe imported a validated qPCR assay targeting the T. cruzi satellite tandem repeat (TcSTR) region to the ddPCR platform. Following optimization, we tested and repeated a standard curve of TcI epimastigotes to characterise the analytical performance of the assay on the ddPCR platform. We compared this to published qPCR performance data, and the performance of the qPCR assay in our own testing. We subsequently tested a panel of 192 previously characterized DNA specimens, extracted from the blood of individuals with and without T. cruzi infection. The assay performed well on the ddPCR platform, showing a limit of detection of 5 copies/μL or 1 parasite/mL. This was higher than the published limit of detection for qPCR, which was 0.46 parasites/mL. The ddPCR platform was not significantly more accurate than qPCR at any concentration tested. However, the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the assay were both 100% with perfect agreement between qPCR and ddPCR positive and negative result calling in clinical specimens. An average of 9,286 copies of TcSTR were detected per parasite. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The use of the ddPCR platform to run this assay was comparable, but not superior in terms of performance, to the qPCR platform.
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