Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30765408›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2019

Causes of albuminocytological dissociation and the impact of age-adjusted cerebrospinal fluid protein reference intervals: a retrospective chart review of 2627 samples collected at tertiary care centre.

John Alexander Brooks, Christopher McCudden, Ari Breiner, Pierre R Bourque

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. COVID-19 associated brain/spinal cord lesions and leptomeningeal enhancement: A meta-analysis of the relationship to CSF SARS-CoV-2.Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging · 2021
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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.

John Alexander BrooksDepartment of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Christopher McCuddenDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Division of Biochemistry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Ari BreinerDepartment of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5225-3208
Pierre R BourqueDepartment of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
University of Ottawa · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveWe set out to test the discriminative power of an age-adjusted upper reference limit for cerebrospinal fluid total protein (CSF-TP) in identifying clinically relevant causes of albuminocytological dissociation (ACD).

methodsWe reviewed the charts of 2627 patients who underwent a lumbar puncture at a tertiary care centre over a 20-year period. Samples with CSF-TP above 45 mg/dL (0.45 g/L) were included. Samples with white cell count >5×10

resultsThe presence of ACD was associated with a broad range of neurological diagnoses. Among all 2627 patients with ACD, a clinical diagnosis explaining CSF-TP elevation was identified in 57% of cases. 'True' ACD was associated with a suitable diagnosis in 75% of cases, whereas patients with 'pseudo' ACD showed an appropriate diagnosis in only 51% of cases. Use of an age-adjusted upper reference limit favoured the detection of polyneuropathy patients (13.5% proportionate increase) and excluded a larger number of patients with isolated headache (10.7% proportionate decrease; p<0.0001).

conclusionsElevated CSF-TP is a common finding, with a range of underlying causes. Use of an age-adjusted upper reference limit for the CSF-TP value improves diagnostic specificity and helps to avoid overdiagnosis of ACD.

Indexed as

Age FactorsAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBlood GlucoseCerebrospinal Fluid ProteinsErythrocyte CountFemaleHumansLeukocyte CountLeukocytosisMaleMiddle AgedReference ValuesRetrospective StudiesBlood GlucoseCerebrospinal Fluid Proteinsadult neurologymigraineneurologyneuromuscular disease

Identifiers

PMID30765408
PMCPMC6398735
OpenAlexW2913893275

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.