Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31399031›Full record

ArticleMalaria journal2019

A comparison of two PCR protocols for the differentiation of Plasmodium ovale species and implications for clinical management in travellers returning to Germany: a 10-year cross-sectional study.

Hagen Frickmann, Christine Wegner, Stefanie Ruben, Ulrike Loderstädt, Egbert Tannich

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Malaria journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.7field-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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Metagenomic Sequencing for the Diagnosis ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2022
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  8. Ultrasensitive CRISPR-based diagnostic for field-applicable detection ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020
    Article
  9. Article
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

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hagen FrickmannDepartment of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, External Site at the Bernhard Nocht Institute, Tropical Microbiology and Entomology, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, Bernhard Nocht Str. 74, 20359, Hamburg, Germany. Frickmann@bnitm.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8967-9528
Christine WegnerBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, National Reference Center for Tropical Pathogens, Hamburg, Germany.
Stefanie RubenBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, National Reference Center for Tropical Pathogens, Hamburg, Germany.
Ulrike LoderstädtBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, National Reference Center for Tropical Pathogens, Hamburg, Germany.
Egbert TannichBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, National Reference Center for Tropical Pathogens, Hamburg, Germany.
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine · DEBundeswehrkrankenhaus · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo assess the occurrence of Plasmodium ovale wallikeri and Plasmodium ovale curtisi species in travellers returning to Germany, two real-time PCR protocols for the detection and differentiation of the two P. ovale species were compared. Results of parasite differentiation were correlated with patient data.

methodsResidual nucleic acid extractions from EDTA blood samples of patients with P. ovale spp. malaria, collected between 2010 and 2019 at the National Reference Centre for Tropical Pathogens in Germany, were subjected to further parasite discrimination in a retrospective assessment. All samples had been analysed by microscopy and by P. ovale spp.-specific real-time PCR without discrimination on species level. Two different real-time PCR protocols for species discrimination of P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri were carried out. Results were correlated with patient data on gender, age, travel destination, thrombocyte count, and duration of parasite latency.

resultsSamples from 77 P. ovale spp. malaria patients were assessed, with a male:female ratio of about 2:1 and a median age of 30 years. Parasitaemia was low, ranging from few visible parasites up to 1% infected erythrocytes. Discriminative real-time PCRs revealed 41 cases of P. o. curtisi and 36 cases of P. o. wallikeri infections. Concordance of results by the two PCR approaches was 100%. Assessment of travel destinations confirmed co-existence of P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri over a wide range of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Latency periods for the two P. ovale species were similar, with median values of 56.0 days for P. o. curtisi and 58.0 days for P. o. wallikeri; likewise, there was no statistically significant difference in thrombocyte count with median values of 138.5/µL for patients with P. o. curtisi and 152.0/µL for P. o. wallikeri-infected patients.

conclusionsTwo different real-time PCR protocols were found to be suitable for the discrimination of P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri with only minor differences in sensitivity. Due to the overall low parasitaemia and the lack of differences in severity-related aspects like parasite latency periods or thrombocyte counts, this study supports the use of P. ovale spp. PCR without discrimination on species level to confirm the diagnosis and to inform clinical management of malaria in these patients.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultChildChild, PreschoolCommunicable Diseases, ImportedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansMalariaMaleMiddle AgedPlasmodium ovaleReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionRetrospective StudiesTravelEpidemiologyMalariaParasite latencyPlasmodium ovale curtisiPlasmodium ovale wallikeriTest comparison

Identifiers

PMID31399031
PMCPMC6688346
OpenAlexW2968706402

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.