Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31415564›Full record

SynthesisPLoS neglected tropical diseases2019

Systematic review on antigens for serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis, with a focus on East Africa.

Vera Kühne, Zahra Rezaei, Paul Pitzinger, Philippe Büscher

Open access · goldAbstract readEvaluation StudySystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

16 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  3. The potential ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2025
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  11. Evidence map of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, prevention, and control in visceral leishmaniasis.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2022
    Review
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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 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Vera KühneDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-2292-0740
Zahra RezaeiProfessor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Paul PitzingerInstitute of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9688-1890
Philippe BüscherDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-1926-7472
Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde · BEShiraz University of Medical Sciences · IRUniversitätsmedizin Göttingen · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccurate and accessible diagnosis is key for the control of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Yet, current diagnostic tests for VL have severe limitations: they are invasive or not suitable as point of care (POC) test or their performance is suboptimal in East Africa. We analysed the antigens in the VL serodiagnostics development pipeline to identify shortcomings and to propose strategies in the development of an alternative POC test for VL in East Africa.

objectivesThe objective of this study was to identify and to analyse all antigens for VL serodiagnosis that have been published before 2018 in order to identify candidates and gaps in the pipeline for a new POC test in East Africa.

methodsA systematic literature search was performed on PubMed for original research articles on Leishmania-specific antigens for antibody detection of VL in humans. From each article, the following information was extracted: the antigen name, test format and characteristics, its reported sensitivity and specificity and study cohort specifications.

resultsOne hundred and seven articles containing information about 96 tests based on 89 different antigens were included in this study. Eighty six of these tests, comprising 80 antigens, were evaluated in phase I and II studies only. Only 20 antigens, all of which are native, contain a carbohydrate and/or lipid moiety. Twenty-four antigens, of which 7 are non-native, are composed of antigen mixtures. Nineteen tests, comprising 18 antigens, have been evaluated on East African specimens, of which only 2 (rK28 based immunochromatographic test and intact promastigote based indirect fluorescent antibody technique) consistently showed sensitivities above 94 and specificities above 97% in a phase III study and one in a phase II study (dot blot with SLA). Only rK28 is a non-native mixture of antigens which we consider suitable for further evaluation and implementation.

conclusionsThe development pipeline for an alternative serodiagnostic test for VL is almost empty. Most antigens are not sufficiently evaluated. Non-protein antigens and antigen mixtures are being neglected. We propose to expand the evaluation of existing antigen candidates and to investigate the diagnostic potential of defined non-native carbohydrate and lipid antigens for VL serodiagnosis in East Africa.

Indexed as

Africa, EasternAntibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, ProtozoanHumansLeishmaniaLeishmaniasis, VisceralPoint-of-Care SystemsSensitivity and SpecificitySerologic TestsAntibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, Protozoan

Identifiers

PMID31415564
PMCPMC6711545
OpenAlexW2967873993

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.