Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31609860›Full record

SynthesisEpidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)2020

The Use of Test-negative Controls to Monitor Vaccine Effectiveness: A Systematic Review of Methodology.

Huiying Chua, Shuo Feng, Joseph A Lewnard, Sheena G Sullivan, Christopher C Blyth, Marc Lipsitch, Benjamin J Cowling

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 104 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
104citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

104 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

7 authors.

Huiying ChuaFrom the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
Shuo FengFrom the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
Joseph A LewnardDivision of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.
Sheena G SullivanWHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Doherty Department, University of Melbourne, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Christopher C BlythDivision of Paediatrics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Marc LipsitchDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Benjamin J CowlingFrom the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

Funding

Understanding and controlling antibiotic resistanceU54GM088558 · NIGMS · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI LIPSITCH, MARC · 2009 to 2018
$26.4M
Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and BiodefenseT32AI007535 · NIAID · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI GRAD, YONATAN H, MURRAY, MEGAN B · 1998 to 2025
$4.8M
NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007535NIGMS NIH HHS U54 GM088558
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe test-negative design is an increasingly popular approach for estimating vaccine effectiveness (VE) due to its efficiency. This review aims to examine published test-negative design studies of VE and to explore similarities and differences in methodological choices for different diseases and vaccines.

methodsWe conducted a systematic search on PubMed, Web of Science, and Medline, for studies reporting the effectiveness of any vaccines using a test-negative design. We screened titles and abstracts and reviewed full texts to identify relevant articles. We created a standardized form for each included article to extract information on the pathogen of interest, vaccine(s) being evaluated, study setting, clinical case definition, choices of cases and controls, and statistical approaches used to estimate VE.

resultsWe identified a total of 348 articles, including studies on VE against influenza virus (n = 253), rotavirus (n = 48), pneumococcus (n = 24), and nine other pathogens. Clinical case definitions used to enroll patients were similar by pathogens of interest but the sets of symptoms that defined them varied substantially. Controls could be those testing negative for the pathogen of interest, those testing positive for nonvaccine type of the pathogen of interest, or a subset of those testing positive for alternative pathogens. Most studies controlled for age, calendar time, and comorbidities.

conclusionsOur review highlights similarities and differences in the application of the test-negative design that deserve further examination. If vaccination reduces disease severity in breakthrough infections, particular care must be taken in interpreting vaccine effectiveness estimates from test-negative design studies.

Indexed as

VaccinesCase-Control StudiesHumansTreatment OutcomeVaccines

Identifiers

PMID31609860
PMCPMC6888869

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.