Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31633613›Full record

Observational studyJournal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999)2020

Should Urine-LAM Tests Be Used in TB Symptomatic HIV-Positive Patients When No CD4 Count Is Available? A Prospective Observational Cohort Study From Malawi.

Helena Huerga, Sekai Chenai Mathabire Rucker, Mathieu Bastard, Andrew Dimba, Cosmas Kamba, Isabel Amoros, Elisabeth Szumilin

Erratum issuedOpen access · hybridAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% 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

13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Urine Lipoarabinomannan Testing in Adults With Advanced Human Immunodeficiency Virus in a Trial of Empiric Tuberculosis Therapy.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Helena HuergaField Epidemiology Department, Epicentre, Paris, France.
Sekai Chenai Mathabire RuckerField Epidemiology Department, Epicentre, Paris, France.
Mathieu BastardField Epidemiology Department, Epicentre, Paris, France.
Andrew DimbaNational Tuberculosis Program, Ministry of Health, Malawi; and.
Cosmas KambaMédecins Sans Frontières, Chiradzulu, Malawi.
Isabel AmorosMédecins Sans Frontières, Chiradzulu, Malawi.
Elisabeth SzumilinMedical Department, Médecins Sans Frontières, Paris, France.
Médecins Sans Frontières · FRPublic Health Institute of Malawi · MW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrent eligibility criteria for urine lateral-flow lipoarabinomannan assay (LF-LAM) in ambulatory, HIV-positive patients rely on the CD4 count. We investigated the diagnostic yield of LF-LAM and the 6-month mortality in ambulatory, TB symptomatic, HIV-positive patients regardless of their CD4 count.

methodsWe conducted a prospective, observational study that included all ambulatory, ≥15-year-old, TB symptomatic (cough, weight loss, fever, or night sweats) HIV-positive patients presenting at 4 health facilities in Malawi. Patients received a clinical examination and were requested urine LF-LAM, sputum microscopy, and Xpert MTB/RIF. TB was defined as bacteriologically confirmed if Xpert was positive.

resultsOf 485 patients included, 171 (35.3%) had a CD4 <200 and 32 (7.2%) were seriously ill. Median CD4 count was 341 cells/µL (interquartile range: 129-546). LAM was positive in 24.9% patients with CD4 < 200 (50% LAM grades 2-4) and 12.5% with CD4 ≥ 200 (12.8% LAM grades 2-4). Xpert was positive in 14.1% (44/312). Among Xpert-positive patients, LAM positivity was 56.7% (CD4 < 200) and 42.9% (CD4 ≥ 200), P = 0.393. Of the patients without an Xpert result, 13.4% (23/172) were LAM positive (ie, potentially missed patients). Overall, mortality was 9.2% (44/478). More pronounced LAM-positive patients had higher mortality than LAM-negative (grades 2-4: 36.0%; grade 1: 9.1%; negative: 7.4%; P < 0.001). LAM-positive patients with CD4 <200 cells/µL had higher risk of mortality than LAM negatives (adjusted hazard ratio: 3.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.4 to 7.2, P = 0.006), particularly those with LAM grades 2-4 (adjusted hazard ratio: 4.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.8 to 13.3, P = 0.002).

conclusionsUrine-LAM testing can be useful for TB diagnosis in HIV-positive TB-symptomatic patients with no CD4 cell count. LAM grade can identify patients at higher risk of death in this situation.

Indexed as

AdultCD4 Lymphocyte CountFemaleHIV SeropositivityHumansLipopolysaccharidesMalawiMaleProspective StudiesTuberculosislipoarabinomannanLipopolysaccharides

Identifiers

PMID31633613
PMCPMC6903332
OpenAlexW2981075774

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.