Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31908991›Full record

ArticleWorld journal of orthopedics2019

Pilot study of a novel serum mRNA gene panel for diagnosis of acute septic arthritis.

Blake J Schultz, Timothy Sweeney, Malcolm R DeBaun, Melissa Remmel, Uros Midic, Purvesh Khatri, Michael J Gardner

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in World journal of orthopedics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 32% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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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

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Blake J SchultzDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, Redwood City, CA 94063, United States. blakeschultzmd@gmail.com.
Timothy SweeneyInflammatix, Inc, 863 Mitten Road, Suite 104, Burlingame, CA 94010, United States.
Malcolm R DeBaunDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, Redwood City, CA 94063, United States.
Melissa RemmelInflammatix, Inc, 863 Mitten Road, Suite 104, Burlingame, CA 94010, United States.
Uros MidicInflammatix, Inc, 863 Mitten Road, Suite 104, Burlingame, CA 94010, United States.
Purvesh KhatriInstitute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infections, Center for Biomedical Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, Redwood City, CA 94305, United States.
Michael J GardnerDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, Redwood City, CA 94063, United States.
Stanford University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSeptic arthritis is an orthopedic emergency requiring immediate surgical intervention. Current diagnostic standard of care is an invasive joint aspiration. Aspirations provide information about the inflammatory cells in the sample within a few hours, but there is often ambiguity about whether the source is infectious (

aimTo study whether the SMS holds diagnostic validity in determining the etiology of acute arthritis.

methodsWe conducted a blinded, prospective, non-interventional clinical study of the SMS. All patients undergoing work-up for a septic primary joint were enrolled. Patients proceeded through the normal standard-of-care pathway, including joint aspiration and inflammatory labs [white blood cell (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP)]. Venous blood was also drawn into PAX gene RNA-stabilizing tubes and mRNAs were measured using Nano String nCounter™. SMS was calculated blinded to clinical results.

resultsA total of 20 samples were included, of which 11 were infected based on aspiration or intra-operative cultures. The SMS had an area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of 0.87 for separating infectious from non-infectious conditions. For comparison, the AUROCs for ESR = 0.58, CRP = 0.6, and WBC = 0.59. At 100% sensitivity for infection, the specificity of the SMS was 40%, meaning nearly half of non-septic patients could have been ruled out for further intervention.

conclusionIn this pilot study, SMS showed a high level of diagnostic accuracy in predicting septic joints compared to other diagnostic biomarkers. This quick blood test could be an important tool for early, accurate identification of acute septic joints and need for emergent surgery, improving clinical care and healthcare spending.

Indexed as

BioinformaticsBiomarkersDiagnosticsInfectionMedical technologySeptic arthritis

Identifiers

PMID31908991
PMCPMC6937427
OpenAlexW2993126795

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Registered trials

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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.