ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2020
First international external quality assessment scheme of nucleic acid amplification tests for the detection of Schistosoma and soil-transmitted helminths, including Strongyloides: A pilot study.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Diagnosis of Schistosoma infection in non-human animal hosts: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Limited efficacy of repeated praziquantel treatment in Schistosoma mansoni infections as revealed by highly accurate diagnostics, PCR and UCP-LF CAA (RePST trial).PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Trial
- Performance evaluation of the diaxxoPCR system for rapid and user-friendly stool-based diagnosis of trichuriasis, ascariasis and strongyloidiasis in Mozambique.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Evaluation of Each ThreeMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Development and validation of a high-throughput qPCR platform for the detection of soil-transmitted helminth infections.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Detection of soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma spp. by nucleic acid amplification test: Results of the first 5 years of the only international external quality assessment scheme.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Comparison of parasitological methods for the identification of soil-transmitted helminths, includingParasite epidemiology and control · 2024Article
- Female genital schistosomiasis burden and risk factors in two endemic areas in Malawi nested in the Morbidity Operational Research for Bilharziasis Implementation Decisions (MORBID) cross-sectional study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Next step towards point-of-care molecular diagnosis of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS): evaluation of an instrument-free LAMP procedure.Frontiers in parasitology · 2024Article
- Performance evaluation of the AiDx multi-diagnostic automated microscope for the detection of schistosomiasis in Abuja, Nigeria.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- A comparative 'omics' approach for prediction of candidate Strongyloides stercoralis diagnostic coproantigens.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- A review on innovative optical devices for the diagnosis of human soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis: from research and development to commercialization.Parasitology · 2023Review
- Real-time PCR for diagnosing and monitoring treatment effect ofFrontiers in parasitology · 2023Article
- Advantages and Limitations of Microscopy and Molecular Detections for Diagnosis of Soil-transmitted Helminths: An Overview.Helminthologia · 2022Article
- Intestinal Helminth Infections in Ghanaian Children from the Ashanti Region between 2007 and 2008-A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Real-Time PCR-Based Assessment.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- Diagnosis of Schistosomiasis without a Microscope: Evaluating Circulating Antigen (CCA, CAA) and DNA Detection Methods on Banked Samples of a Community-Based Survey from DR Congo.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- Enteric Bacteria and Parasites with Pathogenic Potential in Individuals of the Colombian Indigenous Tribe Kogui.Microorganisms · 2022Article
- Molecular diagnostic approaches for enteric parasites: an issue of relevance for deployed soldiers?Military Medical Research · 2022Article
- Multicentric Evaluation of SeeGene Allplex Real-Time PCR Assays Targeting 28 Bacterial, Microsporidal and Parasitic Nucleic Acid Sequences in Human Stool Samples.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Two-stage lot quality assurance sampling framework for monitoring and evaluation of neglected tropical diseases, allowing for imperfect diagnostics and spatial heterogeneity.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
27 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are increasingly being used as diagnostic tools for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale and A. ceylanicum), Strongyloides stercoralis and Schistosoma in human stool. Currently, there is a large diversity of NAATs being applied, but an external quality assessment scheme (EQAS) for these diagnostics is lacking. An EQAS involves a blinded process where test results reported by a laboratory are compared to those reported by reference or expert laboratories, allowing for an objective assessment of the diagnostic performance of a laboratory. In the current study, we piloted an international EQAS for these helminths (i) to investigate the feasibility of designing and delivering an EQAS; (ii) to assess the diagnostic performance of laboratories; and (iii) to gain insights into the different NAAT protocols used. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL
findingsA panel of twelve stool samples and eight DNA samples was validated by six expert laboratories for the presence of six helminths (Ascaris, Trichuris, N. americanus, Ancylostoma, Strongyloides and Schistosoma). Subsequently this panel was sent to 15 globally dispersed laboratories. We found a high degree of diversity among the different DNA extraction and NAAT protocols. Although most laboratories performed well, we could clearly identify the laboratories that were poorly performing. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We showed the technical feasibility of an international EQAS for the NAAT of STHs, Strongyloides and Schistosoma. In addition, we documented that there are clear benefits for participating laboratories, as they can confirm and/or improve the diagnostic performance of their NAATs. Further research should aim to identify factors that explain poor performance of NAATs.
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