Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32568476›Full record

ArticleClinical and translational gastroenterology2020

Droplet Digital PCR Detects Low-Density Infection in a Significant Proportion of Helicobacter Pylori-Negative Gastric Biopsies of Dyspeptic Patients.

María José Ramírez-Lázaro, Sergio Lario, María Elisa Quílez, Antònia Montserrat, Maria Rosa Bella, Félix Junquera, Lorena García-Martínez, Àlex Casalots, Tamara Parra, Xavier Calvet

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical and translational gastroenterology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Low-Abundance and FragmentaryBiomolecules · 2026
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  2. OccultFrontiers in microbiology · 2026
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  3. Review
  4. Detection by Real-Time PCR ofMicroorganisms · 2024
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Detection and Treatment ofGastroenterology research and practice · 2022
    Review
  7. Diagnosis ofDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
    Review
  8. Article
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

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

María José Ramírez-LázaroCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Sergio LarioCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
María Elisa QuílezDigestive Diseases Service, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain.
Antònia MontserratCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Maria Rosa BellaPathology Service, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain.
Félix JunqueraCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Lorena García-MartínezDigestive Diseases Service, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain.
Àlex CasalotsPathology Service, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain.
Tamara ParraPathology Service, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain.
Xavier CalvetCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas · ESUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona · ESInstitute of Research and Innovation Parc Tauli · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionHelicobacter pylori-infected individuals may present low-density infection, undetectable by conventional tests such as histology, rapid urease test, or urea breath test. Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) is more sensitive than other polymerase chain reaction methods. We aimed to evaluate the ability of ddPCR to detect H. pylori infection in patients diagnosed as negative by conventional tests.

methodsDyspeptic patients (n = 236) were tested for H. pylori by histology, urea breath test, and rapid urease test. Patients were classified as having 3 positive (n = 25, control group), 2 positive (n = 12), one positive (n = 41), or zero positive (n = 158) diagnostic tests. DNA was extracted from gastric biopsies. Triplicate ddPCR testing for each of the 16S rDNA, ureA, and vacA(s) genes was performed using a QX200 ddPCR system (Bio-Rad). A gene was considered positive when detected by at least 2 of 3 repeated ddPCRs. H. pylori positivity was defined as having 2 or more positive genes.

resultsAll the biopsies of the control patients were positive for all 3 16S rDNA, ureA, and vacA(s) genes. H. pylori infection was detected in 57 (36%), 22 (54%), and 9 (75%) patients with zero, 1, and 2 positive diagnostic tests, respectively. The density of infection was 5, 121, 599, and 3,133 copies of H. pylori genome equivalents for patients with zero, 1, and 2 of 3 positive test results and for the control group, respectively. DISCUSSION: ddPCR detected low-density "occult" H. pylori infection in a significant proportion (36%) of patients diagnosed as negative by conventional methods. The number of conventional positive tests was related to the density of infection.

Indexed as

AdultAgedBacterial ProteinsBiopsyBreath TestsDNA, BacterialDyspepsiaFemaleGastric MucosaGastroscopyHelicobacter InfectionsHelicobacter pyloriHumansMaleMiddle AgedPolymerase Chain ReactionBacterial ProteinsDNA, BacterialRNA, Ribosomal, 16SUrease

Identifiers

PMID32568476
PMCPMC7339194
OpenAlexW3034708103

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.