Observational studyPloS one2020
Combined PCR and MAT improves the early diagnosis of the biphasic illness leptospirosis.
Observational study in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Anti-Leptospira Antibodies in Bovines (2018-2023) and Reported Serovars and Serogroups-A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.Veterinary medicine and science · 2025Pooled it
- Diagnosis of human leptospirosis: systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of the Leptospira microscopic agglutination test, PCR targeting Lfb1, and IgM ELISA to Leptospira fainei serovar Hurstbridge.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Pooled it
- Early diagnosis and treatment of leptospirosis: Optimizing clinical outcomes.The Journal of infection · 2026Review
- Leptospirosis in Southeast Asia: Investigating Seroprevalence, Transmission Patterns, and Diagnostic Challenges.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2026Review
- Urine PCR testing as an effective method for early diagnosis of leptospirosis.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Canine Leptospirosis in Flood-Affected Areas of Southern Brazil: Molecular Assessment and Public Health Implications.Infectious disease reports · 2025Article
- Diagnostic Advances in Leptospirosis: A Comparative Analysis of Paraclinical Tests with a Focus on PCR.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Evaluation of Serological Tests for Different Disease Stages of Leptospirosis Infection in Humans.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2024Article
- Investigation of Leptospirosis Agents in Cattle and Humans.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2024Article
- Clinical presentation of human leptospirosis in febrile patients: Urabá, Colombia.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Observational
- Improved Antibody Detection for Canine Leptospirosis: ELISAs Modified Using Local Leptospiral Serovar Isolates from Asymptomatic Dogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Case Report: Locally Acquired Leptospirosis in a Minnesota Boy and His Dog.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- Diagnosis of leptospira by metagenomics next-generation sequencing with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support: a case report.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- The combination of RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a and Leptospira IgM RDT enhances the early detection of leptospirosis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Effect of Demographics and Time to Sample Processing on the qPCR Detection of PathogenicTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- Molecular and Serological Identification of PathogenicTransboundary and emerging diseases · 2023Article
- Rickettsial Infections Are Neglected Causes of Acute Febrile Illness in Teluk Intan, Peninsular Malaysia.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- Role of Diagnostics in Epidemiology, Management, Surveillance, and Control of Leptospirosis.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Predictors of severe leptospirosis: a multicentre observational study from Central Malaysia.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Observational
- Leptospirosis as a cause of fever associated with jaundice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The diagnosis of leptospirosis remains a challenge due to its non-specific symptoms and the biphasic nature of the illness. A comprehensive diagnosis that includes both molecular (polymerase chain reaction (PCR)) and serology is vital for early detection of leptospirosis and to avoid misdiagnosis. However, not all samples could be subjected to both tests (serology and molecular) due to budget limitation, infrastructure, and technical expertise at least in resource-limited countries. We evaluated the usefulness of testing the clinically suspected leptospirosis cases with both techniques on all samples collected from the patients on the day of admission. Among the 165 patient's blood/serum samples tested (from three hospitals in Central Malaysia), 43 (26%) showed positivity by microscopic agglutination test (MAT), 63 (38%) by PCR, while 14 (8%) were positive by both MAT and PCR. For PCR, we tested two molecular targets (lipL32 by qPCR and 16S rDNA or rrs by nested PCR) and detected lipL32 in 47 (29%) and rrs gene in 63 (38%) patients. The use of more than one target gene for PCR increased the detection rates. Hence, a highly sensitive multiplex PCR targeting more than one diagnostic marker is recommended for the early detection of Leptospira in suspected patients. When the frequencies for positivity detected either by MAT or PCR combined, leptospirosis was diagnosed in a total of 92 (56%) patients, a higher frequency compared to when samples were only tested by a single method (MAT or PCR). The results from this study suggest the inclusion of both serology and molecular methods for every first sample irrespective of the days post-onset of symptoms (DPO) collected from patients for early diagnosis of leptospirosis.
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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.