Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33740029›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Tracking down the White Plague. Chapter three: Revision of endocranial abnormally pronounced digital impressions as paleopathological diagnostic criteria for tuberculous meningitis.

Olga Spekker, David R Hunt, William Berthon, László Paja, Erika Molnár, György Pálfi, Michael Schultz

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. 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

7 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.

Olga SpekkerDepartment of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.ORCID 0000-0002-0350-1906
David R HuntDepartment of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-1316-3418
William BerthonDepartment of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.ORCID 0000-0003-1776-4798
László PajaDepartment of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Erika MolnárDepartment of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
György PálfiDepartment of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
Michael SchultzInstitut für Anatomie und Embryologie, Zentrum Anatomie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
University of Szeged · HUÉcole Pratique des Hautes Études · FRSmithsonian Institution · USUniversitätsmedizin Göttingen · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Abnormally pronounced digital impressions (APDIs) on the endocranial surface develop secondary to a prolonged rise in the intracranial pressure. This can result from a number of pathological conditions, including hydrocephalus due to tuberculous meningitis (TBM). APDIs have been described with relation to TBM not only in the modern medical literature but also in several paleopathological studies. However, APDIs are not pathognomonic for TBM and their diagnostic value for identifying TBM in past human populations has not been evaluated in identified pre-antibiotic era skeletons. To assess the diagnostic value of APDIs for the first time, a macroscopic investigation was performed on skeletons from the Terry Collection (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA). Our material consisted of 234 skeletons with tuberculosis (TB) as the cause of death (TB group) and 193 skeletons with non-tuberculous (NTB) causes of death (NTB group). The macroscopic examination focused on the stage of the prominence and frequency of APDIs in the TB group and NTB group. To determine the significance of difference (if any) in the frequency of APDIs between the two groups, χ2 testing of our data was conducted. We found that APDIs were twice as common in the TB group than in the NTB group. The χ2 comparison of the frequencies of APDIs revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups. In addition, APDIs with more pronounced stages were recorded more frequently in the TB group. Our results indicate that APDIs can be considered as diagnostic criteria for TBM in the paleopathological practice. With suitable circumspection, their utilization provides paleopathologists with a stronger basis for identifying TB and consequently, with a more sensitive means of assessing TB frequency in past human populations.

Indexed as

PaleopathologyAdultFrontal LobeHumansMaleSkullStatistics as TopicTuberculosis, Meningeal

Identifiers

PMID33740029
PMCPMC7978373
OpenAlexW3137228526

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.