Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33836773›Full record

SynthesisMalaria journal2021

Quantification of the misidentification of Plasmodium knowlesi as Plasmodium malariae by microscopy: an analysis of 1569 P. knowlesi cases.

Aongart Mahittikorn, Frederick Ramirez Masangkay, Kwuntida Uthaisar Kotepui, Giovanni De Jesus Milanez, Manas Kotepui

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Malaria journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

16 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Procalcitonin as a Candidate Biomarker for Malarial Infection and Severe Malaria: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023
    Review
  13. Updating estimates ofmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Narrative Review of the Control and Prevention of Knowlesi Malaria.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022
    Review
  16. 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

5 authors.

Aongart MahittikornDepartment of Protozoology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Frederick Ramirez MasangkayDepartment of Medical Technology, Institute of Arts and Sciences, Far Eastern University-Manila, Manila, Philippines.
Kwuntida Uthaisar KotepuiMedical Technology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Walailak University, Tha Sala, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
Giovanni De Jesus MilanezDepartment of Medical Technology, Institute of Arts and Sciences, Far Eastern University-Manila, Manila, Philippines.
Manas KotepuiMedical Technology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Walailak University, Tha Sala, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. manas.ko@wu.ac.th.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9172-3615

Funding

Walailak University The New Strategic Research (P2P) Project
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlasmodium knowlesi is recognized as the fifth Plasmodium species causing malaria in humans. It is morphologically similar to the human malaria parasite Plasmodium malariae, so molecular detection should be used to clearly discriminate between these Plasmodium species. This study aimed to quantify the rate at which P. knowlesi is misidentified as P. malariae by microscopy in endemic and non-endemic areas.

methodsThe protocol of this systematic review was registered in the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (ID = CRD42020204770). Studies reporting the misidentification of P. knowlesi as P. malariae by microscopy and confirmation of this by molecular methods in MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus were reviewed. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS). The pooled prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the misidentification of P. knowlesi as P. malariae by microscopy were estimated using a random effects model. Subgroup analysis of the study sites was performed to demonstrate any differences in the misidentification rates in different areas. Heterogeneity across the included studies was assessed and quantified using Cochran's Q and I

resultsAmong 375 reviewed studies, 11 studies with a total of 1569 confirmed P. knowlesi cases in humans were included. Overall, the pooled prevalence of the misidentification of P. knowlesi as P. malariae by microscopy was estimated at 57% (95% CI 37-77%, I

conclusionAlthough the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that all P. malariae-positive diagnoses made by microscopy in P. knowlesi endemic areas be reported as P. malariae/P. knowlesi malaria, the possibility of microscopists misidentifying P. knowlesi as P. malariae is a diagnostic challenge. The use of molecular techniques in cases with malariae-like Plasmodium with high parasite density as determined by microscopy could help identify human P. knowlesi cases in non-endemic countries.

Indexed as

HumansMalariaMicroscopyPlasmodium knowlesiPlasmodium malariaePrevalenceBloodMalariaMicroscopyMonkeyP. knowlesiPlasmodiumP. malariae

Identifiers

PMID33836773
PMCPMC8033668

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.