SynthesisBMC infectious diseases2021
Diagnostic tools for neurosyphilis: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Key Considerations in Evaluating Syphilis Therapeutics.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2026Article
- Developing a multi-antigen fusion protein (Tp15-17-47) serological test to improve neurosyphilis diagnosis.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Diagnostic Challenges of Neurosyphilis: A Case of Lues Maligna with Neuropsychiatric Symptoms.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2026Article
- Cerebral neurosyphilis mimicking acute frontal lobe infarction: a case report.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Article
- Meningovascular neurosyphilis presenting as multifocal stroke in an HIV patient on ART: a diagnostic challenge in a resource-limited setting: case report and literature review.AIDS research and therapy · 2026Review
- Meningovascular Neurosyphilis Presenting as Multifocal Stroke: A Case Report and Literature Review.Cureus · 2026Article
- From seropositivity to neurosyphilis: clinical spectrum and diagnostic classification in hospitalized neurology patients: a 16-year retrospective study.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Observational
- Ocular Neurosyphilis in an Immunocompetent Patient Without HIV: A Diagnostic Challenge.Cureus · 2025Article
- Community and Hospital HIV Follow-Up Clinics Achieve Similar Lumbar Puncture and Syphilis Treatment Success in Patients with HIV-Syphilis Coinfection: Saskatoon, SK, Canada.Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2025Article
- Profile of Neurosyphilis Patients Admitted to a Tertiary Care Centre of Nepal: An Observational Study.JNMA; journal of the Nepal Medical Association · 2025Observational
- Clinical and laboratory characteristics of neurosyphilis: analysis of symptoms and risk factors.European journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Research progress on the mechanisms of neurosyphilis' impact on cognitive function, early identification, and prevention strategies.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Review
- The Resurgence ofInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Large-Scale Proteome Profiling Identifies Biomarkers Associated with Suspected Neurosyphilis Diagnosis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- CDC Laboratory Recommendations for Syphilis Testing, United States, 2024.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2024Article
- Southern African HIV Clinicians Society Guideline for the clinical management of syphilis.Southern African journal of HIV medicine · 2024Article
- Diagnosing Tabes Dorsalis in HIV-Negative Patients: Clinical Features, Neuroimaging, and Laboratory Insights in the Modern Antibiotic Era.Infection and drug resistance · 2024Article
- LC-MS metabolomics and lipidomics in cerebrospinal fluid from viral and bacterial CNS infections: a review.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeIncreasing incidences of syphilis highlight the preoccupation with the occurrence of neurosyphilis. This study aimed to understand the current diagnostic tools and their performance to detect neurosyphilis, including new technologies and the variety of existing methods.
methodsWe searched databases to select articles that reported neurosyphilis diagnostic methods and assessed their accuracy, presenting sensitivity and specificity values. Information was synthesized in tables. The risk of bias was examined using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Diagnostic Test Accuracy recommendations.
resultsFourteen studies were included. The main finding was a remarkable diversity of tests, which had varied purposes, techniques, and evaluation methodologies. There was no uniform criterion or gold standard to define neurosyphilis. The current basis for its diagnosis is clinical suspicion and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. There are new promising tests such as PCR tests and chemokine measurement assays.
conclusionsThe diagnosis of neurosyphilis is still a challenge, despite the variety of existing and developing tests. We believe that the multiplicity of reference standards adopted as criteria for diagnosis reveals the imprecision of the current definitions of neurosyphilis. An important next step for the scientific community is to create a universally accepted diagnostic definition for this disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.