SynthesisClinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases2022
Accuracy of cholera rapid diagnostic tests: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Estimating the proportion of clinically suspected cholera cases that are true Vibrio cholerae infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Improved water supply infrastructure to reduce acute diarrhoeal diseases and cholera in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Results and lessons learned from a pragmatic trial.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Trial
- Decentralised rapid diagnostic tests enable cholera diagnosis by non-laboratory health workers during outbreaks in Cameroon.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Utilizing rapid diagnostic tests in infectious disease surveillance and response in humanitarian emergencies.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Rethinking cholera diagnostic test performance, interpretation, and evaluation: a field-based latent-class analysis in Bangladesh.The Lancet. Microbe · 2025Article
- Rapid tests as a practical alternative to slide agglutination for the confirmation ofJournal of clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- Enhancing national cholera surveillance using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs): A mixed methods evaluation.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Dynamics of IgM and IgA Antibody Response Profile AgainstInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Time to invest in cholera.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Review
- The prevalence and prognostic value of diabetes and hypertension in patients treated for cholera during the ongoing Syrian conflict.Clinical infection in practice · 2024Article
- Enhanced cholera surveillance to improve vaccination campaign efficiency.Nature medicine · 2024Article
- Clinical surveillance systems obscure the true cholera infection burden in an endemic region.Nature medicine · 2024Article
- A Cholera Case Imported from Bangladesh to Italy: Clinico-Epidemiological Management and Molecular Characterization in a Non-Endemic Country.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- A minireview of cholera outbreak in Lebanon - a rising public health concern.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2023Article
- Review of Rapid Diagnostic Methods forThe East African health research journal · 2023Article
- Putting rapid tests to work in surveillance and control of cholera.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022Article
- Cholera Rapid Diagnostic Tests for the Detection ofDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139. Cholera rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are widely used to screen for cholera cases. However, their accuracy has not been systematically reviewed.
objectivesTo evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of cholera RDTs.
methodsSystematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Medline, EMBASE and Web of science through to November 2020; references of included studies and a technical guidance on cholera RDTs. This review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021233124). STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Cross-sectional studies comparing the performance of cholera RDTs either to stool culture or PCR.
participantsIndividuals with clinically suspected cholera. DATA EXTRACTION: Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the quality using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) criteria.
resultsEighteen studies were included in the systematic review of which 17 were used for meta-analysis. Crystal VC was the most frequently used RDT (13 studies), followed by Cholkit and Institut Pasteur cholera dipstick (three studies each), SD Bioline (two studies), Artron (one study) and Smart (one study). Using direct testing (n = 12 627 specimens), the bivariate random-effects model yielded a pooled sensitivity and specificity of 91% (95% CI 87%-94%) and 80% (95% CI 74%-84%), respectively. However, through alkaline peptone water (APW) enrichment (n = 3403 specimens), the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 89% (95% CI 79%-95%) and 98% (95% CI 95%-99%), respectively.
conclusionCholera RDTs, especially when enriched with APW, have moderate sensitivity and specificity. Although less useful for clinical management, the current generation of RDTs have clear utility for surveillance efforts if used in a principled manner. Enrichment of stool specimens in APW before using cholera RDTs reduces the possibility of obtaining false-positive results, despite the few cholera cases that go undetected. It is noteworthy that APW-enriched cholera RDTs are not necessarily rapid tests, and are not listed in the Global Task Force on Cholera Control/WHO target product profile.
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