Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34659617›Full record

ArticleThe Pan African medical journal2021

Rethinking COVID-19 test sensitivity-a strategy for improving the detection limit.

Mohammed Kalim Akhtar, Ross Ka-Kit Leung, Gulfaraz Khan

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Pan African medical journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 90% 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

0 citing papers in PubMed, 0 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Mohammed Kalim AkhtarDepartment of Chemistry, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Ross Ka-Kit LeungStanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
Gulfaraz KhanMedical Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates University · AEChinese University of Hong Kong · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Numerous genetic tests for the detection of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, including those based on the ever-popular real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) technique, have been reported. These diagnostic tests give false negatives particularly during the early and late stages of COVID-19 clearly indicating inadequate test sensitivity. The entire COVID-19 diagnostic workflow is often overlooked and given very little attention. Herein, we propose that volumetric modifications to COVID-19 workflows would significantly improve detection limits. We would therefore encourage researchers to adopt a holistic approach, in which all the steps of a COVID-19 diagnostic workflow, are carefully scrutinised, particularly those upstream factors at the viral sampling and pre-analytical stages.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 TestingFalse Negative ReactionsHumansLimit of DetectionReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionSensitivity and SpecificitySpecimen Handlingdiagnostic workflowfalse negativesreal-time polymerase chain reactionSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID34659617
PMCPMC8498663
OpenAlexW3195043123

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.