Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34799809›Full record

ArticleInternational urology and nephrology2022

Anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibody screening in nephrotic syndrome may identify a distinct subset of patients with primary membranous nephropathy.

Roxana Jurubiță, Bogdan Obrișcă, Camelia Achim, Georgia Micu, Bogdan Sorohan, Raluca Bobeică, Alexandra Vornicu, Maria Găman, Cristina Căpușă, Gabriel Ștefan and 3 more

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Article in International urology and nephrology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 30% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. PLA2R autoantibodies, a multifaceted biomarker in nephrotic syndrome and membranous nephropathy.Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association · 2025
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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

13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Roxana JurubițăDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Bogdan ObrișcăDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania. obriscabogdan@yahoo.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4796-4950
Camelia AchimDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Georgia MicuDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Bogdan SorohanDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Raluca BobeicăDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Alexandra VornicuDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Maria GămanDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Cristina CăpușăDepartment of Nephrology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Gabriel ȘtefanDepartment of Nephrology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Liliana ViașuDepartment of Nephrology, "Dr. Carol Davila" Teaching Hospital of Nephrology, Bucharest, Romania.
Gabriel MircescuDepartment of Nephrology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Gener IsmailDepartment of Nephrology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Fundeni street 258, 022328, Bucharest, Romania.
Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy · ROInstitutul Clinic Fundeni · RO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe sought to investigate the utility of anti-PLA2R antibody as a non-invasive screening method for the diagnosis of primary MN in patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS).

methodsAll consecutive patients with NS admitted in our department, between 01.01.2015 and 31.12.2019 were screened for anti-PLA2R antibodies by an ELISA assay (EUROIMMUN, Lübeck, DE). A positive anti-PLA2R serology was defined as an ELISA value over 2 RU/ml. Subsequently, all patients underwent kidney biopsy to confirm the histological diagnosis.

resultsOf the 203 patients with NS, we identified 67 patients with "high" titer of anti-PLA2R antibodies (> 20 RU/ml) and 47 patients with "intermediate" titer (2-20 RU/ml). In the entire cohort, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.83 (95% CI 0.78-0.89; p < 0.001). With a cutoff of 20 RU/ml, the anti-PLA2R antibodies had a 64% sensitivity (95% CI 53-73%) and 94% specificity (95% CI 88-97%) to discriminate MN from other causes of NS. In addition, the PPV and NPV were 91% (95% CI 82-95%) and 75% (95% CI 69-79%). When analyzing the posttest effect, we identified a LR+ of 11.56 (95% CI 5.2-25.2) and LR- of 0.38 (95% CI 0.29-0.5). The overall accuracy of the test was 80.3% (95% CI 74-85%) and the diagnostic odds ratio was 30.42. When performing subgroup analysis, we identified that in younger patients, in those with preserved renal function or with negative workup for secondary causes, the diagnostic performance of anti-PLA2R antibodies was improved, the sensitivity increasing to 68-71%, the PPV to 93-95% and the LR+ to 12.23-15.4.

conclusionSerum anti-PLA2R antibody screening in patients with NS is a useful method for the diagnosis of primary MN. In younger patients (less than 60 years old) who have a preserved renal function and a negative workup for secondary causes of NS, a positive anti-PLA2R test highly predicts a diagnosis of primary MN.

Indexed as

Glomerulonephritis, MembranousNephrotic SyndromeAutoantibodiesEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayHumansMass ScreeningMiddle AgedReceptors, Phospholipase A2AutoantibodiesReceptors, Phospholipase A2Anti-PLA2R antibodyKidney biopsyMembranous nephropathySerology

Identifiers

PMID34799809
OpenAlexW3213468060

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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.