Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34935001›Full record

ArticleThe lancet. Healthy longevity2022

Prevalence and duration of detectable SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies in staff and residents of long-term care facilities over the first year of the pandemic (VIVALDI study): prospective cohort study in England.

Maria Krutikov, Tom Palmer, Gokhan Tut, Christopher Fuller, Borscha Azmi, Rebecca Giddings, Madhumita Shrotri, Nayandeep Kaur, Panagiota Sylla, Tara Lancaster and 5 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The lancet. Healthy longevity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 91 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
91citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
7.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

91 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 127 citations in OpenAlex.

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31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Maria KrutikovUCL Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.
Tom PalmerUCL Institute for Global Health, London, UK.
Gokhan TutInstitute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Christopher FullerUCL Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.
Borscha AzmiUCL Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.
Rebecca GiddingsUCL Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.
Madhumita ShrotriUCL Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.
Nayandeep KaurInstitute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Panagiota SyllaInstitute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Tara LancasterInstitute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Aidan Irwin-SingerDepartment of Health and Social Care, London, UK.
Andrew HaywardUCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, London, UK.
Paul MossInstitute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Andrew CopasUCL Institute for Global Health, London, UK.
Laura ShallcrossUCL Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.
University College London · GBUniversity of Birmingham · GBDepartment of Health and Social Care · GB

Funding

British Heart FoundationChief Scientist OfficeDepartment of HealthMedical Research CouncilWellcome TrustWellcome Trust 222907/Z/21/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLong-term care facilities (LTCFs) have reported high SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and related mortality, but the proportion of infected people among those who have survived, and duration of the antibody response to natural infection, is unknown. We determined the prevalence and stability of nucleocapsid antibodies (the standard assay for detection of previous infection) in staff and residents in LTCFs in England.

methodsThis was a prospective cohort study of residents 65 years or older and of staff 65 years or younger in 201 LTCFs in England between March 1, 2020, and May 7, 2021. Participants were linked to a unique pseudo-identifier based on their UK National Health Service identification number. Serial blood samples were tested for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein using the Abbott ARCHITECT i-system (Abbott, Maidenhead, UK) immunoassay. Primary endpoints were prevalence and cumulative incidence of antibody positivity, which were weighted to the LTCF population. Incidence rate of loss of antibodies (seroreversion) was estimated from Kaplan-Meier curves.

findings9488 samples were included, 8636 (91·0%) of which could be individually linked to 1434 residents and 3288 staff members. The cumulative incidence of nucleocapsid seropositivity was 34·6% (29·6-40·0) in residents and 26·1% (23·0-29·5) in staff over 11 months. 239 (38·6%) residents and 503 women (81·3%) were included in the antibody-waning analysis, and median follow-up was 149 days (IQR 107-169). The incidence rate of seroreversion was 2·1 per 1000 person-days at risk, and median time to reversion was 242·5 days.

interpretationAt least a quarter of staff and a third of surviving residents were infected with SAR-CoV-2 during the first two waves of the pandemic in England. Nucleocapsid-specific antibodies often become undetectable within the first year following infection, which is likely to lead to marked underestimation of the true proportion of people with previous infection. Given that natural infection might act to boost vaccine responses, better assays to identify natural infection should be developed.

fundingUK Government Department of Health and Social Care.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAntibodies, ViralFemaleHumansLong-Term CareNucleocapsidPrevalenceProspective StudiesSARS-CoV-2State MedicineAntibodies, Viral

Identifiers

PMID34935001
PMCPMC8676418
OpenAlexW4200118071

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.