Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36129931›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Diagnostic performance of molecular and serological tests of SARS-CoV-2 on well-characterised specimens from COVID-19 individuals: The EDCTP "PERFECT-study" protocol (RIA2020EF-3000).

Joseph Fokam, Claudia Alteri, Luna Colagrossi, Anne-Marie Genevieve, Désiré Takou, Alexis Ndjolo, Vittorio Colizzi, Nicaise Ndembi, Carlo-Federico Perno

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 49% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
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

9 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Joseph FokamChantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon.ORCID 0000-0002-1501-2763
Claudia AlteriUniversity of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Luna ColagrossiBambino Gesu Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Anne-Marie GenevieveAssociation de Recherche en Virologie et Dermatologie (ARVD), Paris, France.
Désiré TakouChantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Alexis NdjoloChantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Vittorio ColizziChantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Nicaise NdembiAfrica Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Abbis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Carlo-Federico PernoChantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Centre International De Reference Chantal Biya · CMUniversité de Yaoundé I · CMAfrica Centres for Disease Control and Prevention · ETBambino Gesù Children's Hospital · ITUniversity of Milan · ITUniversity of Rome Tor Vergata · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a global threat affecting 210 countries, with 2,177,469 confirmed cases and 6.67% case fatality rate as of April 16, 2020. In Africa, 17,243 cases have been confirmed, but many remain undiagnosed due to limited laboratory-capacity, suboptimal performance of used molecular-assays (~30% false negative, Yu et al. and Zhao et al., 2020) and limited WHO-recommended rapid-tests.

objectivesWe aim to implement measures to minimize risks for COVID-19 in Cameroon, putting together multidisciplinary highly-experienced virologists, immunologists, bioinformaticians and clinicians, to achieve the following objectives: (a) to integrate/improve available-infrastructure, methodologies, and expertise on COVID-19. For this purpose, we will create a platform enabling researchers/clinicians to better integrate and translate evidence into the COVID-19 clinical-practice; (b) to enhance capacities in Cameroon for screening/detecting individuals with high-risks of COVID-19, by setting-up effective core-facilities on-site; (c) to validate point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 molecular assays allowing same-day result delivery, thus permitting timely diagnosis, treatment, and retention in care of COVID-19 patients; (d) to implement SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis with innovative/highly sensitive ddPCR-based assays and viral genetic characterization; (e) to validate serological assays to identify COVID-19-exposed persons and follow-up of convalescents.

methodsThis is a prospective, observational study conducted among COVID-19 suspects/contacts during 24 months in Cameroon. Following consecutive sampling of 1,536 individuals, oro/nasopharyngeal swabs and sera will be collected. Well characterised biorepositories will be established locally; molecular testing will be performed on conventional real-time qPCR, point-of-care GeneXpert, antigen-tests and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR); SARS-CoV2 amplicons will be sequenced; serological testing will be performed using ELISA, and antibody-based kits. Sensitivity, specificity, positive- and negative-predictive values will be evaluated. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: These efforts will contribute in creating the technical and clinical environment to facilitate earlier detection of Sars-CoV-2 in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular. Specifically, the goals will be: (a) to implement technology transfer for capacity-building on conventional and point-of-care molecular assays, achieving a desirable performance for clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV2; (b) to integrate/improve the available infrastructure, methodologies, and expertise on Sars-CoV2 detection; (c) to improve the turn-around-time for diagnosing COVID-19 infection with obvious advantage for patients/clinical management thanks to low-cost assays, thus permitting timely treatment and retention in care; (d) to assess the epidemiology of COVID-19 and circulating-variants in Cameroon as compared to strains found in other countries.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2CameroonCOVID-19 TestingHumansObservational Studies as TopicRNA, ViralSensitivity and SpecificitySerologic TestsRNA, Viral

Identifiers

PMID36129931
PMCPMC9491536
OpenAlexW4296797606

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.