Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36174056›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Predicting Plasmodium falciparum infection status in blood using a multiplexed bead-based antigen detection assay and machine learning approaches.

Sarah E Schmedes, Rafael P Dimbu, Laura Steinhardt, Jean F Lemoine, Michelle A Chang, Mateusz Plucinski, Eric Rogier

Open access · goldAbstract read
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.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. IntelligentFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
    Article
  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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Sarah E SchmedesMalaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Rafael P DimbuNational Malaria Control Program, Ministry of Health, Luanda, Angola.
Laura SteinhardtMalaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Jean F LemoineProgramme National de la Contrôle de la Malaria, Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Michelle A ChangMalaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Mateusz PlucinskiMalaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-7322-4625
Eric RogierMalaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-7375-8304
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · USMinistry of Health · AO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlasmodium blood-stage infections can be identified by assaying for protein products expressed by the parasites. While the binary result of an antigen test is sufficient for a clinical result, greater nuance can be gathered for malaria infection status based on quantitative and sensitive detection of Plasmodium antigens and machine learning analytical approaches.

methodsThree independent malaria studies performed in Angola and Haiti enrolled persons at health facilities and collected a blood sample. Presence and parasite density of P. falciparum infection was determined by microscopy for a study in Angola in 2015 (n = 193), by qRT-PCR for a 2016 study in Angola (n = 208), and by qPCR for a 2012-2013 Haiti study (n = 425). All samples also had bead-based detection and quantification of three Plasmodium antigens: pAldolase, pLDH, and HRP2. Decision trees and principal component analysis (PCA) were conducted in attempt to categorize P. falciparum parasitemia density status based on continuous antigen concentrations.

resultsConditional inference trees were trained using the known P. falciparum infection status and corresponding antigen concentrations, and PCR infection status was predicted with accuracies ranging from 73-96%, while level of parasite density was predicted with accuracies ranging from 59-72%. Multiple decision nodes were created for both pAldolase and HRP2 antigens. For all datasets, dichotomous infectious status was more accurately predicted when compared to categorization of different levels of parasite densities. PCA was able to account for a high level of variance (>80%), and distinct clustering was found in both dichotomous and categorical infection status.

conclusionsThis pilot study offers a proof-of-principle of the utility of machine learning approaches to assess P. falciparum infection status based on continuous concentrations of multiple Plasmodium antigens.

Indexed as

Malaria, FalciparumPlasmodium falciparumAntigens, ProtozoanHumansMachine LearningPilot ProjectsReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionAntigens, Protozoan

Identifiers

PMID36174056
PMCPMC9521833
OpenAlexW4297983845

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC0
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.