Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36839462›Full record

ArticlePathogens (Basel, Switzerland)2023

Nodding Syndrome: Clinical Characteristics, Risks Factors, Access to Treatment, and Perceptions in the Greater Mundri Area, South Sudan.

Gasim O E Abd-Elfarag, Jake D Mathewson, Lukudu Emmanuel, Arthur W D Edridge, Stella van Beers, Mohamed B Sebit, Robert Colebunders, Michaël B van Hensbroek, Ente J J Rood

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 19% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Nodding Syndrome: Shifting the Focus from Cause to Treatment.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2026
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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

9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Gasim O E Abd-ElfaragAmsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jake D MathewsonKit-Royal Tropical Institute, Epidemiology, Center for Applied Spatial Epidemiology (CASE), 1092 AD Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Lukudu EmmanuelAccess for Humanity (AFH), Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Juba 81114, South Sudan.
Arthur W D EdridgeAmsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Stella van BeersKit-Royal Tropical Institute, Epidemiology, Center for Applied Spatial Epidemiology (CASE), 1092 AD Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mohamed B SebitDepartment of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Juba, P.O. Box 82, Juba 81114, South Sudan.
Robert ColebundersGlobal Health Institute, University of Antwerp, Kinsbergen Centrum, Doornstraat 331, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-1919-1340
Michaël B van HensbroekAmsterdam University Medical Centers, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ente J J RoodKit-Royal Tropical Institute, Epidemiology, Center for Applied Spatial Epidemiology (CASE), 1092 AD Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-8408-7702
Amsterdam University Medical Centers · NLRoyal Tropical Institute · NLUniversity of Juba · SSUniversity of Antwerp · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We conducted a house-to-house survey in the Mundri, Western Equatoria state of South Sudan to investigate the clinical characteristics, risk factors, access to treatment and perceptions about nodding syndrome (NS). In total, 224 NS cases with median age of seizure onset of 10 years were identified. Head nodding only was reported in 50 (22.3%) cases, and head nodding plus other types of seizures in 174 (77.7%) cases. Wasting, stunted growth, delayed sexual development and speech and behavioral abnormalities were observed in 17 (23.6%), 16 (22.2%), 9 (17.3%), 14 (19.4%) and 4 (5.6%) cases, respectively. The consumption of rat meat, but not other bushmeat was associated with an increased risk of NS (OR 9.31, 95% CI 1.27-406.51). Children with NS were more likely to have taken ivermectin in the last 5 years (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.33-4.43). NS cases were less likely to share a bedroom with other children (OR 0.06, 95% CI 0.02-0.16) or adults (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.13-0.56). In conclusion, rat meat consumption is an unlikely risk factor for NS, and ivermectin intake was more common among NS cases than controls. Importantly, we documented that children with NS are stigmatized because of the misconception that NS is transmitted through direct contact.

Indexed as

characteristicsnodding syndromeperceptionsrisk factorsSouth Sudan

Identifiers

PMID36839462
PMCPMC9965143
OpenAlexW4318203597

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.