ArticleBMJ open2023
Point-of-care ultrasound for tuberculosis diagnosis in children: a Médecins Sans Frontières cross-sectional study in Guinea-Bissau.
Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05364593 (Evaluating Point-of-care Ultrasound to Improve Tuberculosis Diagnosis in Children), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.
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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.
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.
Evaluating Point-of-care Ultrasound to Improve Tuberculosis Diagnosis in Children
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- POCUS Examination of the Mediastinum in Children: A Simplified and Standardized Protocol for Pulmonary Tuberculosis.POCUS journal · 2025Article
- Ultrasound-guided management of tuberculosis-related pleural effusion in a pediatric patient: A case report and literature review.Radiology case reports · 2025Article
- Comments and Illustrations of Ultrasound Findings in Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis Manifestations.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Tuberculosis in Young Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition.The Pediatric infectious disease journal · 2024Article
- Diagnostic Performance of Comprehensive Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Pediatric Tuberculosis in Spain: A Prospective Observational Study.Journal of clinical ultrasound : JCUObservational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveDescription of tuberculosis (TB)-focused point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) findings for children with presumptive TB.
designCross-sectional study (July 2019 to April 2020).
settingSimão Mendes hospital in Bissau, a setting with high TB, HIV, and malnutrition burdens.
participantsPatients aged between 6 months and 15 years with presumptive TB.
interventionsParticipants underwent clinical, laboratory and unblinded clinician-performed POCUS assessments, to assess subpleural nodules (SUNs), lung consolidation, pleural and pericardial effusion, abdominal lymphadenopathy, focal splenic and hepatic lesions and ascites. Presence of any sign prompted a POCUS positive result. Ultrasound images and clips were evaluated by expert reviewers and, in case of discordance, by a second reviewer. Children were categorised as confirmed TB (microbiological diagnosis), unconfirmed TB (clinical diagnosis) or unlikely TB. Ultrasound findings were analysed per TB category and risk factor: HIV co-infection, malnutrition and age.
resultsA total of 139 children were enrolled, with 62 (45%) women and 55 (40%) aged <5 years; 83 (60%) and 59 (42%) were severely malnourished (SAM) and HIV-infected, respectively. TB confirmation occurred in 27 (19%); 62 (45%) had unconfirmed TB and 50 (36%) had unlikely TB. Children with TB were more likely to have POCUS-positive results (93%) compared with children with unlikely TB (34%). Common POCUS signs in patients with TB were: lung consolidation (57%), SUNs (55%) and pleural effusion (30%), and focal splenic lesions (28%). In children with confirmed TB, POCUS sensitivity was 85% (95% CI) (67.5% to 94.1%). In those with unlikely TB, specificity was 66% (95% CI 52.2% to 77.6%). Unlike HIV infection and age, SAM was associated with a higher POCUS-positivity. Cohen's kappa coefficient for concordance between field and expert reviewers ranged from 0.6 to 0.9.
conclusionsWe found a high prevalence of POCUS signs in children with TB compared with children with unlikely TB. POCUS-positivity was dependent on nutritional status but not on HIV status or age. TB-focused POCUS could potentially play a supportive role in the diagnosis of TB in children. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05364593.
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