Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37349789›Full record

ArticleMalaria journal2023

Performance of a novel melting curve-based qPCR assay for malaria parasites in routine clinical practice in non-endemic setting.

Kim J M van Bergen, Antoine R Stuitje, Robert C Akkers, Henricus J Vermeer, Rob Castel, Theo G Mank

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Malaria journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 40% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. 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

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kim J M van BergenResult Laboratorium, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Albert Schweitzerplaats 25, 3300 AK, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. k.j.m.vanbergen@resultlaboratorium.nl.
Antoine R StuitjeMRC Holland, Willem Schoutenstraat 1, 1057 DL, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Robert C AkkersResult Laboratorium, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Albert Schweitzerplaats 25, 3300 AK, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Henricus J VermeerResult Laboratorium, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Albert Schweitzerplaats 25, 3300 AK, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Rob CastelResult Laboratorium, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Albert Schweitzerplaats 25, 3300 AK, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Theo G MankRegional Laboratory for Medical Microbiology and Public Health, Boerhaavelaan 26, 2035 RC, Haarlem, The Netherlands.
Albert Schweitzer Ziekenhuis · NLMRC Holland (Netherlands) · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigh-quality malaria diagnosis is essential for effective treatment and clinical disease management. Microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests are the conventional methods performed as first-line malaria diagnostics in non-endemic countries. However, these methods lack the characteristic to detect very low parasitaemia, and accurate identification of the Plasmodium species can be difficult. This study evaluated the performance of the MC004 melting curve-based qPCR for the diagnosis of malaria in routine clinical practice in non-endemic setting. METHODS AND

resultsWhole blood samples were collected from 304 patients with clinical suspicion of malaria and analysed by both the MC004 assay and conventional diagnostics. Two discrepancies were found between the MC004 assay and microscopy. Repeated microscopic analysis confirmed the qPCR results. Comparison of the parasitaemia of nineteen Plasmodium falciparum samples determined by both microscopy and qPCR showed the potential of the MC004 assay to estimate the parasite load of P. falciparum. Eight Plasmodium infected patients were followed after anti-malarial treatment by the MC004 assay and microscopy. The MC004 assay still detected Plasmodium DNA although no parasites were seen with microscopy in post-treatment samples. The rapid decline in Plasmodium DNA showed the potential for therapy-monitoring.

conclusionImplementation of the MC004 assay in non-endemic clinical setting improved the diagnosis of malaria. The MC004 assay demonstrated superior Plasmodium species identification, the ability to indicate the Plasmodium parasite load, and can potentially detect submicroscopic Plasmodium infections.

Indexed as

MalariaMalaria, FalciparumPlasmodiumHumansMicroscopyParasitemiaPlasmodium falciparumSensitivity and SpecificityMalariaMelting curve analysisPlasmodiumqPCRQuantification parasitaemiaTherapy-monitoring

Identifiers

PMID37349789
PMCPMC10286418
OpenAlexW4381615597

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Registered trials

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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.