Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37459359›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2023

Prevalence and predictors of Aspergillus seropositivity and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis in an urban tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone: A cross-sectional study.

Sulaiman Lakoh, Joseph B Kamara, Emma Orefuwa, Daniel Sesay, Darlinda F Jiba, Olukemi Adekanmbi, Gibrilla F Deen, James B W Russell, Abubakarr Bailor Bah, Maxwell Joseph Kargbo and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Systematic Review of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis Among Patients Treated for Pulmonary Tuberculosis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  3. Performance of the LDBioMicrobiology spectrum · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis in tea population of Assam.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025
    Article
  7. 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

13 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

Sulaiman LakohCollege of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.ORCID 0000-0002-7639-0004
Joseph B KamaraCollege of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Emma OrefuwaGlobal Action For Fungal Infections, Geneva, Switzerland.
Daniel SesayMinistry of Health and Sanitation, Government of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Darlinda F JibaMinistry of Health and Sanitation, Government of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Olukemi AdekanmbiDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Gibrilla F DeenCollege of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
James B W RussellCollege of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Abubakarr Bailor BahCollege of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Maxwell Joseph KargboCollege of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Emmanuel FirimaDivision of Clinical Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
George A YendewaDepartment of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.
David W DenningGlobal Action For Fungal Infections, Geneva, Switzerland.
University of Sierra Leone · SLJohns Hopkins University · USManchester Academic Health Science Centre · GBSwiss Tropical and Public Health Institute · CHUniversity of Ibadan · NG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the World Health Organization Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2022, 37% of pulmonary TB patients were clinically diagnosed and thus many people were treated for TB without evidence of the disease. Probably the most common TB misdiagnosis is chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). In this study, we aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of Aspergillus seropositivity and CPA in patients with chronic respiratory symptoms in an urban tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL

findingsWe used a cross-sectional study design to recruit adults (≥18 years) from the Chest Clinic of Connaught Hospital, Freetown between November 2021 and July 2022. Aspergillus antibody was detected using LDBio Aspergillus IgM/IgG. Logistic regression was performed to assess the independent predictors of Aspergillus seropositivity and CPA. Of the 197 patients with chronic respiratory symptoms, 147 (74.6%) were male. Mean age was 47.1 ± 16.4 years. More than half (104, 52.8%) had been diagnosed with TB in the past, while 53 (26.9%) were on TB treatment at the time of recruitment. Fifty-two (26.4%) patients were HIV positive, 41 (20.8%) were seropositive for Aspergillus and 23 (11.6%) had CPA, 2 (3.8%) with current TB and 18 (17.3%) with past TB. Common radiologic abnormalities reported were localized fibrotic changes 62 (31.5%), consolidation 54 (27.4%), infiltrates 46 (23.4%), hilar adenopathy 40 (20.3%) and pleural effusion 35 (17.85) and thickening 23 (11.7%). Common symptoms were weight loss 144 (73.1%), cough 135 (68.5%), fever 117 (59.4%) and dyspnea 90 (45.7%). Current or past TB infection {aOR 3.52, 95% CI (1.46, 8.97); p = 0.005} was an independent predictor of Aspergillus seropositivity and CPA. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We report a high prevalence of Aspergillus antibody seropositivity and CPA, underscoring the need to integrate the prevention and management of pulmonary fungal infections with TB services and asthma care in order to reduce unnecessary morbidity and mortality.

Indexed as

Pulmonary AspergillosisTuberculosisAdultAspergillusChronic DiseaseCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansImmunoglobulin GMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceSierra LeoneTertiary Care CentersImmunoglobulin G

Identifiers

PMID37459359
PMCPMC10374077
OpenAlexW4384499743

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC0
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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.