Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37916114›Full record

ArticleHeliyon2023

A clinical pilot study for the detection of sphingomyelinase in leptospirosis patient's urine at tertiary care hospital.

A Ashaiba, A B Arun, K Sudhakara Prasad, Rouchelle C Tellis

RetractedAbstract readRetracted Publication
In one paragraph

Article in Heliyon, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

  1. Laboratory Diagnosis of Leptospirosis.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

A AshaibaDepartment of Microbiology, Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, 575 018, India.
A B ArunYenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, 575 018, India.
K Sudhakara PrasadYenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, 575 018, India.
Rouchelle C TellisDepartment of Microbiology, Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, 575 018, India.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Leptospirosis is a perplexing mystification for many clinicians. Clinically often underdiagnosed due to lack of a rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnostic test. Currently available diagnostic tests have their own limitations; therefore, monitoring biomarkers that contribute an essential role in pathogenesis is crucial. Herein, a pilot study was conducted to detect the presence of sphingomyelinase in urine of leptospirosis patients. Methods: Blood and urine samples were collected from 140 patients having febrile illness. Samples were analyzed through culturing, dark-field microscopy, detecting anti-leptospiral antibodies by MAT, IgM ELISA, Leptocheck-WB and screening for sphingomyelinase using a sphingomyelinase assay kit. Results: Out of 140 febrile illness patients, 22.14 % were tested leptospirosis, 33.57 % were dengue, 25 % scrub typhus, 18.57 % malaria and 0.71 % co-infection (dengue-leptospirosis). MAT seropositivity of 19.28 % (27/140) was confirmed with the highest agglutinant determined against serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae RGA followed by Autumnalis, Australis, and Pyrogens. IgM ELISA and Leptocheck-WB positivity was 16.42 % and 13.57 % respectively. Whereas culture and dark-field microscopy showed a sensitivity of 4.28 % and 2.1 %, respectively. Out of 31 confirmed cases of leptospirosis, sphingomyelinase was detected in the urine of 25 (80.64 %) patients, MAT positivity was seen in 87.09 % and culture positivity was seen in 12.90 % of cases. Conclusion: Detection of sphingomyelinase in the urine of a leptospirosis patient and its absence in other febrile illnesses like dengue, malaria and scrub typhus establish evidence of secretion of sphingomyelinase in urine during leptospiral infection. Hence, sphingomyelinase could be used as a potential diagnostic biomarker to detect leptospirosis in a non-invasive way.

Indexed as

BiomarkerDiagnosisLeptospirosisNon-invasiveSphingomyelinaseUrine

Identifiers

PMID37916114
PMCPMC10616390

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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.