Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38107430›Full record

ArticleInfection and drug resistance2023

Diagnostic Efficacy of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing in Patients with Spinal Infections: A Retrospective Study.

Hanwen Cheng, Haoyu Wu, Ni Tan, Zhuojie Liu, Ning Wang, Ningyi Chen, Chunhai Li

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Infection and drug resistance, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 8% 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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Clinical utility of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in diagnosing spinal infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 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

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Hanwen Cheng *Department of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0002-9373-6732
Haoyu Wu *Department of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
Ni Tan *Cellular and Molecular Diagnostics Center, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
Zhuojie LiuDepartment of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
Ning WangDepartment of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
Ningyi ChenDepartment of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
Chunhai LiDepartment of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
Sun Yat-sen University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Early diagnosis of spinal infections remains challenging, and emerging metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) technology holds promise in addressing this issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of mNGS in spinal infections. Patients and Methods: A total of 78 cases with suspected spinal infections were enrolled in this study, all of whom underwent laboratory, histopathological and mNGS examinations upon admission. Lesion samples were obtained by surgical or C-arm-guided puncture. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of culture and mNGS were calculated for statistical analysis. Results: With histopathological results as the reference, the included 78 patients were categorized into 50 cases in the spinal infection group and 28 cases in the aseptic group. The sensitivity (84%) and negative predictive value (77.14%) of mNGS were significantly higher than those of culture (32% and 44.26%, respectively), whereas no significant differences were observed in terms of specificity and positive predictive value. In the subgroup analysis for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the sensitivity of mNGS (90.91%) and T-spot (90.91%) was significantly higher than that of culture (0). Additionally, mNGS demonstrated markedly higher specificity (100%) compared to T-spot (85.07%). Conclusion: This study underscores the substantial advantages of mNGS in terms of diagnostic accuracy and bacterial coverage for spinal infections. The findings provide compelling clinical evidence that supports the enhanced diagnostic efficacy of mNGS.

Indexed as

bacteriaclinical evidenceculturediagnosissensitivityspecificity

Identifiers

PMID38107430
PMCPMC10725644
OpenAlexW4389628231

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.