Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38688261›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene2024

Estimating Prevalence and Infection Intensity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths Using Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction and Kato-Katz in School-Age Children in Angola.

Muzhgan Soultani, Adam W Bartlett, Elsa P Mendes, Sze Fui Hii, Rebecca Traub, Marta S Palmeirim, Luis M M Lufunda, Vito Colella, Sergio Lopes, Susana Vaz Nery

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Spurious passage ofJournal of clinical microbiology · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
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

10 authors.

Muzhgan SoultaniSchool of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Adam W BartlettKirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Elsa P MendesNational Directorate of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Luanda, Angola.
Sze Fui HiiFaculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Rebecca TraubFaculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Marta S PalmeirimSwiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Luis M M LufundaThe MENTOR Initiative, Huambo, Angola.
Vito ColellaFaculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Sergio LopesThe MENTOR Initiative, Huambo, Angola.
Susana Vaz NeryKirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is gaining recognition in soil-transmitted helminth (STH) diagnostics, especially for Strongyloides stercoralis and differentiating hookworm species. However, sample preservation and DNA extraction may influence qPCR performance. We estimated STH prevalence and infection intensity by using qPCR in schoolchildren from Huambo, Uige, and Zaire, Angola, and compared its performance with that of the Kato-Katz technique (here termed Kato-Katz). Stool samples from 3,063 children (219 schools) were preserved in 96% ethanol and analyzed by qPCR, of which 2,974 children (215 schools) had corresponding Kato-Katz results. Cluster-adjusted prevalence and infection intensity estimates were calculated by qPCR and Kato-Katz, with cycle threshold values converted to eggs per gram for qPCR. Cohen's kappa statistic evaluated agreement between qPCR and Kato-Katz. DNA extraction and qPCR were repeated on 191 (of 278) samples that were initially qPCR negative but Kato-Katz positive, of which 112 (58.6%) became positive. Similar prevalence for Ascaris lumbricoides (37.5% versus 34.6%) and Trichuris trichiura (6.5% versus 6.1%) were found by qPCR and Kato-Katz, respectively, while qPCR detected a higher hookworm prevalence (11.9% versus 2.9%). The prevalence of moderate- or high-intensity infections was higher by Kato-Katz than by qPCR. Agreement between qPCR and Kato-Katz was very good for A. lumbricoides, moderate for T. trichiura, and fair for hookworm. Strongyloides stercoralis prevalence was 4.7% (municipality range, 0-14.3%), and no Ancylostoma ceylanicum was detected by qPCR. Despite suboptimal performance, presumably due to fixative choice, qPCR was fundamental in detecting S. stercoralis and excluding zoonotic A. ceylanicum. Further evaluations on sample fixatives and DNA extraction methods are needed to optimize and standardize the performance of qPCR.

Indexed as

DNA, HelminthFecesSecernentea InfectionsSoilSpecimen HandlingTrichuriasisAncylostomatoideaAngolaAnimalsAscaris lumbricoidesChildCost of IllnessDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleHumansMaleDNA, HelminthSoil

Identifiers

PMID38688261
PMCPMC11154060

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.