Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38748183›Full record

Trial reportClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2025

Enhanced Tuberculosis Diagnosis With Computer-aided Chest X-ray and Urine Lipoarabinomannan in Adults With HIV Admitted to Hospital (CASTLE Study): A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Rachael M Burke, Saulos K Nyirenda, Timeo Mtenga, Hussein H Twabi, Elizabeth Joekes, Naomi F Walker, Rose Nyirenda, Ankur Gupta-Wright, Marriott Nliwasa, Katherine Fielding and 2 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

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

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. 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

12 authors.

Rachael M BurkeFaculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-2156-5030
Saulos K NyirendaZomba Central Hospital, Ministry of Health, Zomba, Malawi.
Timeo MtengaFaculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Hussein H TwabiMalawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Elizabeth JoekesDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Naomi F WalkerDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Rose NyirendaDepartment of HIV/AIDS, Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Ankur Gupta-WrightFaculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Marriott NliwasaMalawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Katherine FieldingFaculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Peter MacPhersonFaculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Elizabeth L CorbettFaculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

Funding

Wellcome 203905/Z/16/ZWellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople with human immunodeficiency virus (PHIV) admitted to the hospital have high mortality, with tuberculosis (TB) being the major cause of death. Systematic use of new TB diagnostics could improve TB diagnosis and might improve outcomes.

methodsWe conducted a cluster randomized trial among adult PHIV admitted to Zomba Central Hospital, Malawi. Admission days were randomly assigned to: enhanced TB diagnostics using urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antigen tests (SILVAMP-LAM, Fujifilm, Japan and Determine-LAM, Alere/Abbot, USA), digital chest X-ray with computer-aided diagnosis (dCXR-CAD, CAD4TBv6, Delft, Netherlands), plus usual care ("enhanced TB diagnostics"); or usual care alone ("usual care"). The primary outcome was TB treatment initiation during admission. Secondary outcomes were 56-day mortality, TB diagnosis within 24 hours, and undiagnosed TB at discharge, ascertained by culture of one admission sputum sample.

findingsBetween 2 September 2020 and 15 February 2022, we recruited 419 people. Four were excluded postrecruitment, leaving 415 adults recruited during 207 randomly assigned admission days in modified intention-to-treat analysis. At admission, 90.8% (377/415) were taking antiretroviral therapy with a median CD4 cell count of 240 cells/mm3. In the enhanced diagnostic arm, median CAD4TBv6 score was 60 (interquartile range: 51-71), 4.4% (9/207) had SILVAMP-LAM-positive and 14.4% (29/201) had Determine-LAM-positive urine with 3 samples positive by both urine tests. TB treatment was initiated in 46/207 (22.2%) in the enhanced TB diagnostics arm and 24/208 (11.5%) in the usual care arm (risk ratio, 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-3.08). There was no difference in mortality by 56 days (enhanced TB diagnosis: 54/207, 26.1%; usual care: 52/208, 25.0%; hazard ratio. 1.05; 95% CI: .72-1.53); TB treatment initiation within 24 hours (enhanced TB diagnosis: 8/207, 3.9%; usual care: 5/208, 2.4%; risk ratio, 1.61; 95% CI: .53-4.71); or undiagnosed microbiological-confirmed TB at discharge (enhanced TB diagnosis, 0/207 [0.0%], usual care arm 2/208 [1.0%]; P = .50.

interpretationUrine SILVAMP-LAM/Determine-LAM plus dCXR-CAD diagnostics identified more hospitalized PHIV with TB than usual care. The increase in TB treatment appeared mainly because of greater use of Determine-LAM, rather than SILVAMP-LAM or dCXR-CAD. Poor concordance between Determine-LAM and SILVAMP-LAM urine tests requires further investigation. Inpatient mortality for adults with human immunodeficiency virus remains unacceptability high.

Indexed as

Diagnosis, Computer-AssistedHIV InfectionsLipopolysaccharidesRadiography, ThoracicTuberculosisAdultFemaleHospitalizationHumansMalawiMaleMiddle AgedlipoarabinomannanLipopolysaccharidesadvanced HIV diseasediagnosticsHIVhospitalizationTB

Identifiers

PMID38748183
PMCPMC12135911

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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.