Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39164620›Full record

SynthesisBMC infectious diseases2024

Non-malarial febrile illness: a systematic review of published aetiological studies and case reports from China, 1980-2015.

Dennis K M Ip, Yvonne Y Ng, Yat H Tam, Nigel V Thomas, Prabin Dahal, Kasia Stepniewska, Paul N Newton, Philippe J Guérin, Heidi Hopkins

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC infectious diseases, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

9 authors.

Dennis K M IpWHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China. dkmip@hku.hk.
Yvonne Y NgWHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China.
Yat H TamWHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China.
Nigel V ThomasInfectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), University of Oxford, NDMRB, Old Road Campus, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK.
Prabin DahalInfectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), University of Oxford, NDMRB, Old Road Campus, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK.
Kasia StepniewskaInfectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), University of Oxford, NDMRB, Old Road Campus, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK.
Paul N NewtonInfectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), University of Oxford, NDMRB, Old Road Campus, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK.
Philippe J GuérinInfectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), University of Oxford, NDMRB, Old Road Campus, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK.
Heidi HopkinsLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK. Heidi.Hopkins@lshtm.ac.uk.

Funding

Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 220211
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRapid point-of-care tests for malaria are now widely used in many countries to guide the initial clinical management of patients presenting with febrile illness. With China having recently achieved malaria elimination, better understanding regarding the identity and distribution of major non-malarial causes of febrile illnesses is of particular importance to inform evidence-based empirical treatment policy.

methodsA systematic review of published literature was undertaken to characterise the spectrum of pathogens causing non-malaria febrile illness in China (1980-2015). Literature searches were conducted in English and Chinese languages in six databases: Ovid MEDLINE, Global Health, EMBASE, Web of Science™ - Chinese Science Citation Database

resultsA total of 57,181 records from 13 provinces of China where malaria used to be endemic were screened, of which 392 met selection criteria and were included in this review. The review includes 60 (15.3%) records published from 1980 to 2000, 211 (53.8%) from 2001 to 2010 and 121 (30.9%) from 2011 to 2015;. Of the 392 records, 166 (42.3%) were from the eastern region of China, 120 (30.6%) were from the south-west, 102 (26.0%) from south-central, and four (1.0%) were multi-regional studies. Bacterial infections were reported in 154 (39.3%) records, viral infections in 219 (55.9%), parasitic infections in four (1.0%), fungal infections in one (0.3%), and 14 (3.6%) publications reported more than one pathogen group. Participants of all ages were included in 136 (34.7%) studies, only adults in 75 (19.1%), only children in 17 (4.3%), only neonates in two (0.5%) and the age distribution was not specified in 162 (41.3%) records. The most commonly reported bacterial pathogens included Typhoidal Salmonella (n = 30), Orientia/ Rickettsia tsutsugamushi (n = 31), Coxiella burnetii (n = 17), Leptospira spp. (n = 15) and Brucella spp. (n = 15). The most commonly reported viral pathogens included Hantavirus/Hantaan virus (n = 89), dengue virus (DENV) (n = 76 including those with unknown serovars), Japanese encephalitis virus (n = 21), and measles virus (n = 15). The relative lack of data in the western region of the country, as well as in in neonates and children, represented major gaps in the understanding of the aetiology of fever in China.

conclusionsThis review presents a landscape of non-malaria pathogens causing febrile illness in China over 36 years as the country progressed toward malaria elimination. These findings can inform guidelines for clinical management of fever cases and infection surveillance and prevention, and highlight the need to standardize operational and reporting protocols for better understanding of fever aetiology in the country.

Indexed as

FeverChinaHumansMalariaAetiologyMalariaNon-malarial febrile illness

Identifiers

PMID39164620
PMCPMC11334328

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.