Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39591646›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene2025

Exploring Geophagy as a Risk Factor for Neurocysticercosis: A Case Series from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Olivier Mukuku, Sofía S Sánchez, Marcellin Bugeme, Hector H Garcia

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2025. 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

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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

4 authors.

Olivier MukukuDepartment of Research, Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sofía S SánchezCysticercosis Unit, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas, Lima, Peru.
Marcellin BugemeDepartment of Neuropsychiatric, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Hector H GarciaCysticercosis Unit, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas, Lima, Peru.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common parasitic neuroinfectious disease caused by humans becoming intermediate hosts in the life cycle of the pig tapeworm, Taenia solium, after ingesting its eggs. This case series examines seven female patients with NCC who engaged in geophagy (soil consumption) and were evaluated at Centre Médical Baraka in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, from January 2019 to December 2020. From a cohort of 176 patients with epilepsy evaluated during that period, 105 underwent brain computed tomography scans, and 36 were confirmed to have NCC. Among those with NCC, seven (19.4%) had a history of geophagy and were included in this case series. The majority of these patients had more than five brain lesions. Neuroimaging revealed colloidal lesions, third-stage lesions, and calcifications in six patients. All patients showed improvement after treatment with antiseizure medication alone or in combination with antiparasitic drugs. Geophagy, although not common, serves as a mode of contamination in which individuals ingest soil containing Taenia eggs, potentially leading to the development of NCC.

Indexed as

NeurocysticercosisPicaSoilAdolescentAdultAnimalsBrainDemocratic Republic of the CongoFemaleHumansMiddle AgedRisk FactorsTaenia soliumTomography, X-Ray ComputedYoung AdultSoil

Identifiers

PMID39591646
PMCPMC11803670

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.