ArticleInfectious diseases of poverty2025
Association between Loa loa microfilaremia and anatomical hyposplenia in a rural area of the Republic of Congo: a population-based cross-sectional study.
Article in Infectious diseases of poverty, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Plasmodium yoelii tryptophan-rich antigen 7 mediates infected erythrocyte adhesion to splenic fibroblasts via binding to vimentin.Parasites, hosts and diseases · 2026Article
- Chronic kidney disease related to Loa loa microfilaremia in a rural area of the Republic of Congo: a population-based cross-sectional study.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundData suggest excess mortality is associated with loiasis, which is endemic to Central Africa, although the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We hypothesized that there could be an association between Loa loa microfilarial densities (MFD) and lower spleen volume (SV) due to micro-obstruction linked to circulating microfilariae (mf). This could result in functional hyposplenia and a higher burden of infections. Our objective was to investigate the impact of L. loa MFD and malaria on spleen's bi-dimensional dimensions, volume, and parenchymal lesions.
methodsWe included 981 participants aged 18-88 years in a cross-sectional study conducted in May-June 2022 in the Republic of the Congo. Centralized ultrasonographic examination was performed. The primary outcomes included SV, splenomegaly (cranio-caudal-distance ≥ 13 cm), and anatomical hyposplenia (AH) (SV ≤ 80, ≤ 110 or ≤ 150 cm
resultsAmong 981 participants, 139 (14.1%) had splenomegaly, and 26 (2.7%) and 175 (17.8%) had SV ≤ 80 and ≤ 150 cm
conclusionsThis study provides a detailed description of spleen morphology and the factors influencing its size in a rural central African population. It demonstrates a strong association between L. loa MFD and reduced SV, suggesting that loiasis may lead to AH, and potentially to functional hyposplenia, with consequences such as increased susceptibility to bacterial infections. Malaria was associated with splenomegaly, with a figure of HMS consistent with estimates from other African countries.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.