ArticleCureus2025
Study of a Semi-quantitative Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Procalcitonin Detection in Postpartum Sepsis Diagnosis.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction Sepsis represents a significant global health challenge, causing millions of deaths annually and highlighting the urgent need for rapid diagnostic tools. This study evaluated the performance of a semi-quantitative lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for procalcitonin (PCT) detection in postpartum sepsis diagnosis, addressing the critical need for point-of-care testing (POCT) in resource-limited settings. Methods A prospective, single-center validation study was conducted with 59 postpartum women enrolled from routine postpartum checkups. The study population included 25 healthy controls, 20 postpartum women without sepsis, and 14 with confirmed sepsis. All participants underwent PCT testing using both the semi-quantitative LFIA and reference enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. Analytical performance parameters, including sensitivity, specificity, precision, and clinical correlation, were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine optimal cut-off values. Results The PCT LFIA demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance with a sensitivity of 96.2% (95% CI: 88.2%-99.4%) and a specificity of 98.1% (95% CI: 87.5%-99.8%) at a cut-off of 0.5 ng/mL. The assay showed strong correlation with reference ELISA methods (r > 0.97) and maintained precision with an intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) ranging from 3.2% to 6.5% and inter-assay variation from 4.6% to 8.9%. The limit of detection (LoD) was 0.5 ng/mL with a limit of quantification (LoQ) of 1.0 ng/mL. Postpartum women with sepsis showed significantly elevated PCT levels compared to healthy controls and those without sepsis. Conclusion The semi-quantitative PCT LFIA offers a promising, cost-effective tool for rapid sepsis diagnosis in postpartum women. The assay's high sensitivity and specificity, combined with its point-of-care applicability, make it particularly valuable for improving maternal health outcomes in resource-limited settings where timely sepsis diagnosis is crucial.
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.