Trial reportMalaria journal2022
Diagnostic performance and comparison of ultrasensitive and conventional rapid diagnostic test, thick blood smear and quantitative PCR for detection of low-density Plasmodium falciparum infections during a controlled human malaria infection study in Equatorial Guinea.
Trial report in Malaria journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03590340 (Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Regimen Optimization Study of a Radiation-Attenuated Plasmodium Falciparum), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Regimen Optimization Study of a Radiation-Attenuated Plasmodium Falciparum (Pf) Sporozoite Vaccine (PfSPZ Vaccine) in Equatoguinean Adults
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test in the detection of uncomplicated malaria in pregnancy: a meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy.Malaria journal · 2022Pooled it
- Molecular surveillance of Falciparum malaria in Rwanda: Shifts in parasite prevalence and risk factors between the 2014-15 and 2019-20 Rwanda Demographics and Health Surveys.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Field and laboratory evaluation of Abbott-Bioline™ Malaria Ag Pf/Pv RDT performance in a high-transmission setting: contrasting results with a low-endemic area.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Understanding the Epidemiology of Malaria in Zanzibar Through Molecular and Serological Analysis of Samples Collected During Reactive Case Detection.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Ultrasensitive ELISA for Accurate Detection ofOpen forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Integrating local malaria molecular monitoring into regular malaria indicator surveys on Bioko Island: high association between urban communities and low-density infections.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Molecular test for screening malaria-infected blood donors to maximise recipient safety in Acre State, a Brazilian endemic area.Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2024Article
- Diagnostic performance of ultrasensitive rapid diagnostic test for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum infections in asymptomatic individuals in Kisangani, Northeast Democratic Republic of Congo.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- The feasibility of novel point-of-care diagnostics for febrile illnesses at health centres in Southeast Asia: a mixed-methods study.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2023Article
- Detection ofDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Combining isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification with lateral flow assay for diagnosis of P. cynomolgi malaria infection.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Effects of Age, Gender and Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection on Prevalence ofTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- Field evaluation of the novel One Step Malaria Pf and Pf/Pv rapid diagnostic tests and the proportion of HRP-2 gene deletion identified on samples collected in the Pwani region, Tanzania.Bulletin of the National Research Centre · 2023Article
- Molecular Method Is Essential to Identify Asymptomatic Malaria Reservoirs: A Successful Experience in the Malaria Elimination Program in Iran.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Rethinking detection of pre-existing and interveningFrontiers in immunology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
31 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundProgress towards malaria elimination has stagnated, partly because infections persisting at low parasite densities comprise a large reservoir contributing to ongoing malaria transmission and are difficult to detect. This study compared the performance of an ultrasensitive rapid diagnostic test (uRDT) designed to detect low density infections to a conventional RDT (cRDT), expert microscopy using Giemsa-stained thick blood smears (TBS), and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) during a controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) study conducted in malaria exposed adults (NCT03590340).
methodsBlood samples were collected from healthy Equatoguineans aged 18-35 years beginning on day 8 after CHMI with 3.2 × 10
results279 samples were collected from 24 participants; 123 were positive by qPCR. TBS detected 24/123 (19.5% sensitivity [95% CI 13.1-27.8%]), uRDT 21/123 (17.1% sensitivity [95% CI 11.1-25.1%]), cRDT 10/123 (8.1% sensitivity [95% CI 4.2-14.8%]); all were 100% specific and did not detect any positive samples not detected by qPCR. TBS and uRDT were more sensitive than cRDT (TBS vs. cRDT p = 0.015; uRDT vs. cRDT p = 0.053), detecting parasitaemias as low as 3.7 parasites/µL (p/µL) (TBS and uRDT) compared to 5.6 p/µL (cRDT) based on TBS density measurements. TBS, uRDT and cRDT did not detect any of the 70/123 samples positive by qPCR below 5.86 p/µL, the qPCR density corresponding to 3.7 p/µL by TBS. The median prepatent periods in days (ranges) were 14.5 (10-20), 18.0 (15-28), 18.0 (15-20) and 18.0 (16-24) for qPCR, TBS, uRDT and cRDT, respectively; qPCR detected parasitaemia significantly earlier (3.5 days) than the other tests.
conclusionsTBS and uRDT had similar sensitivities, both were more sensitive than cRDT, and neither matched qPCR for detecting low density parasitaemia. uRDT could be considered an alternative to TBS in selected applications, such as CHMI or field diagnosis, where qualitative, dichotomous results for malaria infection might be sufficient.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.