Standardisation of lymphatic filariasis microfilaraemia prevalence estimates based on different diagnostic methods: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Parasites & Vectors
Natalie V S Vinkeles MelchersWilma A Stolk

Abstract

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) infection is generally diagnosed through parasitological identification of microfilariae (mf) in the blood. Although historically the most commonly used technique for counting mf is the thick blood smear based on 20 µl blood (TBS20), various other techniques and blood volumes have been applied. It is therefore a challenge to compare mf prevalence estimates from different LF-survey data. Our objective was to standardise microfilaraemia (mf) prevalence estimates to TBS20 as the reference diagnostic technique. We first performed a systematic review to identify studies reporting on comparative mf prevalence data as measured by more than one diagnostic test, including TBS20, on the same study population. Associations between mf prevalences based on different diagnostic techniques were quantified in terms of odds ratios (OR, with TBS20 blood as reference), using a meta-regression model. We identified 606 articles matching our search strategy and included 14 in our analyses. The OR of the mf prevalences as measured by the more sensitive counting chamber technique (≥ 50 µl blood) was 2.90 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.60-5.28). For membrane filtration (1 ml blood) the OR was 2.39 (95% CI: 1.62-3.53), Knott'...Continue Reading

References

Sep 1, 1978·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·F PartonoA Soewarta
Feb 16, 2010·Acta Tropica·Paul E SimonsenSanta Maria Asio
Jul 5, 2016·Pathogens and Global Health·Nathália F LimaMarcelo U Ferreira

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Citations

May 1, 2021·Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease·Patricia M GravesColleen L Lau

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
membrane filtration

Software Mentioned

Excel
R
NVSVM
package metaphor

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