# name
Accuracy of molecular biology techniques for the diagnosis of
                Strongyloides stercoralis infection-A systematic review and
                meta-analysis

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
BACKGROUND: Strongyloides stercoralis
                infection is a neglected tropical disease which can lead to
                severe symptoms and even death in immunosuppressed people.
                Unfortunately, its diagnosis is hampered by the lack of a gold
                standard, as the sensitivity of traditional parasitological
                tests (including microscopic examination of stool samples and
                coproculture) is low. Hence, alternative diagnostic methods,
                such as molecular biology techniques (mostly polymerase chain
                reaction, PCR) have been implemented. However, there are
                discrepancies in the reported accuracy of PCR. 
                METHODOLOGY: A systematic review with meta-analysis was
                conducted in order to evaluate the accuracy of PCR for the
                diagnosis of S. stercoralis infection. The protocol was
                registered with PROSPERO International Prospective Register of
                Systematic Reviews (record: CRD42016054298). Fourteen studies,
                12 of which evaluating real-time PCR, were included in the
                analysis. The specificity of the techniques resulted high
                (ranging from 93 to 95%, according to the reference test(s)
                used). When all molecular techniques were compared to
                parasitological methods, the sensitivity of PCR was assessed at
                71.8% (95% CI 52.2-85.5), that decreased to 61.8% (95% CI
                42.0-78.4) when serology was added among the reference tests.
                Similarly, sensitivity of real-time PCR resulted 64.4% (95% CI
                46.2-77.7) when compared to parasitological methods only, 56.5%
                (95% CI 39.2-72.4) including serology. CONCLUSIONS: PCR might not be suitable for screening purpose,
                whereas it might have a role as a confirmatory test.

# metadata.dc.relation.ispartof[].value
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2018, vol. 12, num. 2, p. e0006229

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Articles publicats en revistes (ISGlobal)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
Accuracy of molecular biology techniques for the diagnosis of
                Strongyloides stercoralis infection-A systematic review and
                meta-analysis