Evaluation of Diagnostic Tests for Visceral Leishmaniasis in Iran: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective: There exist various diagnostic tests to detect visceral leishmaniasis, but the most efficient ones have not been demonstrated yet. Herein, we evaluated the accuracy of these diagnostic tests in Iran. Methodology: English and Persian database searching was done from 1993 to 2016. According to heterogeneity of the studies, estimations of the study were pooled by random-effects model. Totally, twenty investigations were eligible for current review with 2115 patients as pooled sample size. Results: The overall pooled estimate of sensitivity and specificity for all diagnostic tests were 0.92 ([95% CI = 0.90-0.95]) and 0.92 ([95% CI = 0.89-0.94]), respectively. Also, the separate sensitivity and specificity of each test were as follow: PCR: 1.00 ([95% CI = 0.99-1.01]) and 0.37 ([95% CI = 0.25-0.49]); DAT: 0.93 ([95% CI = 0.89-0.96]) and 0.92 ([95% CI = 0.89-0.94]); ELISA: 0.78 ([95% CI = 0.47-1.09]) and 1.00 ([95% CI = 0.99-1.01]) as well as IFA: 0.50 ([95% CI = 0.29-0.72]) and 0.96 ([95% CI = 0.95-0.97]). Conclusions: The specificity and sensitivity of PCR and DAT as molecular and serological tests, respectively, are remarkable to detect visceral leishmaniasis; hence, it is highly recommended to simultaneously employ these diagnostic tests for this widespread infection.

Surface-grafted lanthanoid complexes of the tungstosilicate polyanion [SiW12O40]4−: a synthetic, structural and computational investigation

“…Our group has previously used organic ligands like 4-hydroxypyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (H 2 pydc-OH) and 1,10phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid (PDA) to study the structural variations of POM-based MOFs (Fig. S2 in the supporting information) (Najafi & Mirzaei, 2017;Alipour et al, 2016;Lotfian et al, 2014;Mirzaei, Eshtiagh-Hosseini, Lotfian et al, 2014). In this article, we report the synthesis of two inorganic-organic hybrid materials based on Keggin-type tungstosilicates using these ligands; these are {Na[Dy-…”

Multi-epitope vaccine design against leishmaniasis using IFN-γ inducing epitopes from immunodominant gp46 and gp63 proteins

“…These obligatory intracellular organisms multiply within macrophages, rendering a broad range of clinical manifestations, including cutaneous and mucocutaneous lesions as well as fatal systemic infection [3] . In total, 350 million people in over 100 countries are at risk of Leishmania infections [4] . In many Middle Eastern, South American, and North African countries, leishmaniasis may represent as dermal lesions, known as cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), estimated to be the most common form of the disease [5] .…”

Application of theLeishmania infantum21‐kDa recombinant protein for the development of an immunochromatographic test

“…Various diagnostic methods are used for VL. Despite the 100% specificity of parasitological methods as the gold standard for the diagnosis of VL, their sensitivity is very low (about 35%) 10 . Although several methods including an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and molecular tests including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are suitable for the diagnosis of VL, they are not cost‐effective for screening, especially in the low‐income countries 11 …”