Maheshwari 2011.
| Clinical features and settings | Hospital setting (Maulana Azad Medical College, India) Clinical features for study inclusion: presence of cough and fever with breathlessness of less than 30 days duration, tachypnoea and presence of radiological features of lower respiratory tract infections |
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| Participants | Children aged 6 months to 12 years with clinically suspected lower respiratory tract infections Number of participants: 75 Male participants: 42, (56.0%) Number of participants with M. pneumoniae: 23, (30.7%) |
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| Study design | Prospective observational cohort study | |
| Target condition and reference standard(s) |
M. pneumoniae detected using:
Presence of M. pneumoniae infection was defined as M. pneumoniae detected using either or both laboratory methods |
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| Index and comparator tests | Symptoms: rhinorrhoea, wheezing, dry cough Signs: rales, rhonchi |
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| Follow‐up | Duration of follow‐up not reported | |
| Notes | ||
| Table of Methodological Quality | ||
| Item | Authors' judgement | Description |
| Representative spectrum? All tests | Unclear | Co‐morbidities in study population were not reported. Did not state whether or not children with co‐morbidities were excluded |
| Acceptable reference standard? All tests | Yes | Children with positive PCR results but negative serology results were still diagnosed with M. pneumoniae. However, there was good agreement between PCR and serology results; 5 children had positive PCR results of whom only 1 did not also have serological evidence of M. pneumoniae infection |
| Acceptable delay between tests? All tests | Unclear | Timing of throat swab and acute blood sample collection in relation to recording of clinical features was not reported |
| Partial verification avoided? All tests | Yes | Tried to obtain convalescent blood samples from all 75 children, but only managed to obtain samples in 45 children |
| Differential verification avoided? All tests | Yes | Tried to obtain convalescent blood samples from all 75 children, but only managed to obtain samples in 45 children |
| Incorporation avoided? All tests | Yes | The diagnosis of M. pneumoniae was based on laboratory test results only |
| Reference standard results blinded? All tests | Yes | Clinical symptoms and signs were recorded during the acute community‐acquired pneumonia illness episode, when the results of convalescent serum samples would not have been available |
| Index test results blinded? All tests | Unclear | Laboratory criteria/thresholds for serological diagnosis of M. pneumoniae detection were not reported |
| Relevant clinical information? All tests | Yes | A detailed history and clinical examination were performed for all participants |
| Uninterpretable results reported? All tests | Yes | One child had a positive PCR result without serological evidence of M. pneumoniae infection |
| Withdrawals explained? All tests | Yes | Data were presented for all 75 participants. Reported that only managed to obtain convalescent serum samples from 45/75 participants |