Evaluation and validation of a PrintrLab-based LAMP assay to identify Trypanosoma cruzi in newborns in Bolivia: a proof-of-concept study
The Lancet Microbe·
- DOI
- 10.1016/s2666-5247(24)00110-1
- PMID
- 38971173
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W4400268271
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors framed early detection and treatment of congenital Chagas disease in mothers and newborns as a public health priority and suggested that, if validated more broadly, the simpler PrintrLab-LAMP workflow could support decentralised diagnostic access.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study evaluated whether a point-of-care PrintrLab-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay could detect Trypanosoma cruzi in newborns of seropositive mothers as a simpler alternative to existing diagnostic methods.
Study design
This was a proof-of-concept diagnostic accuracy study comparing a PrintrLab-LAMP prototype against standardised PCR and a gold-standard algorithm combining microscopy at birth and 2 months with later serology.
Population and setting
Pregnant women were screened at two hospitals in the Bolivian Gran Chaco province; 276 were seropositive for T. cruzi, and 224 infants born to 221 of these mothers completed 8 months of follow-up.
Main findings
Among 224 infants followed to 8 months, congenital T. cruzi transmission was identified in 23 cases (10.3%). All nine microscopy-positive newborns were also positive by PrintrLab-LAMP and PCR, and the two molecular methods detected additional infections among microscopy-negative infants.
Public-health relevance
The authors framed early detection and treatment of congenital Chagas disease in mothers and newborns as a public health priority and suggested that, if validated more broadly, the simpler PrintrLab-LAMP workflow could support decentralised diagnostic access.
Important limitations
This proof-of-concept study was conducted at two hospitals in a single Bolivian region, enrolled a limited number of newborns, and the authors explicitly call for evaluation in a larger study over a wider geographical area. This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The article is discoverable through the GIDS classifiers for Chagas disease, diagnostics, transmission dynamics, and treatment, and it concerns diagnostic performance and vertical transmission in a defined Bolivian setting. The supplied abstract does not connect the paper to a live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.