Neurocysticercosis: Likelihood Ratios

Introduction: Neurocysticercosis is a preventable parasitic infection of the central nervous system and is caused by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium. Humans become infected after consuming undercooked food, particularly pork, or water contaminated with tapeworm eggs, or through poor hygiene practices.

The lack of specificity of the neurological symptoms makes it impossible to diagnose the disease on clinical grounds alone.

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Prevalence

Population / Calculator	Prevalence	Comments / Study / Link
US general population (High Estimate)	0.0006%	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4005108/
US general population (Low Estimate)	0.0002%	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4005108/
Hispanic population (High Estimate)	0.0058%	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4005108/
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The likelihood ratios of findings for Neurocysticercosis are listed below. See the left navigation bar to change the display.

Pre-Test Probability (Prevalence): %.	Post-Test Probability (Predictive Value): %.	Switch to display mode.
Note that calculating probabilities from more than one** finding is inherently inaccurate because findings are not independent. (For example, using two positive findings that share a common pathogenesis is likely to overestimate the true probability.)

Good Positive and Negative Likelihood Ratios
Finding	Result	+LR	-LR
[ + ] Taenia solium PCR in CSF	+ 0 -	inf	0.3
PCR may be particularly helpful for diagnosing extraparenchymal NC when neuroimaging techniques have failed. Sensitivity: 95% CI 54.8%–85.8% Specificity: 95% CI 90.3%–100.0% Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5241005/