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Cotrimoxazole prophylactic treatment prevents malaria in children in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis

Mbeye, Nyanyiwe M., terKuile, Feiko ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3663-5617, Davies, Mary-Ann, Phiri, Kamija S., Egger, Matthias and Wandeler, Gilles (2014) 'Cotrimoxazole prophylactic treatment prevents malaria in children in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis'. Tropical Medicine & International Health, Vol 19, Issue 9, pp. 1057-1067.

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Abstract

Objectives
Cotrimoxazole prophylactic treatment (CPT) prevents opportunistic infections in HIV-infected or HIV-exposed children, but estimates of the effectiveness in preventing malaria vary. We reviewed studies that examined the effect of CPT on incidence of malaria in children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Methods
We searched PubMed and EMBASE for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies on the effect of CPT on incidence of malaria and mortality in children and extracted data on the prevalence of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance–conferring point mutations. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) from individual studies were combined using random effects meta-analysis; confounder-adjusted estimates were used for cohort studies. The importance of resistance was examined in meta-regression analyses.
Results
Three RCTs and four cohort studies with 5039 children (1692 HIV-exposed; 2800 HIV-uninfected; 1486 HIV-infected) were included. Children on CPT were less likely to develop clinical malaria episodes than those without prophylaxis (combined IRR 0.37, 95% confidence interval: 0.21–0.66), but there was substantial between-study heterogeneity (I-squared = 94%, P < 0.001). The protective efficacy of CPT was highest in an RCT from Mali, where the prevalence of antifolate resistant plasmodia was low. In meta-regression analyses, there was some evidence that the efficacy of CPT declined with increasing levels of resistance. Mortality was reduced with CPT in an RCT from Zambia, but not in a cohort study from Côte d'Ivoire.
Conclusions
Cotrimoxazole prophylactic treatment reduces incidence of malaria and mortality in children in sub-Saharan Africa, but study designs, settings and results were heterogeneous. CPT appears to be beneficial for HIV-infected and HIV-exposed as well as HIV-uninfected children.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: W General Medicine. Health Professions > W 26.5 Informatics. Health informatics
QV Pharmacology > QV 38 Drug action.
WC Communicable Diseases > Virus Diseases > Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV Infections > WC 503 Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. HIV infections
WC Communicable Diseases > Virus Diseases > Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV Infections > WC 503.2 Therapy
WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 750 Malaria
WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 770 Therapy
WS Pediatrics > Diseases of Children and Adolescents > By System > WS 300 Hemic and lymphatic system
WS Pediatrics > Pediatric Specialities > WS 366 Pediatric Therapeutics
Faculty: Department: Clinical Sciences & International Health > Clinical Sciences Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.12352
Depositing User: Martin Chapman
Date Deposited: 02 Sep 2014 14:23
Last Modified: 21 Jun 2018 10:18
URI: https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/4441

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