Morbidity Associated with Chronic Strongyloides stercoralis Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Morbidity Associated with Chronic Strongyloides stercoralis Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Apr 08;: Authors: Tamarozzi F, Martello E, Giorli G, Fittipaldo A, Staffolani S, Montresor A, Bisoffi Z, Buonfrate D Abstract Strongyloides stercoralis, a worldwide-distributed soil-transmitted helminth, causes chronic infection which may be life threatening. Limitations of diagnostic tests and nonspecificity of symptoms have hampered the estimation of the global morbidity due to strongyloidiasis. This work aimed at assessing S. stercoralis-associated morbidity through a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available literature. MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, LILACS, and trial registries (WHO portal) were searched. The study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Odds ratios (ORs) of the association between symptoms and infection status and frequency of infection-associated symptoms were calculated. Six articles from five countries, including 6,014 individuals, were included in the meta-analysis-three were of low quality, one of high quality, and two of very high quality. Abdominal pain (OR 1.74 [CI 1.07-2.94]), diarrhea (OR 1.66 [CI 1.09-2.55]), and urticaria (OR 1.73 [CI 1.22-2.44]) were associated with infection. In 17 eligible studies, these symptoms were reported by a large proportion of the individuals with strongyloidiasis-abdominal pain by 53.1% individuals, diarrhea by 41.6%, ...
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research