SynthesisBMC infectious diseases2018
Safety and effectiveness of antimalarial therapy in sickle cell disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC infectious diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- More than malaria: ExploringCurrent research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2026Review
- Article
- Performance of a smartphone-based malaria screener in detecting malaria in people living with Sickle cell disease.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Beyond Childhood: Adult and Adolescent Sickle Cell Disease and Outcomes in Northern Ghana.EJHaem · 2025Article
- Current challenges and new approaches to implementing optimal management of sickle cell disease in sub-Saharan Africa.Seminars in hematology · 2023Article
- Article
- Treatment Options That Reduce the Duration of Sickle Cell Vaso-Occlusive Crises: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2022Review
- Sickle Cell Disease in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Historical, Clinical, and Public Health Perspective of Sub-Saharan Africa and Beyond.International journal of pediatrics · 2022Review
- Combining malaria vaccination with chemoprevention: a promising new approach to malaria control.Malaria journal · 2021Article
- Suspected Severe Malaria in a Sudanese Patient Affected by Sickle Cell Disease Who Was Treated with Hydroxyurea.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Improvement of SCD morbimortality in children: experience in a remote area of an African country.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Psychiatric adverse events with hydroxychloroquine during COVID-19 pandemic.Asian journal of psychiatry · 2020Article
- Caring for Africa's sickle cell children: will we rise to the challenge?BMC medicine · 2020Article
- Sickle cell disease and malaria: decreased exposure and asplenia can modulate the risk from Plasmodium falciparum.Malaria journal · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAbout 80% of all reported sickle cell disease (SCD) cases in children anually are recorded in Africa. Although malaria is considered a major cause of death in SCD children, there is limited data on the safety and effectiveness of the available antimalarial drugs used for prophylaxis. Also, previous systematic reviews have not provided quantitative measures of preventive effectiveness. The purpose of this research was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available literature to determine the safety and effectiveness of antimalarial chemoprophylaxis used in SCD patients.
methodsWe searched in PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, POPLine and Cochrane library, for the period spanning January 1990 to April 2018. We considered randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials comparing any antimalarial chemoprophylaxis to, 1) other antimalarial chemoprophylaxis, 2) placebo or 3) no intervention, in SCD patients. Studies comparing at least two treatment arms, for a minimum duration of three months, with no restriction on the number of patients per arm were reviewed. The data were extracted and expressed as odds ratios. Direct pairwise comparisons were performed using fixed effect models and the heterogeneity assessed using the I-square.
resultsSix qualified studies that highlighted the importance of antimalarial chemoprophylaxis in SCD children were identified. In total, seven different interventions (Chloroquine, Mefloquine, Mefloquine artesunate, Proguanil, Pyrimethamine, Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine amodiaquine) were evaluated in 912 children with SCD. Overall, the meta-analysis showed that antimalarial chemoprophylaxis provided protection against parasitemia and clinical malaria episodes in children with SCD. Nevertheless, the risk of hospitalization (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.267-1.959; I
conclusionThe data shows that antimalarial prophylaxis reduces the incidence of clinical malaria in children with SCD. However, there was no difference between the occurrence of adverse events in children who received placebo and those who received prophylaxis. This creates an urgent need to assess the efficacy of new antimalarial drug regimens as potential prophylactic agents in SCD patients. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42016052514).
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Registered trials
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