Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33195812›Full record

ArticleBMJ open ophthalmology2020

Effectiveness and safety of azithromycin 1.5% eye drops for mass treatment of active trachoma in a highly endemic district in Cameroon.

Assumpta Lucienne Bella, Ellen Einterz, Pierre Huguet, Philippe Bensaid, Abdou Amza, Didier Renault

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open ophthalmology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 87% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Assumpta Lucienne BellaHealth Ministry, National Programme for Blindness Control/MoPH, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Ellen EinterzDepartment of Ophthalmology, Kolofata District Hospital, Kolofata, Cameroon.
Pierre HuguetOrganisation pour la Prévention de la Cécité, Paris, France.
Philippe BensaidOphthalmo Sans Frontières, Luçon, France.
Abdou AmzaFaculté des Sciences de la Santé, Abdou Moumouni University, Niamey, Niger.
Didier RenaultThea Open Innovation, Laboratoires Théa, Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.ORCID 0000-0002-7164-0342
Médecins Sans Frontières · FRThea (France) · FRUniversité Abdou Moumouni · NE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of azithromycin 1.5% eye drops under field conditions to reduce active trachoma in a highly endemic district in Cameroon. This is a follow-up of an initial report published in 2010. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Three annual campaigns were performed in 2008, 2009 and 2010 to treat the population (~1 20 000 individuals) of the Kolofata Health District with topical azithromycin 1.5% (one drop in each eye, morning and evening for three consecutive days). The effectiveness of this intervention against active trachoma was assessed in children aged 1-9 years in cross-sectional studies prior to each mass treatment using a systematic sampling procedure (in 2008, 2009 and 2010) and then 1 year (2011) and 3 years (2013) after the last intervention among the villages with previously high active trachoma prevalence or never tested.

resultsThe prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) dropped from 24.0% (95% CI 20.7 to 27.5) before treatment to 2.8% (95% CI 2.2 to 3.7) 1 year after completion of the 3 year campaign. Trachomatous inflammation-intense was present in only 4 (0.2%) children 1 year after the third round of treatment. Three years after the last campaign, the surveillance survey among the most prevalent villages and villages never tested before showed a prevalence of 5.2% (95% CI 3.6 to 7.2) of active trachoma. Tolerance was excellent, with no report of treatment interruption, serious ocular or systemic adverse events.

conclusionAnnual mass treatment with azithromycin eye drops was shown to be effective in reducing TF to a level ≤5% one year after a 3-round annual mass treatment in an endemic region at the district level.

Indexed as

conjunctivaepidemiologyinfectionpublic health

Identifiers

PMID33195812
PMCPMC7607600
OpenAlexW3096012985

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.