Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40779591›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2025

Azithromycin for infants at risk of poor growth and development: A pooled secondary analysis of two randomized controlled trials.

Mamadou Bountogo, Mamadou Ouattara, Clarisse Dah, Boubacar Coulibaly, Thierry Ouedraogo, Alphonse Zakane, Valentin Boudo, Elodie Lebas, Huiyu Hu, Benjamin F Arnold and 3 more

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT03676764 phase4completednot on this map

Community Health Azithromycin Trial in Burkina Faso

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of California, San FranciscoRan2019 to 2023Enrolled77,664ConditionsChildhood MortalityArmsAzithromycin, Placebos
NCT03682654 no registry record found
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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

13 authors.

Mamadou BountogoCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5010-1617
Mamadou OuattaraCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Clarisse DahCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Boubacar CoulibalyCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Thierry OuedraogoCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Alphonse ZakaneCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Valentin BoudoCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Elodie LebasFrancis I Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, United States of America.
Huiyu HuFrancis I Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0182-6654
Benjamin F ArnoldFrancis I Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, United States of America.
Thomas M LietmanFrancis I Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, United States of America.
Ali SiéCentre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna, Burkina Faso.
Catherine E OldenburgFrancis I Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0763-399X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised its guidelines for management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The revised guidelines include a focus on infants at risk of poor growth and development. The guideline identifies evaluation of routine antibiotics for these infants as a priority research area.

objectiveWe pooled data from two large randomized controlled trials evaluating azithromycin for prevention of infant mortality in Burkina Faso to assess whether azithromycin reduces mortality or wasting in this subgroup.

methodsInfants in the two trials were 1-12 weeks of age at enrollment. Infants were considered at risk of poor risk of growth and development per WHO: underweight (weight-for-age Z-score, WAZ < -2), wasted (weight-for-length Z-score, WLZ < -2), or MUAC < 11.0 cm among infants ≥6 weeks of age. Infants were randomized to a single oral (20 mg/kg) dose of azithromycin or matching placebo and were followed until 6 months of age. We evaluated vital status, underweight (WAZ < -2), wasting (WLZ < -2), and stunting (length-for-age Z-score, LAZ) at 6 months among infants at risk of poor growth and development based on WHO single measurement criteria.

resultsA total of 54,709 infants were enrolled in the two trials. Of these, 9,728 were at risk of poor growth and development based on baseline WAZ (N = 5,385), WLZ (N = 6,022), or MUAC (N = 1,541). We found no evidence of a difference in mortality (1.3% vs 1.1%, odds ratio, OR, 1.19, 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.82 to 1.72) or wasting (20.6% vs 20.2%, OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.14) at 6 months among infants receiving azithromycin versus placebo.

conclusionsIn infants aged 1-12 weeks at risk of poor growth and development, we do not have evidence that single dose azithromycin reduces mortality or improves growth outcomes.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03682654 and NCT03676764.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsAzithromycinChild DevelopmentBurkina FasoFemaleHumansInfantInfant MortalityInfant, NewbornMaleAnti-Bacterial AgentsAzithromycin

Identifiers

PMID40779591
PMCPMC12333982

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.