ArticleBMJ open2026
Clinical outcomes and economic burden of bacterial meningitis in Africa: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionBacterial meningitis remains a significant global public health concern and poses a substantial burden in Africa, including clinical and associated economic burden. This review aims to evaluate clinical outcomes and summarise the economic burden of bacterial meningitis across African countries. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Three databases(PubMed, Scopus and ERIC) will be searched with an additional citation search. Studies conducted in Africa reporting clinical and/or economic burden from 2008 to March 2026 will be included. Reviews, case studies and conference proceedings will be excluded. Methodological quality will be assessed using the Consensus-Based Cost-of-Illness Checklist and Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools based on the type of studies. Two independent reviewers will conduct study screening and data extraction. Data will be synthesised using descriptive, narative and meta-analyses, with subgroup and sensitivity analyses where appropriate. Findings will be presented using tables, figures and geographic mapping. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: As this study will use publicly available data from published literature, ethical approval is not required. The findings will be disseminated through presentation at scientific conferences and publication in peer-reviewed journals.
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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.