Journal of travel medicine
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Meta Analysis
Treatment of soil-transmitted helminth infections in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of maternal outcomes.
Gestational helminth infections are correlated to adverse outcomes including maternal anaemia; as such, treatment is recommended. However, little published high-quality data exist around the efficacy, safety and tolerability of anti-helminthics in pregnancy. We therefore conducted a systematic review and synthesized the available data on maternal outcomes following gestational treatment of intestinal nematodes to help guide clinical decision-making. ⋯ With increased international travel and migration of vulnerable populations, practitioners will encounter nematode infections in pregnant patients. Our analysis supports that albendazole in pregnancy has high cure rates for soil-transmitted helminths and is safe for the mother.
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Meta Analysis
Are all vaccines safe for the pregnant traveller? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Pregnant travellers and their offspring are vulnerable to severe outcomes following a wide range of infections. Vaccine-preventable diseases can have a particularly severe course in pregnant women, but little is known about the safety of travel vaccines in pregnant women. We performed a systematic review of all published literature concerning the safety of vaccines frequently given to travellers such as yellow fever, MMR (mumps, measles and rubella), influenza, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), meningococcus, hepatitis A and B, rabies, polio, typhoid fever, tick-borne encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis vaccines. ⋯ Meningococcal vaccines are probably safe during pregnancy, as supported by RCTs comparing meningococcal vaccines to other vaccines. Data from observational studies support the safety of hepatitis A, hepatitis B and rabies vaccines, as well as that of the live attenuated yellow fever vaccine. We found little or no data about the safety of polio, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis and MMR vaccines during pregnancy.
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Recent studies have shown that over 50% of people travelling to Southeast Asia return colonized with multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales (MRE) including carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales. Importation of MRE by travellers and subsequent spread to family members, communities and healthcare facilities poses real risks that have not yet been adequately assessed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to quantify the risk factors and interventions for reducing the risk of MRE acquisition among international travellers. ⋯ International travel is an important driver for MRE spread worldwide. Future research needs to identify effective interventions to reduce the risk of MRE acquisition as well as design strategies to reduce local transmission on return.
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Malaria prevention methods for travellers to low or moderate malaria risk areas vary and remain controversial. Standby emergency treatment (SBET) for malaria is one possible strategy increasingly recommended since 1988 with little evidence on its effectiveness or how it is truly being used. ⋯ Adherence to the proposed recommendations for SBET use, notably the response to fever, was poor. If the use of SBET is to be pursued, modifications to the current SBET strategy should be considered, such as better selection of travellers at higher risk for malaria and the potential addition of mRDTs.
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Review Meta Analysis
A meta-analysis of the use of rifaximin to prevent travellers' diarrhoea.
Travellers' diarrhoea affects tens of millions of people travelling to less developed countries or regions annually. There are positive reports of the use of rifaximin, a non-absorbed, gut-selective antibiotic to prevent travellers' diarrhoea. This study will critically review and analyse clinical trials on the subject. ⋯ There is good evidence supporting the use of rifaximin as a chemoprophylactic agent against travellers' diarrhoea, especially in individuals who are at high risk of severe complications from acute infectious diarrhoea. Rifaximin has an excellent tolerability/safety profile and demonstrated efficacy against diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli and even enteroinvasive bacteria such Campylobacter species. Future studies should study the most effective dosing regimen for rifaximin chemoprophylaxis, as well as profile local antimicrobial resistance/susceptibility data in less developed regions to further guide rifaximin use.