Efficacy of zinc as adjunctive pneumonia treatment in children aged 2 to 60 months in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Paediatrics Open
Nick BrownAndreas Mårtensson

Abstract

Despite advances in vaccination and case management, pneumonia remains the single largest contributor to early child mortality worldwide. Zinc has immune-enhancing properties, but its role in adjunctive treatment of pneumonia in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is controversial and research still active. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of zinc and placebo in pneumonia in children aged 2 to 60 months in LMICs. Databases included MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, LILACS, SciELO, the WHO portal, Scopus, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrials.gov. Inclusion criteria included accepted signs of pneumonia and clear measure of outcome. Risk of bias was independently assessed by two authors. ORs with 95% CI were used for calculating the pooled estimate of dichotomous outcomes including treatment failure and mortality. Time to recovery was expressed as HRs. Sensitivity analyses considering risk of bias and subgroup analyses for pneumonia severity were performed. We identified 11 trials published between 2004 and 2019 fulfilling the a priori defined criteria, 7 from South Asia and 3 from Africa and 1 from South America. Proportional treatment failure was comparable in both zinc and placebo...Continue Reading

References

May 11, 2006·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition·Anuradha BoseMathuram Santosham
Apr 2, 2010·International Journal of Epidemiology·Christa L Fischer Walker, Robert E Black
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Sep 2, 2014·Reproductive Health·Zohra S LassiZulfiqar A Bhutta
Sep 10, 2014·Paediatrics and International Child Health·Nancy F KrebsK Michael Hambidge
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Dec 5, 2016·The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews·Zohra S LassiZulfiqar A Bhutta
May 8, 2018·Archives of Disease in Childhood·Martin Ward Platt

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Citations

May 14, 2021·The Journal of Nutrition·Philip T JamesAndrew M Prentice
Aug 28, 2021·World Journal of Clinical Cases·Mei-Ying ZhangLi-Min Wang

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Software Mentioned

RevMan
Scopus
Google Scholar
Cochrane tool for systemic reviews

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