A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 4 studies with a total of 4 265 subjects. The impact of a single antihelminth treatment in the second trimester of pregnancy was evaluated. The studies were conducted in Sierra Leone, Peru and Uganda, where the intestinal helminth infestation was endemic, and anaemia prevalent among pregnant women.
A single dose of antihelminth (albendazole or mebendazole) in the second trimester of pregnancy was not associated with any impact on maternal anaemia in the third trimester (RR 0.94; 95% CI 0.81 to 1.10; 4 trials, n=3266). No impact was found for the outcomes of low birthweight (RR 1.00; 95% CI 0.79 to 1.27; 3 trials, n=3255), perinatal mortality (RR 1.09; 95% CI 0.71 to 1.67; 2 trials, n=3385) and preterm birth (RR 0.88; 95% CI 0.43 to 1.78; 2 trials, n=1318). No data were available on infant survival.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (unclear allocation concealment in half of the studies and incomplete outcome data in one study).
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