Table 3 Overview of the included studies
Domain | No. of extracted studies | Setting* | No. of participants | Populations | Study objectives | Intervention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clinical phenotype and natural history of disease | 25 | 14 Nigeria 7 Sierra Leone 3 Liberia 3 Mali 1 USA | Total: n = 6680 LF pos. n = 1734 | Adults Pregnant women Children, Infants, Neonates (0 to > 65 years old) | Clinical presentation, symptoms (n = 15) LF fatality rate (n = 11) Biochemical laboratory parameters (n = 7) | N/A |
Transmission and prevention | 12 | 5 Sierra Leone 4 Nigeria 1 Germany 1 Liberia 1 UK 1 USA | Total: n = 1980 LF pos: n = 281 | Adults Pregnant women Children, Infants, Neonates (0 to 73 years) | Ribavirin as PEP (n = 4) Risk of nosocomial transmission (n = 5) | Ribavirin |
Diagnostics | 7 | 4 Sierra Leone 2 Liberia 1 Nigeria | Total: n = 3338 LF pos: n = 897 | Adults Children | PCR for diagnostics (n = 3) PCR and hybridization (n = 1) LFI, ELISA and PCR (n = 1) IgM as early marker (n = 1) | PCR, LFI, ELISA, virus isolation |
Immune response | 5 | 2 Guinea 2 Sierra Leone 1 Liberia 1 Mali | Total: n = 4570 LF pos: n = 1437 | Adults Children, Infants (7 months to 83 years) | Levels of inflammatory cytokines chemokines and other pro-inflammatory mediators (n = 1) Prevalence of LASV-specific IgG antibodies (LV IgG) (n = 1) Population LF seroconversion (n = 1) |  |
Drug therapy and supportive care | 10 | 4 Nigeria 4 Sierra Leone 2 USA 1 Germany | Total: n = 1516 LF pos: n = 792 | Adults Pregnant women Children, Infants, Neonates (0 to 65 years) | Therapeutic effectiveness of Ribavirin (n = 9) Therapeutic effectiveness of LF convalescent plasma therapy (n = 2) Ribavirin treatment adverse event (n = 1) | Ribavirin iv. Ribavirin oral Convalescent plasma |
Risk factors for more severe disease | 4 | 3 Sierra Leone 2 Guinea | Total: n = 2110 LF pos. or probable: n = 562 | Adults Pregnant women Children, Infants, Neonates (0 to > 60 years) | Correlation of cytokine levels and outcome (n = 2) Correlation of AST and outcomes (n = 1) Correlation of BUN, ALP, ALT, and outcomes (n = 1) Correlation of viremia level and outcome (n = 1) Risk factors for positive LASV IgG (n = 1) |  |