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Systematic reviews on infectious diseases

Guest Editor(s):
Chester Kalinda: University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda
Elvis TemfackAfrica Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ethiopia



BMC Infectious Diseases called for submissions to our collection on Systematic reviews on infectious diseases. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses can be powerful tools able to offer a comprehensive overview of the available clinical evidence, point out research gaps in our current understanding, and be a base for decision-making in health policies. This collection aimed to gather excellent evidence-based systematic reviews following sound methodological and reporting standards.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Chester Kalinda: University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda

Dr Chester Kalinda is an Assistant Professor at University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda. Broadly, Chester’s research interests are in ecology and public health, with a special focus on understanding how the interactions between vectors and the environment influence infectious disease risk among humans especially those from resource constrained communities. His research interests also include neglected tropical diseases and health metrics

Elvis Temfack: Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ethiopia

Dr Elvis Temfack is a Senior Research Officer at the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Ethiopia. During his training, HIV became a major public health issue in Sub-Saharan Africa, which stirred his passion in Central nervous system associated infections in HIV, an area in which he has published several peer-reviewed publications focused on HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis. Currently, as a Senior Research Officer at the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Ethiopia, Elvis works to build adequate research capacity to generate evidence to target priority public health problems in Africa.  

About the Collection

BMC Infectious Diseases is calling for submissions to our collection on Systematic Reviews on infectious diseases. 

During the last decades, our society has been experiencing a constant increase in research output, resulting in the need to compile, evaluate and reassess our clinical knowledge. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses can be powerful tools able to offer a comprehensive overview of the available clinical evidence, point out research gaps in our current understanding, and be the base for decision-making in health policies. 

We welcome Systematic reviews and meta-analysis submissions covering all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis, and management of infectious and sexually transmitted diseases in humans, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology. The collection will not consider reviews of in vitro studies.

As with any other research article, it is crucial that systematic reviews follow a robust study design and scientifically sound methodology. Therefore, all submissions to this collection must comply with the following minimal requirements:

PRISMA GUIDELINES: The authors must submit a populated checklist and figure from the relevant reporting guidelines, including the PRISMA checklist and Flowchart Diagram or the most appropriate PRISMA extension for variations to the standard Systematic Reviews methodology. The flow diagram should be included and referenced in the main body of the text, and the checklist should be provided as an additional file. A Word file of the checklist and flow diagram can be downloaded here.     

Registration of the Systematic Review: Be registered, ideally prospectively, in an online database such as PROSPEROINPLASYResearch Registry, OSF Registries, or another registry dedicated to Systematic Reviews.

BMC Infectious Diseases also strongly encourages that all datasets on which the conclusions of the paper rely should be available to readers. We encourage authors to ensure that their datasets are either deposited in publicly available repositories (where available and appropriate) or presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files whenever possible. Please see Springer Nature’s information on recommended repositories.


  1. Aspergillus spp liver abscess is a relatively rare entity and thus far no systematic review has been performed examining patients’ demographics, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, and outcome.

    Authors: Igor Dumic, Enzo Marasco Caetano, Sidney Marcel Domingues, Ivana Pantic, Milan Radovanovic, Libardo Rueda Prada, Charles W Nordstrom, Marina Antic, Tamara Milovanovic, Magdalena Kotseva, Amteshwar Singh and Shweta FNU
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:345
  2. Procalcitonin (PCT) has garnered attention as a potential diagnostic biomarker for infection in cancer patients. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of procal...

    Authors: Yi-Chih Lee, Hsin-Tzu Yeh, Sz-Wei Lu, Yi-Chun Tsai, Yu-Chen Tsai and Chieh-Ching Yen
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:278
  3. Invasive Aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening fungal disease with significant mortality rates. Timely diagnosis and treatment greatly enhance patient outcomes. This study aimed to explore the association b...

    Authors: Elena Shekhova, Fabián Salazar, Alessandra Da Silva Dantas, Tanmoy Chakraborty, Eva L. Wooding, P. Lewis White and Adilia Warris
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:220
  4. A lack of health resources is a common problem after the outbreak of infectious diseases, and resource optimization is an important means to solve the lack of prevention and control capacity caused by resource...

    Authors: Yu-Yuan Wang, Wei-Wen Zhang, Ze-xi Lu, Jia-lin Sun and Ming-xia Jing
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:200
  5. Sepsis not only causes inflammation, but also damages the heart and increases the risk of death. The glycolytic pathway plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced cardiac injury. This study aim...

    Authors: Long Huang, Xincai Wang, Bawei Huang, Yu Chen and Xiaodan Wu
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:173
  6. Bloodstream infection of Klebsiella pneumoniae (BSI-KP) were associated with increased mortality. Klebsiella pneumoniae was tested to susceptible to colistin by E-test and broth microdilution method in clinical l...

    Authors: Tao Wang, Hongcheng Liu, Huiqing Huang, Yuesong Weng and Xiaojun Wang
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:161
  7. The pathological consequences of inflammation persist in people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), regardless of the positive outcomes of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The cur...

    Authors: Sihle E. Mabhida, Zandile J. Mchiza, Kabelo Mokgalaboni, Sidney Hanser, Joel Choshi, Haskly Mokoena, Khanyisani Ziqubu, Charity Masilela, Bongani B. Nkambule, Duduzile E. Ndwandwe, André P. Kengne and Phiwayinkosi V. Dludla
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:160
  8. Healthcare-associated infections (HCAI) place a significant burden on healthcare systems globally. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and aetiologic age...

    Authors: Gabriel Kambale Bunduki, Effita Masoamphambe, Tilly Fox, Janelisa Musaya, Patrick Musicha and Nicholas Feasey
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:158
  9. Bacterial infections are considered a leading cause of hospitalization and death globally. There is still a need for a rapid and feasible biomarker for bacterial infections. Heparin-binding protein (HBP) was s...

    Authors: Amira Mohamed Taha, Khaled Abouelmagd, Mohamed Mosad Omar, Qasi Najah, Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Tarek Hasan, Sahar A. Allam, Roua Arian, Omar El Sayed Rageh and Mohamed Abd-ElGawad
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:150
  10. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred due to the dispersion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Severe symptoms can be observed in COVID-19 patients with lipid-...

    Authors: Wan Amirul Syazwan Wan Ahmad Munawar, Marjanu Hikmah Elias, Faizul Helmi Addnan, Pouya Hassandarvish, Sazaly AbuBakar and Nuruliza Roslan
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:124
  11. Detecting pathogens in pediatric central nervous system infection (CNSI) is still a major challenge in medicine. In addition to conventional diagnostic patterns, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) s...

    Authors: Sike He, Ying Xiong, Teng Tu, Jiaming Feng, Yu Fu, Xu Hu, Neng Wang and Dapeng Li
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:103
  12. Recent pandemics have had far-reaching effects on the world’s largest economies and amplified the need to estimate the full extent and range of socioeconomic impacts of infectious diseases outbreaks on multi-s...

    Authors: Ely Zarina Samsudin, Siti Munira Yasin, Nur-Hasanah Ruslan, Nik Nairan Abdullah, Ahmad Faiz Azhari Noor and Ahmad Fitri Abdullah Hair
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:93
  13. With the development of society, pulmonary fungal diseases, represented by pulmonary aspergillosis and pulmonary cryptococcosis, have become increasingly common. However, there is a lack of clear understanding...

    Authors: Xidong Wang, Shaoqiang Li, Mangui Zhu, Ye Qiu, Yilei Hui, Yongming Li, Yangqing Zhan, Yan Wang, Feng Ye and Zhengtu Li
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:92
  14. In recent decades, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance is increasing in Haemophilus influenzae (Haemophilus influenzae), which poses important challenges to global health. This research offers a comprehensive...

    Authors: Mohammad Abavisani, Masoud Keikha and Mohsen Karbalaei
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:90
  15. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. The present review was conducted to accumulate evidence on the relationship between cervicovaginal human papillo...

    Authors: Seyedeh Maryam Khalili, Elnaz Haji Rafiei, Marjan Havaei, Leila Alizadeh, Fereshte Ghahremani, Zohreh Keshavarz, Ali Montazeri and Hedyeh Riazi
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:80
  16. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remains a significant global health burden, particularly affecting vulnerable populations residing in slum areas which is characterized by overcrowding, poverty, and limited ...

    Authors: Meysam Behzadifar, Seyed Jafar Ehsanzadeh, Banafshe Darvishi Teli, Samad Azari, Ahad Bakhtiari and Masoud Behzadifar
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:52
  17. In the first reported cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, people living with HIV (PLHIV) suffered weight loss, which was an independent predictor of mortality. Highly active antiretroviral t...

    Authors: Sarah Almeida Cordeiro, Tainá Costa Pereira Lopes, Antonio Luiz Boechat and Roberta Lins Gonçalves
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:34
  18. It is estimated that more than 4% of the causes of inpatient deaths in 2017 were due to diarrheal diseases. The current study is aimed to provide pooled prevalence of microorganisms causing diarrhea among Suda...

    Authors: MM Badawi, MA SalahEldin, AB Idris, EB Idris and SG Mohamed
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:30
  19. There is no systematic review on the prevalence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) in Iran. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of HIVDR among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Iran. We assessed HIVDR prevalence i...

    Authors: Hossein Mirzaei, Sana Eybpoosh, Fatemeh Mehrabi, Mohammad Reza Shojaei, Ali Mirzazadeh, Mehrdad Khezri, Naser Nasiri and Hamid Sharifi
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:29
  20. Dyslipidemia is responsible for more than half of the global ischemic heart disease (IHD) and more than 4 million deaths annually. Assessing the prevalence of dyslipidemia can be crucial in predicting the futu...

    Authors: Ousman Mohammed, Ermiyas Alemayehu, Habtu Debash, Melaku Ashagrie Belete, Alemu Gedefie, Mihret Tilahun, Hussen Ebrahim and Daniel Gebretsadik Weldehanna
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2024 24:27
  21. Currently, some meta-analyses on COVID-19 have suggested that glucocorticoids use can reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients, utilization rate of invasive ventilation, and improve the prognosis of pati...

    Authors: Qiaolan He, Chen Wang, Yingqin Wang, Guannan Chen, Yue Zhou, Yuanyuan Wu and Ming Zhong
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:896
  22. Scrub typhus is a bacterial mite-borne disease associated with poor clinical outcomes if not treated adequately. The study aimed to compare the time to defervescence, clinical failure, mortality and treatment-...

    Authors: Nitin Gupta, Carl Boodman, Christelle Genevieve Jouego and Steven Van Den Broucke
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:884
  23. COVID-19 has caused millions of deaths globally, with vulnerable populations such as people experiencing homelessness (PEH) at higher risk. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to identify the prevale...

    Authors: Dung Anh Nguyen, Habib Olatunji Alagbo, Toka Adel Hassan, Leonardo D. Mera-Lojano, Esraa Osama Abdelaziz, Nguyen Pham Nguyen The, Abdelrahman M. Makram, Omar M. Makram, Randa Elsheikh and Nguyen Tien Huy
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:880
  24. It is unclear whether Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii) supplementation in standard triple therapy (STT) is effective in eradicating Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in children. We therefore conduc...

    Authors: Lian-Hua Liu, Bin Han, Jing Tao, Kai Zhang, Xi-Ke Wang and Wen-Yu Wang
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:878
  25. Lymphopenia is defined as a decrease below normal value (often 1.0 x 109 cells/L) of blood circulating lymphocyte count. In the general population, lymphopenia is associated with an increased risk of hospitalisat...

    Authors: ZC Elçioğlu, L Errington, B Metes, W Sendama, J Powell, AJ Simpson, AJ Rostron and TP Hellyer
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:848
  26. The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an inflammatory biomarker, measures innate-adaptive immune system balance. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aim to analyze the current literature to eva...

    Authors: Jingyang Chen, Sanaz Yasrebinia, Arshin Ghaedi, Monireh Khanzadeh, Stephan Quintin, Abeer Dagra, Rodeania Peart, Brandon Lucke-Wold and Shokoufeh Khanzadeh
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:837
  27. Both tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are major public health problems threatening global health. TB patients with DM have a higher bacterial burden and affect the absorption and metabolism for ant...

    Authors: Guisheng Xu, Xiaojiang Hu, Yanshu Lian and Xiuting Li
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:813
  28. Persons with non-O and Rh-positive blood types are purported to be more susceptible to infection, including SARS-CoV-2, but there remains uncertainty about the degree to which this is so for both non-viral and...

    Authors: Emily Ana Butler, Rushil Parikh, Sonia M. Grandi, Joel G. Ray and Eyal Cohen
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:797
  29. Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) have a disproportionately higher risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection than other groups. Oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is ...

    Authors: Nathalia Sernizon Guimarães, Laio Magno, Gabriel Marinho Bahia Monteiro, Izabel Cristina Neves Ramos, Caroline Tianeze de Castro, Thais Regis Aranha-Rossi, Marcos Pereira and Inês Dourado
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:793
  30. Parasitological investigation of bone marrow, splenic or lymph node aspirations is the gold standard for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). However, this invasive test requires skilled clinical and ...

    Authors: Tamalee Roberts, Suzanne H. Keddie, Sayaphet Rattanavong, Santiago Rayment Gomez, John Bradley, Ruth H. Keogh, Oliver Bärenbold, Jane Falconer, Petra F. Mens, Heidi Hopkins and Elizabeth A. Ashley
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:782
  31. Clinical evidence suggests that pregnant women are more vulnerable to COVID-19, since they are at increased risk for disease progression and for obstetric complications, such as premature labor, miscarriage, p...

    Authors: Francesco Di Gennaro, Giacomo Guido, Luisa Frallonardo, Francesco Vladimiro Segala, Rosalba De Nola, Gianluca Raffaello Damiani, Elda De Vita, Valentina Totaro, Mario Barbagallo, Emanuele Nicastri, Antonella Vimercati, Ettore Cicinelli, Giuseppina Liuzzi, Nicola Veronese and Annalisa Saracino
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:776
  32. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). This study was conducted to update the current understanding of the association betwee...

    Authors: Guozhong Zhou, Xin Guo, Shunli Cai, Yu Zhang, Yuanyuan Zhou, Rong Long, Yingchen Zhou, Hanse Li, Nan Chen and Chao Song
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:770
  33. As current trend for physician tools, ChatGPT can sift through massive amounts of information and solve problems through easy-to-understand conversations, ultimately improving efficiency. Mycosis is currently ...

    Authors: Yi Jin, Hua Liu, Bin Zhao and Weihua Pan
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:731
  34. In recent years, improved access to effective antiretroviral therapy has meant that people living with human immune virus are living longer than before. The burden of non-communicable diseases particularly, hy...

    Authors: Kirubel Dagnaw Tegegne, Getachew Asmare Adela, Gizachew Ambaw Kassie, Misganaw Asmamaw Mengstie, Mohammed Abdu Seid, Melkamu Aderajaw Zemene, Sefineh Fenta Feleke, Tadesse Asmamaw Dejenie, Endeshaw Chekol Abebe, Denekew Tenaw Anley, Anteneh Mengist Dessie, Molalign Melese Gesese, Nega Yimer and Natnael Atnafu Gebeyehu
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:724
  35. Leptospirosis is an emerging neglected tropical zoonotic disease of public health importance causing substantial morbidities and mortalities among humans. The infection is maintained within the population thro...

    Authors: Jacob Mugoya Gizamba and Lawrence Mugisha
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:649
  36. Human cystic echinococcosis (CE), is a common health problem in low- and middle-income countries. Cardiac involvement is a relatively rare manifestation of Echinococcus infection. This study aims to summarize the...

    Authors: Erfan Banisefid, Kosar Baghernezhad, Rasa Beheshti, Sina Hamzehzadeh, Soheil Nemati, Zahra Samadifar, Hamid Owaysee Osquee, Elnaz Javanshir and Amirreza Naseri
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:600
  37. Influenza infection is a highly preventable transmissible viral disease associated with mild upper respiratory symptoms and more severe conditions such as lethal pneumonia. Studies have shown that a broader sp...

    Authors: Rodrigo Luiz Carregaro, Alessandra N. C. P. Roscani, Augusto Cesar Sousa Raimundo, Larissa Ferreira, Tazio Vanni, Maria da Graça Salomão, Livia Fernandes Probst and Juliana Yukari K. Viscondi
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:563
  38. Evidence on the real-world effects of “Treat All” on attrition has not been systematically reviewed. We aimed to review existing literature to compare attrition 12 months after antiretroviral therapy (ART) ini...

    Authors: Richard Makurumidze, Tom Decroo, Bart K. M. Jacobs, Simbarashe Rusakaniko, Wim Van Damme, Lutgarde Lynen and Tinne Gils
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:558
  39. Despite the significant progress made in South Africa in getting millions of individuals living with HIV into care, many patients still present or re-enter care with Advanced HIV Disease (AHD). We aimed to est...

    Authors: Marcel K. Kitenge, Geoffrey Fatti, Ingrid Eshun-Wilson, Omololu Aluko and Peter Nyasulu
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:549
  40. With the emergence of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), several blood biomarkers have been identified, including the endothelial biomarker syndecan-1, a surface proteoglycan. In the current systematic re...

    Authors: Elina Ghondaghsaz, Amirmohammad Khalaji, Mitra Norouzi, Douglas D. Fraser, Sanam Alilou and Amir Hossein Behnoush
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:510
  41. Systematic reviews (SR) and meta-analyses (MA) have become important in addressing specific questions of clinical importance and presenting evidence from an in-depth analysis of literature and aiding clinical ...

    Authors: Chester Kalinda and Elvis Temfack
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:412
  42. Sanitation or sanitary workers are exposed to hepatitis virus infections because of filthy and dangerous working conditions. The current global systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled ...

    Authors: Sina Tolera, Dechasa Adare Mengistu, Fekade Ketema Alemu, Abraham Geremew, Yohannes Mulugeta, Gebisa Dirirsa, Liku Muche Temesgen, Wegene Diriba, Gutema Mulatu, Tamagnu Sintie, Kefelegn Bayu and Ashenafi Berhanu
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2023 23:404

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select ["Systematic Reviews on Infectious Diseases"] from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.