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. 2019 Jun 11;6(7):ofz283.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofz283. eCollection 2019 Jul.

Transfusion-Transmitted Malaria: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Ehsan Ahmadpour  1 , Masoud Foroutan-Rad  2   3 , Hamidreza Majidiani  2 , Sirous Mehrani Moghaddam  4 , Kareem Hatam-Nahavandi  5 , Seyed-Abdollah Hosseini  6 , Mohammad Taghi Rahimi  7 , Aleksandra Barac  8 , Salvatore Rubino  9 , Mehdi Zarean  10 , Alexander G Mathioudakis  11 , Muge Cevik  12
Affiliations

Transfusion-Transmitted Malaria: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Ehsan Ahmadpour et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Malaria transmission through blood transfusion is an accidental but preventable cause of malaria infection and is increasingly becoming a matter of concern for blood transfusion services. This systematic review was conducted to provide a summary of evidence about the prevalence of Plasmodium infection in asymptomatic blood donors and the effectiveness of screening methods used based on the available literature.

Methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed. Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and EMBASE were searched from 1982 to October 10, 2017. All peer-reviewed original research articles describing the prevalence of malaria parasitemia in blood donors with different diagnostic methods were included. The random-effects model was applied to assess the effects of heterogeneity among the selected studies. Incoherence and heterogeneity between studies were quantified by I 2 index and Cochran's Q test. Publication and population bias was assessed with funnel plots and Egger's regression asymmetry test. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata (version 2.7.2).

Results: Seventy-one studies from 21 countries, 5 continents, were included in the present systematic review. The median prevalence of malaria parasitemia among 984 975 asymptomatic healthy blood donors was 10.54%, 5.36%, and 0.38% by microscopy, molecular methods (polymerase chain reaction), and rapid diagnostic tests, respectively. The most commonly detected Plasmodium species was P. falciparum.

Conclusions: This systematic review demonstrates that compared with other transfusion-linked infections, that is, HIV, HCV, and HBV, transfusion-transmitted malaria is one of the most significant transfusion-associated infections especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Future work must aim to understand the clinical significance of transfusion-transmitted malaria in malaria-endemic settings.

Keywords: Plasmodium; blood donor; systematic review; transfusion medicine; transfusion-associated infections.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart describing the study design process.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Forest plot diagram of the studies reporting malaria prevalence among blood donors by microscopy.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Forest plot diagram of studies reporting malaria prevalence among blood donors based on immunochromatographic rapid testing (rapid diagnostic test and immunochromatographic test).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Forest plot diagram of the studies reporting malaria prevalence among blood donors based on molecular techniques.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Overall malaria prevalence among asymptomatic blood donors in different geographical regions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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