AUTHOR=Wang Ze-Dong , Liu Huan-Huan , Ma Zhan-Xi , Ma Hong-Yu , Li Zhong-Yu , Yang Zhi-Bin , Zhu Xing-Quan , Xu Bin , Wei Feng , Liu Quan 

TITLE=Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Immunocompromised Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00389

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.00389

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Toxoplasma gondii</italic> has been suggested as an important opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. We conducted a global meta-analysis to assess the prevalence and odds ratios (ORs) of <italic>T. gondii</italic> infection in immunocompromised individuals. Electronic databases were reviewed for <italic>T. gondii</italic> infection in HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, and transplant recipients, and meta-analyses were conducted to calculate overall estimated prevalence and ORs using random or fixed-effects models. Totally, 72 eligible studies were included. The estimated pooled prevalence of <italic>T. gondii</italic> infection in immunocompromised patients and the control was 35.9 and 24.7% (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), with an OR of 2.24, i.e., 42.1 and 32.0% for HIV/AIDS patients and the control (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05), 26.0 and 12.1% for cancer patients and the control (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), and 42.1 and 34.5% for transplant recipients and the control (<italic>p</italic> &gt; 0.05), whose estimated pooled ORs were 1.92 (95% CI, 1.44–2.55), 2.89 (95% CI, 2.36–3.55), and 1.51 (95% CI, 1.16–1.95), respectively. This study is the first to demonstrate that the immunocompromised patients are associated with higher odds of <italic>T. gondii</italic> infection, and appropriate prevention and control measures are highly recommended for these susceptible populations.</p>