Title
Neurocysticercosis and HIV/AIDS co-infection: A scoping review
Date Issued
01 October 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
review
Author(s)
Jewell P.D.
Abraham A.
Schmidt V.
Buell K.G.
Dixon M.A.
Walker M.
Ngowi B.J.
Basáñez M.G.
Winkler A.S.
Publisher(s)
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Abstract
Objectives: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a high disease burden and are prevalent in overlapping low- and middle-income areas. Yet, treatment guidance for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) co-infected with NCC is currently lacking. This study aims to scope the available literature on HIV/AIDS and NCC co-infection, focusing on epidemiology, clinical characteristics, diagnostics and treatment outcomes. Methods: The scoping literature review methodological framework, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. A total of 16,969 records identified through database searching, and 45 additional records from other sources were reduced to 52 included studies after a standardised selection process. Results: Two experimental studies, ten observational studies, 23 case series/case reports and 17 reviews or letters were identified. Observational studies demonstrated similar NCC seroprevalence in PLWH/A and their HIV-negative counterparts. Of 29 PLWH/A and NCC co-infection, 17 (59%) suffered from epileptic seizures, 15 (52%) from headaches and 15 (52%) had focal neurological deficits. Eighteen (62%) had viable vesicular cysts, and six (21%) had calcified cysts. Fifteen (52%) were treated with albendazole, of which 11 (73%) responded well to treatment. Five individuals potentially demonstrated an immune-reconstitution inflammatory syndrome after commencing antiretroviral therapy, although this was in the absence of immunological and neuroimaging confirmation. Conclusions: There is a paucity of evidence to guide treatment of PLWH/A and NCC co-infection. There is a pressing need for high-quality studies in this patient group to appropriately inform diagnostic and management guidelines for HIV-positive patients with NCC.
Start page
1140
End page
1152
Volume
26
Issue
10
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Parasitología
Enfermedades infecciosas
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85113758582
PubMed ID
Source
Tropical Medicine and International Health
ISSN of the container
13602276
Sponsor(s)
P.D.J. and K.G.B. were funded as part of their Foundation Year 2 (FY2) postgraduate medical training programme, and M.A.D. by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) doctoral training (non-clinical) programme at the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London. This work was also supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) [CYSTINET-Africa 01KA1618; V.S., B.J.N., A.S.W.]. A.A. was an unfunded member of CYSTINET-Africa and contributed with methodological and content-specific input. M.G.B. acknowledges funding from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis [grant No. MR/R015600/1], jointly funded by the UK MRC and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), under the MRC/FCDO Concordat agreement, and is also part of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP2) programme supported by the European Union. The funders had no influence on study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of the data or the decision to submit the paper for publication. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. The literature search was part of a wider systematic literature review for the development of WHO guidelines for the management of NCC. In this context, we want to acknowledge the help and contribution of Thomas Allen, librarian; Bernadette Abela-Ridder, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Tarun Dua, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, all at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Additionally, publications were shared by Agnès Fleury, whom we want to thank for this.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus