Cochrane · systematic review · CD006589

Oral iron supplements for children in malaria‐endemic areas

Neuberger, A, Okebe, J, Yahav, D, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2016 · Cochrane Library

Infectious Diseases2 versionsAMSTAR 2: not assessed

SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.

Questions

current version

GRADE rated

No studies

Included studies

No studies 2 · 20%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 1 · 10%Low 3 · 30%Moderate 1 · 10%High 3 · 30%

Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.

Questions and results

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Oral iron versus placebo or no treatment for children in malaria‐endemic areas

Population: children in malaria‐endemic areas

6 questions

Outcome	Effect	Evidence	Status / GRADE
Subgroup Oral iron vs placebo or no treatment	no estimate extracted	NR	No studies
Clinical malaria Oral iron vs placebo or no treatment	RR 0.93 [0.87, 1]	14 studies · 7168 participants	High
Clinical malaria Subgrouped by population anaemia (trial level) Oral iron vs placebo or no treatment	RR 0.92 [0.84, 1]	14 studies · 7168 participants	Moderate Downgraded: inconsistency
Severe malaria Defined as clinical malaria with high‐grade parasitaemia or requiring admission Oral iron vs placebo or no treatment	RR 0.9 [0.81, 0.98]	6 studies · 3421 participants	High
Death Oral iron vs placebo or no treatment	no estimate extracted	18 studies · 7576 participants	Low Downgraded: imprecision, publication bias
Hospitalization plus clinic visits Oral iron vs placebo or no treatment	RR 0.99 [0.95, 1.04]	6 studies · 12578 participants	Very low Downgraded: inconsistency, indirectness

Effects of oral iron with or without folic acid on malaria among children in malaria‐endemic areas

Population: children in malaria‐endemic areas

2 questions

Outcome	Effect	Evidence	Status / GRADE
Subgroup	no estimate extracted	NR	No studies
Clinical malaria Subgrouped by presence of malaria prevention or management services	RR 0.91 [0.84, 0.97]	7 studies · 5586 participants	Low Downgraded: inconsistency, publication bias

Oral iron with antimalarial prophylaxis versus placebo or no treatment for children in malaria‐endemic areas

Population: children with or without anaemia at baseline

2 questions

Outcome	Effect	Evidence	Status / GRADE
Clinical malaria Oral iron with antimalarial prophylaxis vs placebo or no treatment	RR 0.54 [0.43, 0.67]	728 participants	High
All‐cause mortality Oral iron with antimalarial prophylaxis vs placebo or no treatment	RR 1.05 [0.52, 2.11]	728 participants	Low Downgraded: imprecision