Effect of passive immunotherapy against Clostridium difficile infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to determine the effect of antibody therapy against Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) using meta-analysis. In total, 28 studies (animals – 12; human – 17) were identified from the database on the basis of inclusion criteria; then selected studies were systematically reviewed and statistically analyzed. In animal experiments, the pooled relative risk of eight potential studies suggested that the antibody treatment could reduce the risk of CDI. However, the methodological heterogeneity was moderately higher. In human subjects, the majority of reports demonstrated the beneficial effect of passive immunotherapy against CDI. However, this systematic review and meta-analysis recommends that more intensive controlled studies are indispensable for legitimate confirmation.