BACKGROUND
Streptococcus Pneumoniae (Spn) has been a leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children. The most recent estimation on the global burden of Spn meningitis reports a positive trajectory in eliminating Spn through implementing pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV). However, continuous monitoring and assessment of the disease burden is necessary due to the evidence of serotype replacement, antibiotic resistance, and impact of the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
OBJECTIVE
Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to provide an updated protocol on the global and regional burden of Spn meningitis in children which can guide policies and strategies to reduce the disease burden.
METHODS
Population-based studies from 01 Jan 2000 to 01 Jan 2022 from electronic databases PubMed, Embase, Global Health (CABI), and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Plus will be searched without any language restrictions. Generalised linear mixed models (GLMMs) meta-analysis will be performed to estimate pooled incidence and case-fatality-ratio. We will further assess risk of bias, heterogeneity, and perform subgroup and sensitivity analysis to provide meaningful interpretation of the current burden and literature for pneumococcal meningitis.
RESULTS
Ethical approval from an ethics committee will not be required as this review will only include published data. The results from this study will be disseminated through conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.
CONCLUSIONS
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CLINICALTRIAL
This review has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) – CRD42021293110