Treatments for toxoplasmosis in pregnancy

Toxoplasmosis is a widespread parasitic disease and usually causes no symptoms. However, infection of pregnant women may cause congenital infection, resulting potentially in mental retardation and blindness in the infant.

The objective of this review was to assess whether or not treating toxoplasmosis in pregnancy reduces the risk of congenital toxoplasma infection and improves infant outcomes.

The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register was searched. An electronic search was performed using the key words 'congenital and toxoplasmosis' on the following databases: MEDLINE (1966-07/1997), Embase (1993-07/1997), Pascal (French) (1990-1997), Biological Abstracts (1993-1995) and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register. There was also contact with experts in the field, including those in the European Research Network on Congenital Toxoplasmosis.

Randomised controlled trials of antibiotic treatment versus no treatment of pregnant women with proven or likely acute Toxoplasma infection, with outcomes in the children reported. We also inspected relevant reports of less robust experimental studies in which there were (non randomly allocated) control groups, although it was not planned to include such data in the primary analysis.

Reports of possibly eligible studies were scrutinised by two investigators.

Out of the 2591 papers identified, none met the inclusion criteria.

Despite the large number of studies performed over the last three decades we still do not know whether antenatal treatment in women with presumed toxoplasmosis reduces the congenital transmission of Toxoplasma gondii. Screening is expensive, so we need to evaluate the effects of treatment, and the impact of screening programmes. In countries where screening or treatment is not routine, these technologies should not be introduced outside the context of a carefully controlled trial.