Vaccines for preventing invasive salmonella infections in people with sickle cell disease

Salmonella infections are a common bacterial cause of invasive disease in people with sickle cell disease especially children, and are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Although available in some centres, people with sickle cell anaemia are not routinely immunized with salmonella vaccines. This is an update of a previously published Cochrane Review.

To determine whether routine administration of salmonella vaccines to people with sickle cell disease reduces the morbidity and mortality associated with infection.

We searched the Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group Trials Register which comprises of references identified from comprehensive electronic database searches and handsearches of relevant journals and abstract books of conference proceedings.We also conducted a search of the LILACS database and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (www.who.int/trialsearch) and ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov).Date of most recent searches: 17 October 2018.

We planned to select all randomized controlled trials that compared the use of either the inactivated vaccine or an oral attenuated vaccine with a placebo among people with sickle cell disease. Equally, studies that compared the efficacy of one vaccine type over another were to be selected for the review.

No trials of salmonella vaccines in people with sickle cell disease were found.

There is an absence of randomized controlled trial evidence relating to the scope of this review.

It is expected that salmonella vaccines may be useful in people with sickle cell disease, especially in resource-poor settings where the majority of those who suffer from the condition are found. Unfortunately, there are no randomized controlled trials on the efficacy and safety of the different types of salmonella vaccines in people with sickle cell disease. We conclude that there is a need for a well-designed, adequately-powered, randomized controlled trial to assess the benefits and risks of the different types of salmonella vaccines as a means of improving survival and decreasing mortality from salmonella infections in people with sickle cell disease. However, we believe that there are unlikely to be any trials published in this area, therefore, this review will no longer be regularly updated.