Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Immunocompromised Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii has been suggested as an important opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. We conducted a global meta-analysis to assess the prevalence and odds ratios (ORs) of T. gondii infection in immunocompromised individuals. Electronic databases were reviewed for T. gondii infection in HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, and transplant recipients, and meta-analyses were conducted to calculate overall estimated prevalence and ORs using random or fixed-effects models. Totally, 72 eligible studies were included. The estimated pooled prevalence of T. gondii infection in immunocompromised patients and the control was 35.9 and 24.7% (p < 0.001), with an OR of 2.24, i.e., 42.1 and 32.0% for HIV/AIDS patients and the control (p < 0.05), 26.0 and 12.1% for cancer patients and the control (p < 0.001), and 42.1 and 34.5% for transplant recipients and the control (p > 0.05), whose estimated pooled ORs were 1.92 (95% CI, 1.44–2.55), 2.89 (95% CI, 2.36–3.55), and 1.51 (95% CI, 1.16–1.95), respectively. This study is the first to demonstrate that the immunocompromised patients are associated with higher odds of T. gondii infection, and appropriate prevention and control measures are highly recommended for these susceptible populations.

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in oral cancer patients in China: a case–control prospective study

“…Cancer patients who are seronegative for T. gondii infection could benefit from advice on precautionary measures, to avoid seroconversion that may induce active severe toxoplasmosis [15]. Therefore, potential associations between T. gondii infection and cancer have attracted a lot of attention [3,4,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Oral cancer is one of the most common malignant tumours.…”

Toxoplasmosis and Risk of Endothelial Dysfunction: Role of Oxidative Stress and Pro-Inflammatory Mediators

“…Toxoplasmosis in immune-competent patients is frequently asymptomatic or presented as flu-like symptoms, but in immune-compromised patients T. gondii leads to a serious fatal infection with multi-organ involvement (15). In the present study all of the recruited patients were immune-competent that explains the mild clinical presentation of acquired toxoplasmosis in the recruited patients.…”

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Healthy Volunteer Blood Donors Using Serological and Molecular Methods from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Southwest Iran

“…However, in the fetus and newborns who are congenitally infected, it can cause congenital anomalies such as stillbirth, microcephaly, hydrocephalus, mental retardation, abortion, cerebral calcification in the developing fetus, and fetal death (10). Moreover, in immunosuppressed patients, such as AIDS patients, patients undergoing therapies for malignancies, recipients of solid-organ transplants, and people on hemodialysis, it causes irreversible complications including encephalitis, pneumonia, and disseminated systematic disease (11,12).…”