Table 1 Summary of characteristics of studies included in the systematic review
Participant characteristics | Total | No symptoms | Asymptomatic and symptomatic | Only symptomatic | Not reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of studies, n | 57 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 35 |
Study design, n | |||||
 Cohort | 35 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 20 |
 Case-control | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
 Cross-sectional | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Clinical trial | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Publication, year median (IQR) | 2012 (1995–2018) | 2014 (2011–2015) | 2016 (1997–2019) | 2020 | 2008 (1995–2016) |
Number of women, total (median, IQR) | 71,500 (374, 200–1000) | 13,923 (500, 347–4429) | 22,574 (331, 202–1220) | 258 | 34,745 (300, 156–912) |
Outcomes, reported, n | |||||
 Preterm birth | 35 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 20 |
 Spontaneous abortion | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 Stillbirth | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
 PPROM | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
 PROM | 15 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
 Low birth weight | 11 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
 Small for gestational age | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Inflammation of the placenta or uterus | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Neonatal death | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Time of testing, n | |||||
 1st trimester | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
 2nd trimester | 24 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 17 |
 3rd trimester | 27 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 19 |
 not reported | 18 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
Specimen type, n | |||||
 Vaginal swab | 41 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 25 |
 Endocervical swab | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
 Othera | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
 not reported | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Diagnostic method, n | |||||
 Microscopy | 30 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 16 |
 Culture | 34 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 20 |
 PCR | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 not reported | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |