Study | Country | No of pairs | Study design | Primary methods for maternal HSV-2 | Use of antiretroviral therapy | Maternal CD4 count closest to delivery (cells/mm3) | Assessment of the risk of bias | ||||||
Eligibili-ty criteria | Methods for maternal HSV-2 | Methods for infant HIV status | Methods for confound-ding | Analy-sis | Attri-tion | Overall risk of bias | |||||||
Aebi-Popp et al16 | Ukraine | 1513 | Retrospective cohort | Serology | HSV-2+ ZDV±NVP n=443, cART n=542 HSV-2− ZDV±NVP n=283, cART n=183 | Median 430 (IQR 290–580) | Low | Mod. | Low | Low | Mod. | Mod. | Mod. |
Bollen et al17 | Thailand | 307 | Retrospective cohort | Serology | ZDV n=151 | <200: n=33 200–499: n=166 ≥500: n=107 | Low | Low | Low | Low | Mod. | Mod. | Low |
Chen et al19 | USA | 402 | Retrospective cohort | Culture | ZDV n=266 | <500: n=142 ≥500: n=231 | Low | Mod. | Low | Low | Mod. | Mod. | Mod. |
Chen et al13 | USA | 78 | Case–control | Serology | ZDV n=22 transmitters and n=29 non-transmitters cART n=4 transmitters and n=22 non-transmitters | Median: 362 (cases) 448 (controls) | Low | Low | Low | High | Low | Low | Mod. |
Cowan et al14 | Zimbab-we | 1448 | Case–control | Serology | None | ≤200: n=217 201–400: n=447 ≥401: n=679 Missing: n=184 | Low | Low | Low | Mod. | Low | Low | Low |
Drake et al15 | Kenya | 175 | Case–control | Serology | Any ARVs n=25 transmitters and n=106 non-transmitters | Median at 32 weeks GA: 419 (IQR 299–620) | Mod. | Low | Low | High | Mod. | Low | Mod. |
Hitti et al21 | USA | 48 | Prospective cohort | Culture | Not reported | Of 58 women: <200: n=4 200–500: n=23 >500: n=31 | Mod. | Low | High | High | Mod. | Mod. | High |
Jamieson et al18 | Côte d’Ivoire | 250 | Prospective cohort | Serology | ZDV n=126 | <350: n=56 350–499: n=51 ≥500: n=138 | Low | Mod. | Low | High | Mod. | Mod. | Mod. |
Pitt et al22 | USA | 497 | Prospective cohort | Methods not stated | ZDV n=167 | Mean ± SD: 399±254 (transmitters) and 505±417 (non- transmitters) | Mod. | High | Low | High | Mod. | Low. | High. |
Van Dyke et al23 | USA | 204 | Prospec-tive cohort | Clinical diagnosis | ZDV n=174 | Median (IQR): 372 (277–579; transmitters) and 453 (252–642; non-transmitters) | Low | High | Low | High | Mod. | Mod. | High. |
ARVs, antiretrovirals; cART, combination antiretroviral therapy; GA, gestational age; HSV-2, herpes simplex virus-2; LTFU, lost to follow up; mod., moderate; NVP, nevirapine; ZDV, zidovudine.