Tuberculin skin tests following Bacille Calmette Guerin vaccination in Africa: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Tuberculin reactivity following tuberculin skin test which is the most common measure of the effect of the Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination has remained complex. This protocol is aimed to assess the effect of BCG vaccine on tuberculin skin test in Africa as a guide to better understanding or resolving this complexity. A search strategy is developed using MeSH, key words, text words, and entry terms. Five databases will be searched, including PubMed, African Journals Online (AJOL), Google Scholar, Research Gate, and Cochrane Library. Only observational studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa and retrievable in English language will be included. The primary measurable outcome of this study is pooled prevalence of positive tuberculin skin tests. Secondary outcomes are factors that influence Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) positivity such as BCG type, the dose of BCG, age at BCG vaccinates, time/interval between BCG vaccination and TST, and type of tuberculin unit used for TST. Identified studies will be screened and selected based on inclusion criteria. Data will be extracted into Zotero, Microsoft Excel and CMA software. Both quality scores and the risk of bias for individual studies will be reported. Studies will be assessed for methodological, clinical, and statistical heterogeneity. Funnel Plots will be used for assessing publication bias. The results will be presented in tabular format in addition to a narrative synthesis. The pooled prevalence of effect of BCG vaccine on TST in Africa will be examined in relation to factors that influence TST positivity.