Preventing tuberculosis with bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine: A meta-analysis of the literature

This article reviews a previously published meta-analysis of 1264 titles or abstracts and 70 selected studies for evaluation of the efficacy of bacill us Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine in preventing tuberculosis. Following revi ew, data from 26 studies were included in the analysis, These 26 studies re veal that vaccination with BCG significantly reduces the risk of tuberculos is by an average of 50%, This level of protection persists across a number of subgroups defined by age at vaccination and study design. Vaccination wi th BCG was significantly associated with a reduction in the incidence of pu lmonary tuberculosis and extrapulmonary disease, In general, the results of this meta-analysis lend weight and confidence to arguments favoring the us e of BCG vaccine.