Salivirus infection: Systematic review and meta‐analysis of association with gastrointestinal symptoms in children

Summary Salivirus (SaV) is a newly described member of the family Picornaviridae that has been associated with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, particularly in children. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of SaV in symptomatic children and its potential association with GI complications. A systematic search was conducted from 01 December 2009 to 10 December 2020, in three major English databases, including Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science as well as Google scholar search engine. Random effect model‐based overall prevalence and odds ratio (OR) were assessed in cross‐sectional and case‐control studies by STATA 14.1. The random effect model‐based pooled prevalence of SaV was 1.6% (95% CI, 0.010–0.022%) and overall OR for all eight case‐control studies indicated an association (3.19 with 95% confidence interval 1.35–7.57) that was not statistically significant, due to the small number of studies available. More comprehensive case‐control studies in multiple geographies should be conducted on the prevalence of SaV in children.