Is antibiotic treatment efficacious to treat or prevent/control colibacillosis in broiler production? An amendment protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This protocol is an amendment of the previous study conducted by Sargeant et al. (2019) on the same topic. The description below will mainly focus on modifications provided. This protocol defines the methodology of the systematic review and meta-analysis to address the following PICO question: “In broilers at risk of colibacillosis, does antibiotic treatment versus no antibiotic treatment result in higher FCR/fewer condemnations/lower mortality/total antibiotic use?”. The specific PICO elements are: 1. Population: Broilers (including the whole production chain). 2. Intervention: Any antibiotic licensed for use in chickens in ovo, by injection, in feed, or in water at doses consistent with therapeutic or prophylactic use. Eligible antibiotic include any antibiotic for use in treating or preventing colibacillosis in poultry included in Sargeant et al. (2019) and the OIE list of antibiotic agents of veterinary importance. 3. Comparator: Placebo or untreated control group or an alternative antibiotic treatment. 4. Outcomes: Mortality, Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), condemnations due to colibacillosis at the slaughterhouse, and total antibiotic use.