Study	Reason for exclusion
Afifi 1959	Data collection for groups not contemporaneous.
Afridi 1947	Not enough units/arm.
Alves 1953	Usage of an insecticide (Benzene Hexachloride (BHC)) which is not recommended by WHO
Andrews 1951	Review, not enough data to analyse.
Ansari 1986	Inappropriate choice of control site (Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) spraying).
Ansari 1990	Inappropriate choice of control site (HCH spraying).
Ansari 2004a	Inappropriate choice of control site (Malathion spraying); not enough units/arm.
Ansari 2004b	Inappropriate choice of control site (HCH spraying).
Arredondo‐Jimenez 1993a	Inappropriate choice of control site (DDT spraying).
Arredondo‐Jimenez 1993b	Not enough units/arm.
Barai 1982	Review, not enough data to analyse.
Barutwanayo 1991	ITS with mix of interventions (IRS, ITN, drainage and improvement of health system).
Bhatnagar 1974	Dosage of insecticide application not concurrent with WHO recommendations.
Bradley 1991	Usage of an insecticide (Benzene Hexachloride (BHC)) which is not recommended by WHO
Brieger 1996	Not enough data to analyse (denominators missing); author was contacted but could not supply missing data.
Cai 1999	Not enough units/arm.
Cavalié 1961a	not enough data for pre‐ and post‐intervention assessment.
Cavalié 1961b	not enough data for pre‐ and post‐intervention assessment.
Charlwood 1995	Inappropriate choice of control site (lambdacyhalothrin spraying); not enough units/arm; not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Conteh 2004	Non‐eligible outcomes measured.
Coosemans 1978	Review, not enough data to analyse.
Coosemans 1989	Not enough data for quality assessment and analyses of the data.
Coosemans 1991	ITS with mix of interventions (IRS, ITN, drainage and improvement of health system).
Coppen 1999	Not enough data, conference abstract only; author could not be contacted for additional information.
Cot 1999	Not enough data, conference abstract only; author could not be contacted for additional information.
Cot 2001	not enough units/arm.
Cot 2002	Non‐eligible outcomes measured.
Curtis 1999	Not enough data, conference abstract only.
Curtis 2000	Review, not enough data to analyse.
Dapeng 1996	Interrupted times series with mixed malaria control interventions (IRS and ITN).
Das 1987	Inappropriate choice of control site (DDT spraying).
de Zulueta 1954	Not enough units/arm; collection of data in control and survey area at different time points.
de Zulueta 1961	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment; ITS with mixed interventions (IRS and treatment).
Deane 1948	Not enough data for pre/post‐intervention assessment.
Dhiman 2005	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS and treatment).
Dodge 1965	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Doke 2000	Not enough data for pre/post‐intervention assessment.
Dowling 1950	Inappropriate choice of control site.
Dowling 1951	Inappropriate choice of control site.
Eddey 1944	Not enough data for post‐intervention assessment.
Edeson 1957	Not enough units/arm.
Farid 1954	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS and larviciding); mix of refugee and general population.
Faye 1992	Not enough units/arm; wrong dosage of insecticide (1g/m2 fenitrothion).
Fontaine 1976	Not enough units/arm.
Fontaine 1978	Not enough units/arm.
Gandahusada 1984	Non randomised allocation of intervention.
Gill 1997	Not enough units/arm.
Gunasekaran 2005	IRS coverage below 60%.
Guyatt 2002	Inappropriate choice of control site.
Hamon 1954	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS, larviciding and drug distribution).
Hii 1993	Study sites not comparable.
Ismail 1974	Not enough data for post‐intervention assessment.
Ismail 1975	High level of population movement.
Ismail 1978	Not enough data for pre‐ and post‐intervention assessment.
Jaggi 1984	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Jambou 2001	Control group not comparable; not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Kamolratanakul 2001	Not enough data for quality assessment.
Kleinschmidt 2006	Not enough data for pre‐ and post‐intervention assessment.
Kleinschmidt 2007	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Lambrecht 1952	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Lantoarilala 1998	Not enough units/arm.
Maharaj 2005	Not enough data for post‐intervention assessment.
Mastbaum 1951	Not enough units/arm.
Matola 1981	Usage of an insecticide (Dieldrin) which is not recommended by WHO.
Metselaar 1954	Not enough units/arm.
Metselaar 1957	Not enough units/arm.
Metselaar 1960	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Metselaar 1961	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS and drug distribution).
Mnzava 1993	Not enough units/arm.
Najera 1965	Not enough units/arm; Inappropriate choice of control site.
Najera 1967	Not enough units/arm.
Najjar 1959	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Nalim 1997	Not enough units/arm.
Nasir 1982	Not enough data on parasitological assessment.
Nguyen 1996	Not enough units/arm.
Nyarango 2006	Application of mixed interventions (IRS, ITN, larviciding and malaria case management).
Onori 1975	Not enough units/arm; not enough data for pre and post‐intervention assessment.
Over 2003	Non‐expermimental approach to analyse the impact of malaria intervention.
Over 2004	Non‐expermimental approach to analyse the impact of malaria intervention.
Pampana 1950	Review, not enough data to analyse.
Pardo 2006	Not enough data for pre‐and post‐intervention assessment.
Pattanayak 1980	Not enough units/arm.
Payne 1976	Non enough units/arm.
Pletsch 1954	Not enough units/arm.
Protopopoff 2008	Control site not comparable.
Pujara 1983	Inappropriate choice of control site and not enough units/arm.
Rachou 1966	Not enough units/arm.
Rafi 1954	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.
Rajendram 1951	Insecticide (BHC) not recommended by WHO.
Rajendram 1951a	Insecticide (BHC) not recommended by WHO.
Rakotomanana 2001	Non‐eligible outcomes measured.
Reisen 1993	Not enough units/arm.
Rodriguez 1994	Non‐eligible outcomes measured.
Rodríguez 1993	Mix of intervention (IRS and drug distribution).
Romi 2002	Not enough data for pre‐ and post‐ intervention assessment.
Rowland 1994	Before‐after comparison, no control group. Actual randomized comparison is between early and late spraying.
Rowland 1997	13 intervention clusters but only one control cluster (instead of 3 required). Malathion results low, presumably as result of resistance in local vectors.
Russel 1939	Not enough units/arm.
Russel 1942	Not enough units/arm.
Sahondra 2001	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS and drug distribution).
Sahu 1993	Not enough units/arm (only 1 control village).
Sahu 1995	Non‐eligible outcomes measured.
Saliternik 1977	Review, not enough data to analyse.
Sastry 1961	Review, not enough data to analyse.
Sexton 1994	Not enough data, conference abstract only.
Sharma 1982	DDT spraying in area with DDT resistant A. culicifacies.
Sharma 1985	Not enough units/arm.
Sharma 1986	Inappropriate choice of control site.
Sharma 1996	Not enough units/arm; spray coverage too low for malathion spraying.
Sharma 2005	Inappropriate choice of control site (DDT‐spraying).
Sharp 2002	Not enough data for post‐intervention assessment.
Singh 2006	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS, early detection and treatment, larvivorous fishes).
Taylor 1986	Not enough units/arm.
Tewari 1990	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS, space‐spraying and anti‐larval measures).
Trapido 1946	Not enough units/arm.
van Thiel 1951	Not enough units/arm.
van Wyk 2002	Not enough data, conference abstract only.
Verdrager 1975	Not enough units/arm.
Viswanathan 1947	Inappropriate choice of control site.
Viswanathan 1950	Mix of dosages used for IRS (two of them not in line with WHO recommendations).
Wattal 1978	Dosage of insecticide application not in line with WHO recommendations
WHO 2007	ITS with mixed interventions (IRS and anti‐larval measures).
Wilson 1954	Not enough units/arm.
Wu 1984	Not enough units/arm.
Wu 1993	Inappropriate choice of control site.
Xu 1998	Not enough units/arm.
Xu 2002	Inappropriate choice of control site.
Zaphiropoulos 1959	Not enough data for pre‐intervention assessment.