Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Mathias Luhr Hansen, Caroline Kamp Jorgensen, Lehana Thabane, Eliana Rulli, Elena Biagioli, Maria Chiaruttini, Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Ole Mathiesen, Christian Gluud, Janus Christian Jakobsen
Summary: This study aims to estimate the range of observed intervention effects for all-cause mortality in trials included in Cochrane Reviews. Cochrane Reviews will be clustered according to the registered Cochrane Review Group, and statistical analyses will be conducted for each group and overall. The results will report the median relative risk, IQR, and the proportion of trials within different ranges of relative risk.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Dorota A. Doherty, Steven Y. C. Tong, Jennifer Reilly, Jane Shrapnel, Stephen McDonald, Susannah Ahern, Ian Harris, Charmaine S. Tam, Angela L. Brennan, Carol Hodgson, Leonie Wilcox, Anitha Balagurunathan, Belinda E. Butcher, Christopher M. Reid
Summary: Registry randomised clinical trials (RRCTs) can provide practical answers to clinical questions in a cost-effective way by embedding them into well-established registries. RRCTs can take different forms, such as parallel group trials, platform or adaptive trials, cluster randomised trials, and cluster randomised stepped-wedge trials. With advancements in data linkage and quality, RRCTs have the potential to play a significant role in addressing clinical questions pragmatically.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Bruno Giraudeau, Agnes Caille, Sandra M. Eldridge, Charles Weijer, Merrick Zwarenstein, Monica Taljaard
Summary: Pragmatic trials aim to generate evidence to inform decisions, but heterogeneity in patient characteristics and other factors can affect outcomes. Different sources of heterogeneity in trials should be managed, and some heterogeneity can be acceptable. Heterogeneity in centers and patients should be welcomed, control interventions should reflect usual care, and flexibility in interventions should be allowed. Objective outcomes and intention-to-treat analysis should be favored. Process analyses can provide further understanding of trial results.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Jakub Ruszkowski, Katarzyna Majkutewicz, Ewelina Rybka, Marcin Kutek, Jacek M. Witkowski
Summary: Systematic reviews with meta-analyses on probiotics efficacy often lack methodological quality and clinical applicability. Critical flaws, such as lack of excluded studies list and study protocol, are common. Only a small percentage of studies provide results applicable to clinical practice, with higher journal impact factor and European author affiliation associated with better methodological quality.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Yuting Duan, Zhirui Xu, Xinyu Li, Pinge Zhao, Shengwei Wu, Zewei Chen, Jiewen Guo, Yiye Zhou, Chunzhi Tang, Lin Yu
Summary: This study aims to provide the current status of the reporting quality and data-sharing level of acupuncture RCTs. Through searching seven databases and summarizing the basic characteristics, the reporting quality and data-sharing level of included trials will be assessed. The findings of this study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Shunlian Fu, Qian Zhou, Lijun Yuan, Zinan Li, Qiu Chen
Summary: This study aims to summarize and synthesize the evidence on the effects of diet on obesity-related anthropometric characteristics in adults through an umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. The study will involve various methods and analyses, including literature retrieval, data screening and extraction, effect size calculation, consideration of heterogeneity and small-study effects, as well as evidence grading and assessment of methodological quality.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Yajun Zhang, Hantong Hu, Xiaoyu Li, Jiali Lou, Xiaofen He, Yongliang Jiang, Jianqiao Fang
Summary: This systematic review protocol aims to investigate publication trends and feasibility aspects of acupuncture pilot trials, identify the proportion leading to definitive trials, and assess the reporting completeness and methodological quality of these trials. The study will use various databases to retrieve relevant studies and analyze factors associated with reporting completeness using regression analysis. Ethical approval is not required for this research, which is planned for submission to an academic journal.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Myanca Rodrigues, Nitika Sanger, Alexander Dufort, Stephanie Sanger, Balpreet Panesar, Alessia D'Elia, Sameer Parpia, Zainab Samaan, Lehana Thabane
Summary: This study will conduct a methodological review of outcomes reported in trials for adults aged 65 years and older with depression in the past 10 years, aiming to assess the heterogeneity of outcome measures in order to inform the development of a core outcome set for this population.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kylie E. Hunter, Angela C. Webster, Mike Clarke, Matthew J. Page, Sol Libesman, Peter J. Godolphin, Mason Aberoumand, Larysa H. M. Rydzewska, Rui Wang, Aidan C. Tan, Wentao Li, Ben W. Mol, Melina Willson, Vicki Brown, Talia Palacios, Anna Lene Seidler
Summary: Individual participant data meta-analyses enable more detailed analyses by checking and cleaning data quality, but there is limited guidance on how to conduct these checks. This study aims to develop a checklist to improve data quality for individual participant data meta-analyses of randomized trials.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Peter Hanlon, Elaine S. Butterly, Anoop S. V. M. Shah, Laurie Hannigan, Jim H. Lewsey, Frances J. Mair, David Kent, Bruce A. Guthrie, Sarah Wild, Nicky Welton, Sofia Dias, David McAllister
Summary: This study analyzed individual participant data from 120 clinical trials and found no evidence of treatment efficacy differences based on comorbidity, indicating the importance of this research for treatment recommendations.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Minghong Yao, Yuning Wang, Jason W. Busse, Matthias Briel, Fan Mei, Guowei Li, Kang Zou, Ling Li, Xin Sun
Summary: This study aims to explore the integration of non-randomised studies of interventions (NRSIs) into meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and investigate the impact of including NRSIs on pooled estimates. A systematic survey of 210 systematic reviews published from 2017 to 2022 will be conducted to assess the concordance between NRSIs and RCTs, and the factors associated with agreement will be examined through regression analysis. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and condensed summaries for clinicians, health policymakers, and guideline developers.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Chris J. Selman, Katherine J. Lee, Clare L. Whitehead, Brett J. Manley, Robert K. Mahar
Summary: This article aims to systematically describe the use of ordinal outcomes in contemporary Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs). The study will review RCTs published in the top four medical journals (British Medical Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and the Journal of the American Medical Association) between January 1, 2012 and July 31, 2022 that use an ordinal outcome as either a primary or a secondary outcome. The data will be summarized using descriptive statistics.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Kleyton Santos Medeiros, Ana Paula Ferreira Costa, Ayane Cristine Alves Sarmento, Cijara Leonice Freitas, Ana Katherine Goncalves
Summary: This study aims to compare the side effects, safety, and toxicity of available COVID-19 vaccines globally, in order to meet the urgent need for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Randomized controlled trial-type studies will be selected and evaluated, and a meta-analysis will be conducted to present the summary of findings. The study will review published data and publish its results in a peer-reviewed journal.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carlson Moses Bueth, Natalia Barbour, Mohamed Abdel-Aty
Summary: To evaluate the effectiveness of bicycle helmets, this paper conducts a systematic review with a focus on meta-analyses. The findings suggest that wearing a helmet while cycling is beneficial regardless of age, crash severity, or crash type, particularly in high-risk situations and when cycling on shared roads to prevent severe head injuries. Laboratory studies also indicate that the shape and size of the head play a role in the protective effects of helmets. However, concerns about the fairness of test conditions were identified.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fotini Karassa, Konstantinos Bougioukas, Eleftherios Pelechas, Anastasia Skalkou, Evangelia Argyriou, Anna-Bettina Haidich
Summary: This overview aims to summarize existing evidence on the effectiveness and harm of pharmacological therapies for adults with CTD-ILD. A literature search will be conducted to identify systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis that examine pharmacological treatment for CTD-ILD. The primary outcomes will be changes in lung function measures and adverse events.
Review
Rheumatology
Daeria O. Lawson, Maria Eraso, Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Marianinha Joanes, Theresa Aves, Alvin Leenus, Ahmed Omar, Robert D. Inman
Summary: Reducing the dose of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapy may not provide significant clinical benefits for patients with axial spondyloarthritis. Maintaining the standard dose may improve sustained disease activity and help prevent disease flare-ups.
ARTHRITIS CARE & RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Rheumatology
Abir Mokbel, Daeria O. Lawson, Forough Farrokhyar
Summary: Key findings of the study include a high percentage of disease flare during pregnancy and postpartum in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), as well as an increased risk of prematurity. However, there was no increased risk of pre-eclampsia across the studies. Cesarean section etiologies were not related to joint issues from AS. The study also highlights the importance of addressing methodological issues and the use of pregnancy registers and validated measurement tools for future research in this field.
CLINICAL RHEUMATOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Silvia Bertagnolio, Lucas Hermans, Michael R. Jordan, Santiago Avila-Rios, Collins Iwuji, Anne Derache, Eric Delaporte, Annemarie Wensing, Theresa Aves, A. S. M. Borhan, Alvin Leenus, Neil Parkin, Meg Doherty, Seth Inzaule, Lawrence Mbuagbaw
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of pretreatment human immunodeficiency virus drug resistance (PDR) on treatment outcomes of NNRTI-based ART, showing poorer outcomes for individuals with PDR, including higher risk of virological failure. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid using NNRTIs for treatment in countries with high levels of PDR.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Dena Zeraatkar, Arrti Bhasin, Rita E. Morassut, Isabella Churchill, Arnav Gupta, Daeria O. Lawson, Anna Miroshnychenko, Emily Sirotich, Komal Aryal, David Mikhail, Tauseef A. Khan, Vanessa Ha, John L. Sievenpiper, Steven E. Hanna, Joseph Beyene, Russell J. de Souza
Summary: Systematic reviews of nutritional epidemiology studies often exhibit serious limitations, such as inadequate protocol registration, lack of transparency in search strategies, and errors in result synthesis. To enhance the quality of future reviews, authors can involve statisticians, methodologists, and experts with substantive knowledge in the specific area of nutrition, and utilize a rigorous and transparent system for evaluating the certainty of evidence.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION
(2021)
Review
Rehabilitation
Daeria O. Lawson, Katie Mellor, Saskia Eddy, Christopher Lee, Kwang Hyun Kim, Kunmo Kim, Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Lehana Thabane
Summary: This review investigates the current state of pilot and feasibility studies in rehabilitation research and provides recommendations for improving their design and reporting. The findings suggest that some studies have problems in labeling and reporting, and researchers are recommended to correctly label studies based on accepted definitions, explicitly state the feasibility objectives and criteria, and appropriately interpret and report the implications of feasibility findings for the main study.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE & REHABILITATION
(2022)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Katherine S. Allan, Emma O'Neil, Margaret M. Currie, Steve Lin, John L. Sapp, Paul Dorian
Summary: Sudden cardiac arrest is a common event, and digital technologies such as smartphones, wearable devices, and machine learning algorithms can improve survival rates through various strategies like educating bystanders and monitoring at-risk individuals.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Julian Hirt, Hannah Ewald, Daeria O. Lawson, Lars G. Hemkens, Matthias Briel, Stefan Schandelmaier
Summary: The study systematically surveyed methods guidance articles published in high-impact medical journals in 2020 and identified opportunities for improvement, such as enhancing findability and establishing standards for development and reporting.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Anita Rizvi, Daeria O. Lawson, Taryn Young, Omar Dewidar, Stuart Nicholls, Elie A. Akl, Julian Little, Olivia Magwood, Larissa Shamseer, Elizabeth Ghogomu, Janet Elizabeth Jull, Tamara Rader, Zulfiqar Bhutta, Catherine Chamberlain, Holly Ellingwood, Regina Greer-Smith, Billie-Jo Hardy, Matire Harwood, Michelle Kennedy, Tamara Kredo, Elizabeth Loder, Michael Johnson J. Mahande, Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Miriam Nkangu, Patrick M. Okwen, Jacqueline Ramke, Janice Tufte, Peter Tugwell, Xiaoqin Wang, Charles Shey Wiysonge, Vivian A. Welch
Summary: This study aims to develop reporting guidance relevant to health equity as an extension of the STROBE statement. Using the PROGRESS-Plus framework, equity-seeking populations will be operationalised, with Indigenous coinvestigators leading the relevance of candidate guideline items to Indigenous research.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Cristian Garcia, Nadia Rehman, Daeria O. Lawson, Pascal Djiadeu, Lawrence Mbuagbaw
Summary: This study used a mixed methods approach to collect and organize important items regarding HIV drug resistance research reporting through an electronic survey and focus group discussions, supporting the development of a reporting checklist. Data analysis is ongoing, and the results will be refined and elaborated upon by a committee of experts and external reviewers to finalize reporting guidelines for HIV drug resistance studies.
JMIR RESEARCH PROTOCOLS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Souvik Mitra, Danielle de Sa Boasquevisque, Stephen Noorduyn, Myanca Rodrigues, Daeria O. Lawson, Lehana Thabane, Victor Montori
JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Nadia Rehman, Michael Wu, Cristian Garcia, Alvin Leenus, Hussein El-Kechen, Manika Bhandari, Gohar Zakaryan, Babalwa Zani, Anisa Hajizadeh, Annie Wang, Rita E. Morassut, Jessica J. Bartoszko, Oluwatoni Makanjuola, Diya Jhuti, Vaibhav Arora, Andrew Kapoor, Aaron Jones, Pascal Djiadeu, Lawrence Mbuagbaw
Summary: This study aims to describe the various definitions used for retention in HIV care in randomized controlled trials. A total of 50 trials between 2007 and 2021 were identified, with 59 different definitions for retention in care. The most commonly used characteristics were follow-up time and clinical visits.
AIDS PATIENT CARE AND STDS
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Katherine S. Allan, Katherine L. Mason, Jodi Garner, Katie N. Dainty, Dirk Huyer, Kris Cunningham, Paul Dorian, Krystina B. Lewis
Summary: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in younger individuals is often caused by heritable cardiac conditions, leaving families with unanswered questions about the cause of death and their own risk. This study explored the experiences of families of young SCD victims and found that their interactions with others and the timing and format of information received influenced their understanding of the cause of death, perceived risk, and decision to pursue further screening.
CIRCULATION-CARDIOVASCULAR QUALITY AND OUTCOMES
(2023)
Review
Emergency Medicine
Nicholas Grubic, Braeden Hill, Katherine S. Allan, Katie N. Dainty, Amer M. Johri, Steven C. Brooks
Summary: This review evaluated community-based interventions for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in resource-limited settings. The study found that there are global differences in community response to OHCA in resource-limited settings, with limited research in low-income countries and certain continents. Evaluation of interventions beyond CPR and/or AED training is needed in low- and middle-income countries to guide community emergency planning and health policies.
PREHOSPITAL EMERGENCY CARE
(2023)
Review
Critical Care Medicine
Katherine S. Allan, Bianca Mammarella, Mika'il Visanji, Erinda Moglica, Negin Sadeghlo, Emma O'Neil, Tiffany T. Chan, Teruko Kishibe, Theresa Aves
Summary: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of innovative teaching modalities (such as nonpractical, self, or peer-training) compared to instructor-led training for CPR training in schoolchildren. The results showed that these innovative modalities were equally effective in teaching CPR, but compression depth was frequently suboptimal. Standardized training and evaluation methods are needed to improve the effectiveness of CPR training in schoolchildren.
RESUSCITATION PLUS
(2023)
