Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30205844›Full record

ArticleSystematic reviews2018

Antibiotic therapy for skin and soft tissue infections: a protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Jessica J Bartoszko, Dominik Mertz, Lehana Thabane, Mark Loeb

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Systematic reviews, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Methods Used for the Eradication of Staphylococcal Biofilms.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jessica J BartoszkoDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 3Z5, Canada.
Dominik MertzDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 3Z5, Canada.
Lehana ThabaneDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 3Z5, Canada.
Mark LoebDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 3Z5, Canada. loebm@mcmaster.ca.
McMaster University · CAImpact · CA

Funding

CIHR
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSkin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in hospital and community settings impose a substantial socio-economic burden. Therapeutic uncertainty due to the availability of a wide range of antibiotics and the need for empirical treatment decisions complicate SSTI clinical management. Completion of numerous pairwise meta-analyses to account for this variability in antibiotics is impractical, and many head-to-head comparisons of potential interest are likely not available. In comparing multiple antibiotics simultaneously, this network meta-analysis aims to identify the antibiotic(s) with the greatest value in the treatment of SSTIs, in terms of patient-important outcomes such as efficacy and safety.

methodsWe will conduct a systematic review to identify randomized controlled trials of persons with suspected or confirmed SSTI assigned to orally or parenterally administered antibiotic therapy that report results on at least one outcome of interest. We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), along with trial registries. Our primary outcome of interest is clinical success at the test-of-cure visit. Secondary outcomes may include (1) early clinical success (2-3 days after the therapy starts), (2) mortality, (3) adverse events, (4) treatment duration, and (5) length of hospital stay. Independent reviewers will complete screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts, data extraction, risk of bias assessment (using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool), and evaluation of the certainty of evidence (using the GRADE approach) in duplicate. We will complete pairwise and network meta-analyses within the Bayesian framework when possible using a random effects model. We will stratify SSTIs by severity into uncomplicated and complicated SSTIs when possible. Subgroup analyses by age, infection type, comorbidity, and suspected or confirmed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-associated infection are planned. DISCUSSION: This study has several strengths compared to previous reviews: inclusion of a wider range of infection types, antibiotics, and outcomes; a comprehensive search strategy; a priori subgroup analyses; application of GRADE; and improved interpretability of findings through visual presentation of results. We hope our findings will inform future research, health care professionals, and policy makers resulting in improved evidence-based clinical management of SSTIs. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42018085607.

Indexed as

Anti-Infective AgentsSkin DiseasesSoft Tissue InfectionsHumansNetwork Meta-Analysis as TopicRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSystematic Reviews as TopicAnti-Infective AgentsAntibiotic therapyNetwork meta-analysisProtocolSkin and soft tissue infectionSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID30205844
PMCPMC6134765
OpenAlexW2890471651

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.