Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32572787›Full record

ReviewInfectious diseases and therapy2020

Guideline Recommendations for Empirical Antimicrobial Therapy: An Appraisal of Research Evidence for Clinical Decision-Making in Ethiopia.

Balew Arega, Asnake Agunie, Abraham Minda, Amdemeskel Mersha, Alazar Sitotaw, Getachew Weldeyohhans, Ayele Teshome, Kelemework Adane, Getachew Mengistu

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Infectious diseases and therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 25% 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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Balew AregaYekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. balewmlt@gmail.com.
Asnake AgunieYekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Abraham MindaYekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Amdemeskel MershaYekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Alazar SitotawYekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Getachew WeldeyohhansYekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ayele TeshomeYekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Kelemework AdaneMeklle University, College of Health Science, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
Getachew MengistuDebere Markos University, College of Health Science, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College · ETDebre Markos University · ETMekelle University · ET

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe rapid spread of drug resistance is forcing standard treatment guidelines (STGs) to become more appropriate with due consideration of the evidence on the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) situation in Ethiopia. Therefore, we aimed to assess the local AMR recommendations in the STGs for empirical antibacterial prescriptions for the five common infectious syndromes. We also determined the quality of AMR reviews conducted in the country.

methodsWe conducted a review of the STGs used in the health centers, general hospitals, and primary hospitals in Ethiopia and assessed the AMR recommendations in STGs for empirical antibacterial prescriptions for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), urinary tract infection (UTI), tonsillopharyngitis, acute otitis media (AOM), and bacterial dysentery. Next, we performed an overview of AMR reviews published in Ethiopia. We used the MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases to identify AMR reviews. The review characteristics were extracted. We also evaluated the quality of each included AMR review using a measurement tool to assess the systematic review scale (AMSTAR 2).

resultsA total of 6 STGs and 12 AMR reviews conducted in the country were included. The choice of empirical antibacterials for similar infectious syndromes (and editions) was comparable across the three levels of the health care system. None of the STGs evaluated included the local AMR recommendations for empirical antibacterial prescriptions for five common infectious syndromes. Of all the AMR reviews included, 75% had low and below methodologic quality, and none had a high-quality score using the AMSTAR 2 tool.

conclusionStandard treatment guidelines did not consider local AMR recommendations for empirically prescribing antibacterials for common infectious syndromes. The AMR reviews published in the country produced poor methodologic quality evidence for clinical applications. This highlights the need to improve the methodologic quality to provide the best available evidence for clinical decision-making and curb the ongoing AMR in Ethiopia.

trial registrationRetrospectively registered (15/07/2020).

Indexed as

Antimicrobial resistanceEthiopiaTreatment guideline

Identifiers

PMID32572787
PMCPMC7452993
OpenAlexW3036550926

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.