Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33874897›Full record

SynthesisBMC medical research methodology2021

Guidelines are needed for studies of pre-treatment HIV drug resistance: a methodological study.

Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Clémence Ongolo-Zogo, Olivia C Mendoza, Babalwa Zani, Frederick Morfaw, Agatha Nyambi, Annie Wang, Michel Kiflen, Hussein El-Kechen, Alvin Leenus and 5 more

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC medical research methodology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 35% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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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

15 authors at 9 institutions in 5 countries.

Lawrence MbuagbawDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. mbuagblc@mcmaster.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-5855-5461
Clémence Ongolo-ZogoDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Olivia C MendozaFaculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Babalwa ZaniKnowledge Translation Unit, University of Cape Town Lung Institute, Cape Town, South Africa.
Frederick MorfawDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Agatha NyambiOntario HIV Treatment Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Annie WangDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Michel KiflenDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Hussein El-KechenDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Alvin LeenusDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Mark YoussefSchool of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Nadia RehmanDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Lucas HermansVirology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Virginia MacDonaldDepartment of HIV, Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Silvia BertagnolioDepartment of HIV, Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Impact · CACentral Hospital of Yaoundé · CMWorld Health Organization · CHMcMaster University · CAOntario HIV Treatment Network · CAPopulation Health Research Institute · CAUniversity of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of Ottawa · CAUniversity of the Witwatersrand · ZA

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe expansion of access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been accompanied by an increase in pre-treatment drug resistance (PDR). While it is critical to monitor the increasing prevalence of PDR across countries and populations to inform optimal regimen selection, the completeness of reporting is often suboptimal, limiting the interpretation and generalizability of the results. Indeed, there is no formal guidance on how studies investigating the prevalence of drug resistance should be reported. Thus, we sought to determine the completeness of reporting in studies of PDR and the factors associated with sub-optimal reporting to ascertain the need for guidelines.

methodsAs part of a systematic review on the global prevalence of PDR in key populations (men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people, people who inject drugs and people in prisons), we searched 10 electronic databases until January 2019. We extracted information on selected study characteristics useful for interpreting prevalence data. Data were extracted in duplicate. Analyses of variance and correlation were used to explore factors that may explain the number of items reported.

resultsWe found 650 studies of which 387 were screened as full text and 234 were deemed eligible. The included studies were published between 1997 and 2019 and included a median of 239 (quartile 1 = 101; quartile 3 = 778) participants. Most studies originated from high-income countries (125/234; 53.0%). Of 23 relevant data items, including study design, setting, participant sociodemographic characteristics, HIV risk factors, type of resistance test conducted, definition of resistance, the mean (standard deviation) number of items reported was 13 (2.2). We found that more items were reported in studies published more recently (r = 0.20; p < 0.002) and in studies at low risk of bias (F [2231] = 8.142; p < 0.001).

conclusionsIncomplete reporting in studies on PDR makes characterising levels of PDR in subpopulations across countries challenging. Hence, guidelines are needed to define a minimum set of variables to be included in such studies.

Indexed as

HIV InfectionsSexual and Gender MinoritiesSex WorkersDrug ResistanceHomosexuality, MaleHumansMaleGuidelinesHIVPre-treatment drug resistanceReporting

Identifiers

PMID33874897
PMCPMC8056637
OpenAlexW3154092642

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.