Trial reportPloS one2025
The probability of reducing hospitalization rates for bronchiolitis with epinephrine and dexamethasone: A Bayesian analysis.
Trial report in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBronchiolitis exerts a high burden on children, their families and the healthcare system. The Canadian Bronchiolitis Epinephrine Steroid Trial (CanBEST) assessed whether administering epinephrine alone, dexamethasone alone, or in combination (EpiDex) could reduce bronchiolitis-related hospitalizations among children less than 12 months of age compared to placebo. CanBEST demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in 7-day hospitalization risk with EpiDex in an unadjusted analysis but not after adjustment.
objectiveTo explore the probability that EpiDex results in a reduction in hospitalizations using Bayesian methods. STUDY
designUsing prior distributions that represent varying levels of preexisting enthusiasm or skepticism, i.e., how confident or doubtful one is that EpiDex may reduce hospitalizations, and information about the treatment effect before data were collected, the posterior distribution of the relative risk of hospitalization compared to placebo was determined. The probability that the treatment effect is less than 1, 0.9, 0.8 and 0.6, indicating increasing reductions in hospitalization risk, are computed alongside 95% credible intervals.
resultsCombining a minimally informative prior distribution with the data from CanBEST provides comparable results to the original analysis. Unless strongly skeptical views about the effectiveness of EpiDex were considered, the 95% credible interval for the treatment effect lies below 1, indicating a reduction in hospitalizations. There is a 90% probability that EpiDex results in a clinically meaningful reduction in hospitalization of 10% even when incorporating skeptical views, with a 67% probability when considering strongly skeptical views.
conclusionA Bayesian analysis demonstrates a high chance that EpiDex reduces hospitalization rates for bronchiolitis, although strongly skeptical individuals may require additional evidence to change practice.
trial registrationClinical Trial registry name, registration number: Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN56745572.
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