IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pntd00/0009858.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform

Author

Listed:
  • Kartika Saraswati
  • Brittany J Maguire
  • Alistair R D McLean
  • Sauman Singh-Phulgenda
  • Roland C Ngu
  • Paul N Newton
  • Nicholas P J Day
  • Philippe J Guérin

Abstract

Background: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by intracellular bacteria from the genus Orientia. It is estimated that one billion people are at risk, with one million cases annually mainly affecting rural areas in Asia-Oceania. Relative to its burden, scrub typhus is understudied, and treatment recommendations vary with poor evidence base. These knowledge gaps could be addressed by establishing an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform, which would enable pooled, more detailed and statistically powered analyses to be conducted. This study aims to assess the characteristics of scrub typhus treatment studies and explore the feasibility and potential value of developing a scrub typhus IPD platform to address unanswered research questions. Methodology/principal findings: We conducted a systematic literature review looking for prospective scrub typhus clinical treatment studies published from 1998 to 2020. Six electronic databases (Ovid Embase, Ovid Medline, Ovid Global Health, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Global Index Medicus), ClinicalTrials.gov, and WHO ICTRP were searched. We extracted data on study design, treatment tested, patient characteristics, diagnostic methods, geographical location, outcome measures, and statistical methodology. Conclusions/significance: There were a limited number of interventional trials, highlighting that scrub typhus remains a neglected disease. The heterogeneous nature of the available data reflects the absence of consensus in treatment and research methodologies and poses a significant barrier to aggregating information across available published data without access to the underlying IPD. There is likely to be a substantial amount of data available to address knowledge gaps. Therefore, there is value for an IPD platform that will facilitate pooling and harmonisation of currently scattered data and enable in-depth investigation of priority research questions that can, ultimately, inform clinical practice and improve health outcomes for scrub typhus patients. Author summary: Scrub typhus is a febrile illness most commonly found in rural tropical areas. It is caused by a Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Rickettsiaceae and transmitted by mites when they feed on vertebrates. There is an estimate of one million cases annually, with an estimated one billion people at risk, mostly in Asia-Oceania. But relative to the scale of the problem, scrub typhus is largely understudied. Evidence-based treatment recommendations by policymakers vary or are non-existent. We searched databases and registries for prospective scrub typhus clinical treatment studies published from 1998 to 2020 and reviewed them. Data from clinical trials and particularly for specific groups, such as pregnant women and children, were minimal. The methods used to measure treatment efficacy were heterogeneous, making it difficult to directly compare or conduct a meta-analysis based on aggregated data. One way to improve the current level of evidence would be by pooling and analysing individual participant-level data (IPD), i.e. the raw data from individual participants in completed studies. This review demonstrated that there is scope for developing a database for individual participant data to enable more detailed analyses. IPD meta-analyses could be a way to address knowledge gaps such as optimum dosing for children and pregnant women.

Suggested Citation

  • Kartika Saraswati & Brittany J Maguire & Alistair R D McLean & Sauman Singh-Phulgenda & Roland C Ngu & Paul N Newton & Nicholas P J Day & Philippe J Guérin, 2021. "Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform," PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pntd00:0009858
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009858
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009858
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009858&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009858?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    2. Kenneth F Schulz & Douglas G Altman & David Moher & for the CONSORT Group, 2010. "CONSORT 2010 Statement: Updated Guidelines for Reporting Parallel Group Randomised Trials," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(3), pages 1-7, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shalin Lee Wan Fei & Khatijah L Abdullah, 2015. "Effect of turning vs. supine position under phototherapy on neonates with hyperbilirubinemia: a systematic review," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(5-6), pages 672-682, March.
    2. Savita Bakhshi & Alison E. While, 2013. "Health Professionals’ Alcohol-Related Professional Practices and the Relationship between Their Personal Alcohol Attitudes and Behavior and Professional Practices: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-31, December.
    3. Mulhall, Peter & Taggart, Laurence & Coates, Vivien & McAloon, Toni & Hassiotis, Angela, 2018. "A systematic review of the methodological and practical challenges of undertaking randomised-controlled trials with cognitive disability populations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 114-128.
    4. Faith Donald & Kelley Kilpatrick & Kim Reid & Nancy Carter & Ruth Martin-Misener & Denise Bryant-Lukosius & Patricia Harbman & Sharon Kaasalainen & Deborah A. Marshall & Renee Charbonneau-Smith & Erin, 2014. "A Systematic Review of the Cost-Effectiveness of Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists: What Is the Quality of the Evidence?," Nursing Research and Practice, Hindawi, vol. 2014, pages 1-28, September.
    5. Ana Virgolino & Osvaldo Santos & Joana Costa & Mónica Fialho & Ivo Iavicoli & Tiina Santonen & Hanna Tolonen & Evangelia Samoli & Klea Katsouyanni & Georgios Baltatzis & Flavia Ruggieri & Annalisa Abb, 2021. "Challenges to Evidence Synthesis and Identification of Data Gaps in Human Biomonitoring," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    6. Anaïs Besson & Alice Tarpin & Valentin Flaudias & Georges Brousse & Catherine Laporte & Amanda Benson & Valentin Navel & Jean-Baptiste Bouillon-Minois & Frédéric Dutheil, 2021. "Smoking Prevalence among Physicians: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-58, December.
    7. Gianfranco Sanson & Ercole Vellone & Mari Kangasniemi & Rosaria Alvaro & Fabio D'Agostino, 2017. "Impact of nursing diagnoses on patient and organisational outcomes: a systematic literature review," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(23-24), pages 3764-3783, December.
    8. Pei-Ying Kobres & Jean-Paul Chretien & Michael A Johansson & Jeffrey J Morgan & Pai-Yei Whung & Harshini Mukundan & Sara Y Del Valle & Brett M Forshey & Talia M Quandelacy & Matthew Biggerstaff & Ceci, 2019. "A systematic review and evaluation of Zika virus forecasting and prediction research during a public health emergency of international concern," PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, October.
    9. Kun-ming Tao & Xiao-qian Li & Qing-hui Zhou & David Moher & Chang-quan Ling & Wei-feng Yu, 2011. "From QUOROM to PRISMA: A Survey of High-Impact Medical Journals' Instructions to Authors and a Review of Systematic Reviews in Anesthesia Literature," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-5, November.
    10. Mary Ellen Kerans & Anne Murray & Sergi Sabatè, 2016. "Content and Phrasing in Titles of Original Research and Review Articles in 2015: Range of Practice in Four Clinical Journals," Publications, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-22, April.
    11. Isabel Rodríguez-Gallego & Fatima Leon-Larios & Isabel Corrales-Gutierrez & Juan Diego González-Sanz, 2021. "Impact and Effectiveness of Group Strategies for Supporting Breastfeeding after Birth: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-19, March.
    12. Enrique Orduña-Malea & Adolfo Alonso-Arroyo & José-Antonio Ontalba-Ruipérez & Ferrán Catalá-López, 2023. "Evaluating the online impact of reporting guidelines for randomised trial reports and protocols: a cross-sectional web-based data analysis of CONSORT and SPIRIT initiatives," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(1), pages 407-440, January.
    13. Joanna L Hudson & Peter Bower & Evangelos Kontopantelis & Penny Bee & Janine Archer & Rose Clarke & Andrew S Moriarty & David A Richards & Simon Gilbody & Karina Lovell & Chris Dickens & Linda Gask & , 2019. "Impact of telephone delivered case-management on the effectiveness of collaborative care for depression and anti-depressant use: A systematic review and meta-regression," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, June.
    14. Takeshi Seta & Yoshimitsu Takahashi & Yoshinori Noguchi & Satoru Shikata & Tatsuya Sakai & Kyoko Sakai & Yukitaka Yamashita & Takeo Nakayama, 2017. "Effectiveness of Helicobacter pylori eradication in the prevention of primary gastric cancer in healthy asymptomatic people: A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing risk ratio with risk differ," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, August.
    15. Sandra Nogueira & Ana Catarina Canário & Isabel Abreu-Lima & Pedro Teixeira & Orlanda Cruz, 2022. "Group Triple P Intervention Effects on Children and Parents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-20, February.
    16. Andrea C Lörwald & Felicitas-Maria Lahner & Zineb M Nouns & Christoph Berendonk & John Norcini & Robert Greif & Sören Huwendiek, 2018. "The educational impact of Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) and Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) and its association with implementation: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, June.
    17. Jianzhang Wang & Changping Cai & Shili Wang, 2014. "Merocel versus Nasopore for Nasal Packing: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(4), pages 1-9, April.
    18. Belinda J Burford & Vivian Welch & Elizabeth Waters & Peter Tugwell & David Moher & Jennifer O’Neill & Tracey Koehlmoos & Mark Petticrew, 2013. "Testing the PRISMA-Equity 2012 Reporting Guideline: the Perspectives of Systematic Review Authors," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(10), pages 1-1, October.
    19. Graeme D. Smith & Leslie Gelling & Carol Haigh & Sue Barnason & Helen Allan & Kay Penny & Debra Jackson, 2018. "Transparency in the reporting of nursing research," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3-4), pages 475-477, February.
    20. Su Keng Tan & Wai Keung Leung & Alexander Tin Hong Tang & Roger A Zwahlen, 2017. "Effects of mandibular setback with or without maxillary advancement osteotomies on pharyngeal airways: An overview of systematic reviews," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-20, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pntd00:0009858. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosntds (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.