Outcome inconsistency in randomized controlled trials for pneumonia could create issues for interpreting data and compiling research going forward, said Alexander Mathioudakis, MD, MRCP, at the European Respiratory Society annual meeting.
Outcome inconsistency in randomized controlled trials for pneumonia could create issues for interpreting data and compiling research in meta-analyses going forward, said Alexander Mathioudakis, MD, MRCP, a clinical research fellow and honorary lecturer in respiratory medicine at the University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
Transcript:
How do randomized controlled trials reporting on pneumonia outcomes differ from each other and which outcomes measurements are the most commonly reported?
Mathioudakis: We have looked into the outcomes reported in trials assessing the management of community acquired pneumonia, hospital acquired pneumonia, and ventilator associated pneumonia in a systematic review that is presented in the ERS 2021 International Congress. We looked at 174 ongoing or completed randomized controlled trials, which were conducted during the last decade. And we looked at about 1400 outcomes from all these trials. More specifically, we found 72 trials looking into community acquired pneumonia predominantly, and 98 trials that looked at ventilator associated pneumonia with or without the hospital acquired pneumonia as well.
Now, in all these trials, we saw that they evaluated very diverse outcomes. And that's a big problem for a few reasons. The main reason is that many trials do not assess the outcomes that are most important to patients and other stakeholders and doctors, of course, and that makes it very difficult to interpret and use in clinical practice. And the other problem is that they are not comparable. So, it's challenging for systematic reviews and meta analyses to merge their results. And it is also very challenging for clinical practice guideline developers to develop recommendations that are strong and based on high quality evidence.
Now, the outcomes that were most frequently reported in both types of trials were mortality, treatment success or failure, and adverse events. I have to say, apart from adverse events in the community acquired pneumonia trials, which were reported in about 3 quarters of the trials, all other outcomes were not reported frequently or consistently in our studies.
ATS 2024: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future of Respiratory Care
May 16th 2024The application of artificial intelligence in medicine is anticipated as a highlight of ATS 2024, with sessions exploring its applications in research, radiological interpretation, and pediatric pulmonology.
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Tackling Health Inequality: The Power of Education and Experience
April 30th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our final episode of this limited series and our conversation with Janine Jelks-Seale, MSPPM, director of health equity at UPMC Health Plan.
Listen
Posters Characterize DMD Caregiver Experiences, Impact of Gene Therapy on Caregiving Demands
May 10th 2024Posters presented at the ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research meeting explored Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) caregiver experiences and gene therapy’s impact on work opportunities for caregivers.
Read More