BMJ open
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Meta Analysis
The role of academic health centres in building equitable health systems: a systematic review protocol.
Academic health centres (AHCs) are complex organisations often defined by their 'tripartite' mission: to achieve high standards of clinical care, undertake clinical and laboratory research and educate health professionals. In the last decade, AHCs have moved away from what was a dominant focus on high impact (clinical) interventions for individuals, towards a more population-oriented paradigm requiring networked institutions and responsiveness to a range of issues including distribution of health outcomes and health determinants. Reflective of this paradigm shift is a growing interest in the role of AHCs in addressing health disparities and improving health system equity. This protocol outlines a systematic review that seeks to synthesise and critically appraise the current state of evidence on the role of AHCs in contributing to equitable health systems locally and globally. ⋯ International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) number CRD42016051802.
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Intra-abdominal infections are the second most frequent cause of sepsis. In a recent cohort, fungal specimens were found in 51.9% of all patients with sepsis and peritonitis. Current systematic reviews comparing untargeted antifungal treatment with placebo or no treatment in patients who are critically ill have provided conflicting results, and clinical equipoise exists. Accordingly, we aim to assess patient-important benefits and harms of untargeted antifungal therapy versus placebo or no treatment in adult patients with complicated intra-abdominal infection. ⋯ Ethical approval is not required as this systematic review only includes previously published data. We aim to publish the review in an international peer-reviewed journal.
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Patients with renal colic present to the emergency department in excruciating pain. There is variability in practice regarding the choice of initial analgesic to be used in renal colic. The aim of this article is to outline the protocol for review of the efficacy and safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids and paracetamol use in renal colic pain management. ⋯ Formal ethics approval is not required, as primary data will not be collected. We plan to publish the result of this review in a peer-reviewed journal.