Language Bias and Methodological Issues in Determining Reliable Evidence for Systematic Reviews

Why prescribe antibiotics? A systematic review of knowledge, tension, and motivation among clinicians in low-, middle- and high-income countries

Medical professionals such as physicians and veterinarians are responsible for appropriate antimicrobial prescription (AMP) and use. Although seemingly straightforward, the factors influencing antibiotic prescription, a category of antimicrobials, are complex. Many studies have been conducted in the past two decades on this subject. As a result, there is a plethora of empirical evidence regarding the factors influencing clinicians' AMP practices.

AIM

A systematic review of AMR studies on AMP was conducted, condensing findings according to a combination of the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) and Capacity, Opportunity, Motivation-Behavior (COM-B) models. Review findings were then synthesized and analyzed for policy implementation according to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

A systematic literature review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines to identify peer-reviewed papers indexed in pre-determined medical science, social sciences, and humanities databases that apply the KAP model in their investigations. Antimicrobial prescription factors were compared and contrasted among low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs).

FINDINGS

The KAP model is a heuristic and structured framework for identifying and classifying respondents' knowledge. However, other than medical knowledge, factors that influence prescription decision-making can be expanded to include attitudes, perception, personal affinities, professional circumstances, relational pressure, and social norms.

Invasion of privacy or structural violence? Harassment against women in public transport environments: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Despite being neglected for several decades, and in many countries, public transport environments have transformed into a reflection of social disparities and inequalities. Among these issues, harassment-a pervasive and worldwide gendered dynamic-has been demonstrated to negatively impact women's behavioral trends, daily opportunities, and health impacts, as well as safety and security outcomes.

AIM

This systematic review aimed to examine a set of studies analyzing harassment against women in public transport environments, with a focus on key issues such as its prevalence, impact on transport dynamics, preventive strategies, and policing avenues documented in the scientific literature.

METHOD

A total of 575 indexed articles were filtered using the PRISMA methodology, resulting in a final selection of 28 original articles directly addressing the issue up to December 2023. Search strategies were developed and implemented across WOS, Scopus, NCBI, Google Scholar, and APA databases.

RESULTS

Besides high frequency, widespread underreporting, and adverse effects on women's safety, this review has identified correlations between harassment and travel behavioral adaptations. Furthermore, it reveals a noticeable disparity between the existing measures and those perceived as more effective by potential victims. These findings underscore the pressing need to listen to and promote the inclusion of women in decision-making regarding transport affairs.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this systematic review suggest that, despite a slightly limited body of research, the impact of transport harassment on women's health and welfare is consistently supported in the literature. In addition to being largely explained by existing inequalities rooted in social determinants, transit harassment further exacerbates gender gaps, gaining prospective importance for transport settings.

Technical failure rates for biometry between swept-source and older-generation optical coherence methods: a review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Precise ocular measurements are fundamental for achieving excellent target refraction following both cataract surgery and refractive lens exchange. Biometry devices with swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) employ longer wavelengths (1055-1300 nm) in order to have better penetration through opaque lenses than those with partial coherence interferometry (PCI) or low-coherence optical reflectometry (LCOR) methods. However, to date a pooled analysis showing the technical failure rate (TFR) between the methods has not been published. The aim of this study was to compare the TFR in SS-OCT and in PCI/LCOR biometry.

METHODS

PubMed and Scopus were used to search the medical literature as of Feb 1, 2022. The following keywords were used in various combinations: optical biometry, partial coherence interferometry, low-coherence optical reflectometry, swept-source optical coherence tomography. Only clinical studies referring to patients undergoing routine cataract surgery, and employing at least two (PCI or LCOR vs. SS-OCT) optical methods for optical biometry in the same cohort of patients were included.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies were included in the final analysis, which presented results of 2,459 eyes of at least 1,853 patients. The overall TFR of all included studies was 5.47% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.66-8.08%; overall I² = 91.49%). The TFR was significantly different among the three methods (p < 0.001): 15.72% for PCI (95% CI: 10.73-22.46%; I² = 99.62%), 6.88% for LCOR (95% CI: 3.26-13.92%; I² = 86.44%), and 1.51% for SS-OCT (95% CI: 0.94-2.41%; I² = 24.64%). The pooled TFR for infrared methods (PCI and LCOR) was 11.12% (95% CI: 8.45-14.52%; I² = 78.28%), and was also significantly different to that of SS-OCT: 1.51% (95% CI: 0.94-2.41%; I² = 24.64%; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

A meta-analysis of the TFR of different biometry methods highlighted that SS-OCT biometry resulted in significantly decreased TFR compared to PCI/LCOR devices.

An analysis of data sources and study registries used in systematic reviews

BACKGROUND

Reporting standards for data sources in systematic reviews (SRs) have been developed, yet research shows varying compliance in the methods section. When this happens, replication of search results is difficult and creates ambiguous and biased data sources.

AIMS

This study captured author practices in choosing English and non-English-language databases, listing all the databases searched, and incorporating study registries as part of the search strategy.

METHODS

Using an analytic, cross-sectional, study design, volunteer data collectors (n = 107) searched one of two assigned English language platforms for SRs on specified health conditions. All the data sources found in the methods section of each SR were documented and analyzed for patterns using bibliographic techniques.

RESULTS

The final sample size of the SRs reviewed was N = 199. The mean number of data sources seen in the SRs was 3.9 (SD 2), with a range of 1-10. Eighteen records (9%) used a single data source to conduct the SRs. Four leading language platforms were seen in the SRs: English (100% of occurrences), up to 8% used Chinese data sources, and 4% included Spanish or Portuguese. The four most frequently used data sources were: (1) Medline (98%), (2) Embase (65%), (3) Cochrane Library (56%), and (4) Web of Science (33%). The percentage of SRs listing study registries was 30%.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION

Strategies to reduce bias and increase the rigor and reliability of SRs include comprehensive search practices by exploring non-English-language databases, using multiple data sources, and searching study registries. By following PRISMA-S guidelines to report data sources correctly, reproducibility can be accomplished.

Constraint-induced aphasia therapy for patients with aphasia: A systematic review

Objectives

This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of constraint-induced aphasia therapy (CIAT) for aphasic patients reported by randomized controlled trials.

Methods

Relevant randomized controlled trials were retrieved from 11 electronic databases. A methodological quality assessment was conducted in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook, and meta-analyses were performed by using RevMan 5.2. A descriptive analysis was conducted when the included trials were not suitable for a meta-analysis.

Results

A total of 12 trials were included. A statistically significant group difference was shown from the meta-analysis in the results measured by the Western Aphasia Battery (random-effects model, MD = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.31 to 2.14, P < 0.01). However, there were no statistically significant differences shown in the results of the Boston Naming Test (fixed-effects model, MD = −1.79, 95% CI = −11.19 to 7.62, P > 0.05) and Aachen Aphasia Test (fixed-effects model, MD = −1.11, 95% CI = −4.49 to 2.27, P > 0.05). The descriptive analysis showed positive results in language performances of naming, repetition, and comprehension.

Conclusion

This systematic review indicated that CIAT was efficient for improving language performance with regard to naming, comprehension, repetition, written language, and oral language based on the current evidence. And this review provides some meaningful guides for clinical practice: expand the therapy duration to 2 or 3 h per day, focus on naming, and choose the best assessment tool. It also indicates a need for more rigorous, large-scale, and high-quality trials in the future.