Frequency of use and adequacy of Cochrane risk of bias tool 2 in non-Cochrane systematic reviews published in 2020: Meta-research study.

Risk of bias (RoB) assessment is essential to the systematic review methodology. The new version of the Cochrane RoB tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) was published in 2019 to address limitations identified since the first version of the tool was published in 2008 and to increase the reliability of assessments. This study analyzed the frequency of usage of the RoB 2 and the adequacy of reporting the RoB 2 assessments in non-Cochrane reviews published in 2020. This meta-research study included non-Cochrane systematic reviews of interventions published in 2020. For the reviews that used the RoB 2 tool, we analyzed the reporting of the RoB 2 assessment. Among 3880 included reviews, the Cochrane RoB 1 tool was the most frequently used (N = 2228; 57.4%), followed by the Cochrane RoB 2 tool (N = 267; 6.9%). From 267 reviews that reported using the RoB 2 tool, 213 (79.8%) actually used it. In 26 (12.2%) reviews, erroneous statements were used to indicate the RoB 2 assessment. Only 20 (9.4%) reviews presented a complete RoB 2 assessment with a detailed table of answers to all signaling questions. The judgment of risk of bias by the RoB 2 tool was not justified by a comment in 158 (74.2%) reviews. Only in 33 (14.5%) of reviews the judgment in all domains was justified in the accompanying comment. In most reviews (81.7%), the RoB was inadequately assessed at the study level. In conclusion, the majority of non-Cochrane reviews published in 2020 still used the Cochrane RoB 1 tool. Many reviews used the RoB 2 tool inadequately. Further studies about the uptake and the use of the RoB 2 tool are needed.

Carbapenem Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Critically Ill Adult Patients and Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Drug monitoring is one strategy of antibiotic stewardship to face antimicrobial resistance. This strategy could have a determinant role in critically ill patients treated with carbapenems to overcome pharmacokinetic variability, reduce the risk of subtherapeutic dosage or toxicity, and reduce the risks inherent to treatment. However, the effectiveness of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is unknown. This paper aims to identify TDM effectiveness in critically ill patients treated with carbapenems. English and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched to identify relevant studies evaluating carbapenem TDM. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and comparative cohort studies were selected for inclusion if they compared carbapenem TDM to standard care in adult critically ill or sepsis/septic shock patients. The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included morbidity, clinical cure, microbiological eradication, antimicrobial resistance, drug-related side effects, and achievement of target plasma concentrations. Overall, performing carbapenem TDM was not associated with a decrease in mortality. However, it could be evidence for a relationship with clinical cure as well as target attainment. Some studies found favorable outcomes related to clinical and microbiological responses, such as lower procalcitonin levels at the end of the monitored therapy compared to standard care. For the primary and secondary outcomes analyzed, strong evidence was not identified, which could be due to the size, risk of bias, and design of selected studies.

Prevención y tratamiento de las infecciones del sitio operatorio en neurocirugía. Estado del arte / Prevention and treatment of surgical site infections in neurosurgery: state of the art

RESUMEN El manejo adecuado de las infecciones del sitio operatorio (ISO) en neurocirugía es fundamental para la disminución de la carga de morbilidad y mortalidad en estos pacientes. La sospecha y confirmación diagnóstica asociadas al aislamiento microbiológico son esenciales para asegurar el tratamiento oportuno y el adecuado gerenciamiento de antibióticos. En esta revisión se presenta de forma resumida los puntos fundamentales para la prevención y el tratamiento de infecciones del sitio operatorio en neurocirugía y se incluye un apartado sobre el uso de antibióticos intratecales/intraventriculares.

SUMMARY The adequate management of surgical wound infections in neurosurgery is fundamental for reducing the burden of morbidity and mortality in these patients. The suspicion and diagnostic confirmation associated with microbiological isolation are essential to ensure timely treatment and proper management of antibiotics. Therefore, in this review we present, in a synthetic manner, the main points for the prevention and treatment of surgical site infections in neurosurgery, which includes a section on the use of intrathecal/intraventricular antibiotics.

Telemedicina en procesos de rehabilitación en pacientes con paraplejia bajo el contexto de Atención Primaria de Salud / Telemedicine in rehabilitation processes in patients with paraplegia under the context of Primary Health Care

Encontrar estrategias costo-efectivas para la rehabilitación y la educación del paciente con paraplejia, basado en sus necesidades, es menester para su abordaje integral, así como para la disminución de costos directos e indirectos. La telemedicina podría ser una herramienta adecuada. Este trabajo se propuso realizar una revisión crítica de la literatura sobre la utilidad de la telemedicina para la rehabilitación y el manejo del paciente con paraplejia, en el contexto de la Atención Primaria de Salud. Se realizó una búsqueda en las bases de datos PubMed, Medline y EMBASE, con descriptores tipo MeSH y DeCS. No se aplicó ningún filtro de temporalidad, idioma o grupo etario. Se reunieron 134 artículos. El criterio de búsqueda y de selección se basó en los elementos PICO. Luego del análisis de contenido de cada uno, se escogieron 29 artículos. El análisis crítico de la literatura se realizó por medio de los elementos PRISMA. La telemedicina y la telerrehabilitación son herramientas que pudieran ser útiles para pacientes parapléjicos o cuadripléjicos; sin embargo, no existe literatura ni evidencia sobre este tipo de intervenciones en esta población. Intervenciones en pacientes con enfermedades neurológicas diferentes a la paraplejia muestran que potencialmente la telemedicina podría tener beneficios y reducir costos en la rehabilitación. Las herramientas tecnológicas y de telemedicina en pacientes parapléjicos podrían favorecer potencialmente su rehabilitación y el uso eficiente de los recursos; no obstante, es necesaria la realización de estudios en el área, para determinar el beneficio real de la telemedicina como estrategia de Atención Primaria de Salud en el paciente con paraplejia y cuadriplejia(AU)

Finding cost-effective strategies for the rehabilitation and education of patients with paraplegia, based on their needs, is necessary for their comprehensive approach, as well as for the reduction of direct and indirect costs. The objective of this work was to perform a critical review of the literature on the usefulness of telemedicine for the rehabilitation and management of patients with paraplegia, in the context of Primary Health Care. A review of the literature in the PubMed, Medline and EMBASE databases was performed with MeSH and DeCS type descriptors. No filter of temporality, language or age group was applied. 134 articles were collected. The searching and selection criteria were based on the PICO elements; after the content analysis of each one, 29 articles were chosen. The critical analysis of the literature was carried out through the PRISMA elements. Telemedicine and telerehabilitation are tools that could be useful for paraplegic or quadriplegic patients; however, there is no literature or evidence on this type of interventions in this population. Interventions in patients with neurological diseases other than paraplegia show that telemedicine could potentially have benefits and reduce rehabilitation costs. The technological and telemedicine tools in paraplegic patients could potentially favor their rehabilitation and efficient use of resources; however, studies in the area are necessary to determine the real benefit of telemedicine as a care strategy primary health in the patient with paraplegia and quadriplegia(AU)