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

<h4>Background</h4>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...

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Autores principales: 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
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:206236b9865e40ffbed0e0cd02814e9d2021-12-02T20:23:35ZSystematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform.1935-27271935-273510.1371/journal.pntd.0009858https://doaj.org/article/206236b9865e40ffbed0e0cd02814e9d2021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009858https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735<h4>Background</h4>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.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>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. Among 3,100 articles screened, 127 were included in the analysis. 12,079 participants from 12 countries were enrolled in the identified studies. ELISA, PCR, and eschar presence were the most commonly used diagnostic methods. Doxycycline, azithromycin, and chloramphenicol were the most commonly administered antibiotics. Mortality, complications, adverse events, and clinical response were assessed in most studies. There was substantial heterogeneity in the diagnostic methods used, treatment administered (including dosing and duration), and outcome assessed across studies. There were few interventional studies and limited data collected on specific groups such as children and pregnant women.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>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.Kartika SaraswatiBrittany J MaguireAlistair R D McLeanSauman Singh-PhulgendaRoland C NguPaul N NewtonNicholas P J DayPhilippe J GuérinPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleArctic medicine. Tropical medicineRC955-962Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENPLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 15, Iss 10, p e0009858 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
spellingShingle Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
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
Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform.
description <h4>Background</h4>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.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>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. Among 3,100 articles screened, 127 were included in the analysis. 12,079 participants from 12 countries were enrolled in the identified studies. ELISA, PCR, and eschar presence were the most commonly used diagnostic methods. Doxycycline, azithromycin, and chloramphenicol were the most commonly administered antibiotics. Mortality, complications, adverse events, and clinical response were assessed in most studies. There was substantial heterogeneity in the diagnostic methods used, treatment administered (including dosing and duration), and outcome assessed across studies. There were few interventional studies and limited data collected on specific groups such as children and pregnant women.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>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.
format article
author 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
author_facet 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
author_sort Kartika Saraswati
title Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform.
title_short Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform.
title_full Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform.
title_fullStr Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform.
title_full_unstemmed Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform.
title_sort systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (ipd) platform.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/206236b9865e40ffbed0e0cd02814e9d
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