Corticosteroids for sore throat: a clinical practice guideline

Infographic summaries for clinical practice guidelines: results from user testing of the BMJ Rapid Recommendations in primary care

OBJECTIVES

Infographics have the potential to enhance knowledge translation and implementation of clinical practice guidelines at the point of care. They can provide a synoptic view of recommendations, their rationale and supporting evidence. They should be understandable and easy to use. Little evaluation of these infographics regarding user experience has taken place. We explored general practitioners' experiences with five selected BMJ Rapid Recommendation infographics suited for primary care.

METHODS

An iterative, qualitative user testing design was applied on two consecutive groups of 10 general practitioners for five selected infographics. The physicians used the infographics before clinical encounters and we performed hybrid think-aloud interviews afterwards. 20 interviews were analysed using the Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven.

RESULTS

Many clinicians reported that the infographics were simple and rewarding to use, time-efficient and easy to understand. They were perceived as innovative and their knowledge basis as trustworthy and supportive for decision-making. The interactive, expandable format was preferred over a static version as general practitioners focused mainly on the core message. Rapid access through the electronic health record was highly desirable. The main issues were about the use of complex scales and terminology. Understanding terminology related to evidence appraisal as well as the interpretation of statistics and unfamiliar scales remained difficult, despite the infographics.

CONCLUSIONS

General practitioners perceive infographics as useful tools for guideline translation and implementation in primary care. They offer information in an enjoyable and user friendly format and are used mainly for rapid, tailored and just in time information retrieval. We recommend future infographic producers to provide information as concise as possible, carefully define the core message and explore ways to enhance the understandability of statistics and difficult concepts related to evidence appraisal.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

MP011977.

Clinical analysis of pipeline dredging agent poisoning: A case report

BACKGROUND

Pipeline dredging agents are new household deep cleaning products used to dredge blockages in kitchen and bathroom pipeline caused by grease, hair, vegetable residue, paper cotton fibre, and other organic substances. Pipeline dredging agents are corrosive chemicals that can cause poisoning through corrosive damage to the digestive tract; however, this has not been reported clinically. Therefore, this report emphasises that oral pipeline dredging agent poisoning can cause corrosive damage to the digestive tract and may have serious health consequences.

CASE SUMMARY

A 68-year-old man consumed liquor (200 mL) at approximately 13:00 on April 22, 2021. At approximately 16:00, his family found him unresponsive with blackened lips, blood spots in the corners of the mouth, and blood stains on the ground, as well as an empty bottle of a pipeline dredging agent. One hour later, he was admitted to the emergency department of a local hospital. Considering the empty bottle, he was suspected to have sustained severe corrosive damage to the digestive tract and was transferred to our department at 23:15 on April 22, 2021. He developed dysphagia and intermittent fever and experienced difficulty in opening his mouth throughout his hospital stay. The patient’s condition gradually stabilised. However, he suddenly developed respiratory failure on day 12, and endotracheal intubation and ventilator-assisted ventilation were performed. However, the patient died after 1.5 h despite emergency rescue efforts.

CONCLUSION

Pipeline dredging agents are highly corrosive and may cause corrosive damage to the digestive tract and asphyxia upon consumption.

An Overview of Acute Flaccid Myelitis

Acute Flaccid Myelitis is defined by the presence of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) and a spinal cord lesion on magnetic resonance imaging that is primarily limited to the grey matter. AFM is a difficult situation to deal with when you have a neurologic illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a large number of cases were discovered in the United States in 2014, with 90% of cases occurring in children. Although the exact cause of AFM is unknown, mounting evidence suggests a link between AFM and enterovirus D68 (EV-D68). In 2014, an outbreak of AFM was discovered in the United States. The condition was initially linked to polioviruses; however, it was later found that the viruses were caused by non-polioviruses Enteroviruses D-68 (EV-D68). The number of cases has increased since 2014, and the disease has been declared pandemic in the United States. The sudden onset of muscle weakness, usually in an arm or leg, as well as pain throughout the body, the change in patient's facial expression (facial weakness), and shortness of breath, ingesting, and speaking are all common symptoms in patients suffering from neurologic disease. This article includes graphic and histogram representations of reported AFM incidents and criteria for causality, epidemiology, various diagnostic approaches, signs and symptoms, and various investigational guidelines. It also includes key statements about recent clinical findings related to AFM disease.

How to Interpret and Use a Clinical Practice Guideline or Recommendation: Users' Guides to the Medical Literature

IMPORTANCE

Clinicians may rely on recommendations from clinical practice guidelines for management of patients.

OBSERVATIONS

A clinical practice guideline is a published statement that includes recommendations that are intended to optimize patient care. In the guideline development process, a panel of experts formulates recommendation questions that guide the retrieval of evidence that is used to inform the recommendations. Typically, methods of guideline development, a summary of the supporting evidence, and a justification of the panel's decisions accompany the recommendations. To use such guidelines optimally, clinicians must understand the implications of the recommendations, assess the trustworthiness of the development process, and evaluate the extent to which the recommendations are applicable to patients in their practice settings. Helpful recommendations are clear and actionable, and explicitly specify whether they are strong or weak, are appropriate for all patients, or depend on individual patients' circumstances and values. Rigorous guidelines and recommendations are informed by appropriately conducted, up-to-date systematic reviews that consider outcomes important to patients. Because judgments are involved in the interpretation of the evidence and the process of moving from evidence to recommendations, useful guidelines consider all relevant factors that have a bearing in a clinical decision and are not influenced by conflicts of interest.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In considering a guideline's recommendations, clinicians must decide whether there are important differences between the factors the guideline panel has considered in making recommendations and their own practice setting.

Association of Oral Corticosteroid Bursts With Severe Adverse Events in Children

IMPORTANCE

The adverse effects from the long-term use of oral corticosteroids are known, but, to our knowledge, few studies have reported the risk of corticosteroid bursts, particularly among children.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the associations of corticosteroid bursts with severe adverse events, including gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, sepsis, pneumonia, and glaucoma, in children.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This study used data derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017, on children younger than 18 years of age and used a self-controlled case series design. Data were analyzed from January 1 to July 30, 2020.

EXPOSURE

Oral corticosteroid bursts (defined as oral corticosteroid use for ≤14 days).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Incidence rates were calculated of 4 severe adverse events (GI bleeding, sepsis, pneumonia, and glaucoma) in children who did or did not receive corticosteroid bursts. Conditional fixed-effect Poisson regression was used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of severe adverse events within 5 to 30 days and 31 to 90 days after initiation of corticosteroid bursts.

RESULTS

Among 4 542 623 children, 23% (1 064 587; 544 268 boys [51.1%]; mean [SD] age, 9.7 [5.8] years) were prescribed a single corticosteroid burst. The most common indications were acute respiratory tract infections and allergic diseases. The incidence rate differences per 1000 person-years between children administered a single corticosteroid burst and those not prescribed corticosteroids were 0.60 (95% CI, 0.55-0.64) for GI bleeding, 0.03 (95% CI, 0.02-0.05) for sepsis, 9.35 (95% CI, 9.19-9.51) for pneumonia, and 0.01 (95% CI, 0.01-0.03) for glaucoma. The IRRs within 5 to 30 days after initiating corticosteroid bursts were 1.41 (95% CI, 1.27-1.57) for GI bleeding, 2.02 (95% CI, 1.55-2.64) for sepsis, 2.19 (95% CI, 2.13-2.25) for pneumonia, and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.85-1.13) for glaucoma; the IRRs within the subsequent 31 to 90 days were 1.10 (95% CI, 1.02-1.19) for GI bleeding, 1.08 (95% CI, 0.88-1.32) for sepsis, 1.09 (95% CI, 1.07-1.11) for pneumonia, and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.85-1.06) for glaucoma.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This study suggests that corticosteroid bursts, which are commonly prescribed for children with respiratory and allergic conditions, are associated with a 1.4- to 2.2-fold increased risk of GI bleeding, sepsis, and pneumonia within the first month after initiation of corticosteroid therapy that is attenuated during the subsequent 31 to 90 days.

A framework for practical issues was developed to inform shared decision-making tools and clinical guidelines

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the study was to develop and test feasibility of a framework of patient-important practical issues.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

Guidelines and shared decision-making tools help facilitate discussions about patient-important outcomes of care alternatives, but typically ignore practical issues patients consider when implementing care into their daily routines. Using grounded theory, practical issues in the HealthTalk.org registry and in Option Grids were identified and categorized into a framework. We integrated the framework into the MAGIC authoring and publication platform and digitally structured authoring and publication platform and appraised its use in The BMJ Rapid Recommendations.

RESULTS

The framework included the following 15 categories: medication routine, tests and visits, procedure and device, recovery and adaptation, coordination of care, adverse effects, interactions and antidote, physical well-being, emotional well-being, pregnancy and nursing, costs and access, food and drinks, exercise and activities, social life and relationships, work and education, travel and driving. Implementation in 15 BMJ Rapid Recommendations added 283 issues to 35 recommendations. The most frequently used category was procedure and device, and the least frequent was social life and relationship.

CONCLUSION

Adding practical issues systematically to evidence summaries is feasible and can inform guidelines and tools for shared decision-making. How this inclusion can improve patient-centered care remains to be determined.

Association Between Oral Corticosteroid Bursts and Severe Adverse Events : A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Long-term use of oral corticosteroids has known adverse effects, but the risk from brief oral steroid bursts (≤14 days) is largely unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the associations between steroid bursts and severe adverse events, specifically gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, sepsis, and heart failure.

DESIGN

Self-controlled case series.

SETTING

Entire National Health Insurance Research Database of medical claims records in Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults aged 20 to 64 years with continuous enrollment in the National Health Insurance program from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015.

MEASUREMENTS

Incidence rates of severe adverse events in steroid burst users and non-steroid users, as well as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for severe adverse events within 5 to 30 and 31 to 90 days after initiation of steroid therapy.

RESULTS

Of 15 859 129 adult participants, 2 623 327 who received a single steroid burst were included. The most common indications were skin disorders and respiratory tract infections. The incidence rates per 1000 person-years in steroid bursts were 27.1 (95% CI, 26.7 to 27.5) for GI bleeding, 1.5 (CI, 1.4 to 1.6) for sepsis, and 1.3 (CI, 1.2 to 1.4) for heart failure. Rates of GI bleeding (IRR, 1.80 [CI, 1.75 to 1.84]), sepsis (IRR, 1.99 [CI, 1.70 to 2.32]), and heart failure (IRR, 2.37 [CI, 2.13 to 2.63]) significantly increased within 5 to 30 days after steroid therapy initiation and attenuated during the subsequent 31 to 90 days.

LIMITATION

Persons younger than 20 years or older than 64 years were not included.

CONCLUSION

Oral corticosteroid bursts are frequently prescribed in the general adult population in Taiwan. The highest rates of GI bleeding, sepsis, and heart failure occurred within the first month after initiation of steroid therapy.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE

National Health Research Institutes, Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Corticosteroids for treatment of sore throat: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials

Objective To estimate the benefits and harms of using corticosteroids as an adjunct treatment for sore throat.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised control trials.Data sources Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), trial registries up to May 2017, reference lists of eligible trials, related reviews.Study selection Randomised controlled trials of the addition of corticosteroids to standard clinical care for patients aged 5 or older in emergency department and primary care settings with clinical signs of acute tonsillitis, pharyngitis, or the clinical syndrome of sore throat. Trials were included irrespective of language or publication status.Review methods Reviewers identified studies, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the evidence, independently and in duplicate. A parallel guideline committee (BMJ Rapid Recommendation) provided input on the design and interpretation of the systematic review, including the selection of outcomes important to patients. Random effects model was used for meta-analyses. Quality of evidence was assessed with the GRADE approach.Results 10 eligible trials enrolled 1426 individuals. Patients who received single low dose corticosteroids (the most common intervention was oral dexamethasone with a maximum dose of 10 mg) were twice as likely to experience pain relief after 24 hours (relative risk 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.2 to 4.3; risk difference 12.4%; moderate quality evidence) and 1.5 times more likely to have no pain at 48 hours (1.5, 1.3 to 1.8; risk difference 18.3%; high quality). The mean time to onset of pain relief in patients treated with corticosteroids was 4.8 hours earlier (95% confidence interval -1.9 to -7.8; moderate quality) and the mean time to complete resolution of pain was 11.1 hours earlier (-0.4 to -21.8; low quality) than in those treated with placebo. The absolute pain reduction at 24 hours (visual analogue scale 0-10) was greater in patients treated with corticosteroids (mean difference 1.3, 95% confidence interval 0.7 to 1.9; moderate quality). Nine of the 10 trials sought information regarding adverse events. Six studies reported no adverse effects, and three studies reported few adverse events, which were mostly complications related to disease, with a similar incidence in both groups.Conclusion Single low dose corticosteroids can provide pain relief in patients with sore throat, with no increase in serious adverse effects. Included trials did not assess the potential risks of larger cumulative doses in patients with recurrent episodes of acute sore throat.Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42017067808.