Browsing by Author "Mathew, Joseph L."
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Item Efficiency, Economy and Excellence: Experimental Exploration of Evidence-based Guideline Development in Resource-Constrained Settings(Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation, 2023-07) Mathew, Joseph L.Development of clinical practice guidelines is a scientific process based on a thorough review and appraisal of the global evidence, but factoring in local contextually relevant issues. It is highly resource intensive, demanding considerable time, human skills, and finances- making it challenging in resource-constrained settings. This article summarizes a unique attempt to develop evidence-based guidelines in such settings. This was made possible by mentoring and monitoring a group of committed healthcare professionals with limited prior expertise in evidence-based guideline development. The various steps included an online training workshop to build knowledge and skills. This was followed by a systematic process of identifying topics requiring evidence-based guidelines. Thereafter, the topics were prioritized through a Delphi process. Formal clinical questions were framed using the PICOTS (Patient/ Population, Intervention/ Exposure, Comparison, Outcome, Time-frame, Setting) format. The guideline development process was made time and resource efficient by starting with a formal search for existing guidelines whose recommendations could be adopted, adapted, or adoloped to the local setting. If such guidelines were unavailable, high quality secondary evidence (systemic reviews) was accessed to find answers to the clinical questions. If unavailable, de novo systematic reviews of primary research studies were undertaken. The evidence base was critically appraised and graded. Formal evidence-to-decision formats were used to enable translation of the evidence to recommendations implementable in the local setting. The entire guideline development process was completed with zero financial allocation. This model focusing on efficiency, economy, and excellence, can be emulated in diverse resource-constrained settings.Item Epidemiology, Clinical Profile, Intensive Care Needs and Outcome in Children with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Admitted to a Tertiary Hospital During the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in India(Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation, 2023-02) C.R., Vishwa; Sharma, Raman; Jayashree, Muralidharan; Nallasamy, Karthi; Bansal, Arun; Angurana, Suresh Kumar; Mathew, Joseph L.; Sankhyan, Naveen; Dutta, Sourabh; Verma, Sanjay; Kumar, Rakesh; Devnanai, Mahesh; Vaidya, Pankaj C.; Samujh, Ram; Singh, Mini P.; Goyal, Kapil; Lakshmi, P. V. M.; Saxena, Akshay K.Objectives To compare the epidemiological, clinical profle, intensive care needs and outcome of children hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection during the frst and second waves of the pandemic. Methods This was a retrospective study of all children between 1 mo and 14 y, admitted to a dedicated COVID-19 hospital (DCH) during the frst (1st June to 31st December 2020) and second waves (1st March to 30th June 2021). Results Of 217 children, 104 (48%) and 113 (52%) were admitted during the frst and second waves respectively. One hundred ffty-two (70%) had incidentally detected SARS-CoV-2 infection, while 65 (30%) had symptomatic COVID-19. Comorbidities were noted in 137 (63%) children. Fifty-nine (27%) and 66 (30%) children required high-dependency unit (HDU) and ICU care respectively. Severity of infection and ICU needs were similar during both waves. High-fow oxygen (n=5, 2%), noninvasive ventilation [CPAP (n=34, 16%) and BiPAP (n=8, 5%)] and invasive ventilation (n=45, 21%) were respiratory support therapies needed. NIV use was more during the second wave (26% vs. 13%; p=0.02). The median (IQR) length (days) of DCH stay among survivors was longer during the frst wave [8 (6–10) vs. 5.5 (3–8); p=0.0001]. Conclusions Disease severity, associated comorbidities, PICU and organ support need and mortality were similar in the frst and second waves of the pandemic. Children admitted during the second wave were younger, had higher proportion of NIV use and shorter length of COVID-19 hospital stay.Item Serum Periostin Level in Children with Asthma(Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation, 2023-05) Kumar, Ketan; Singh, Meenu; Mathew, Joseph L.; Vaidya, Pankaj C.; Attri, Savita VermaObjectives To determine the average serum periostin level in children with asthma between 6 and 16 y of age, and to fnd out if the levels correlated with markers of eosinophilic infammation, asthma control, and severity. Methods Children under follow-up at a tertiary care centre were enrolled. Children with conditions causing elevated serum periostin other than asthma, or history of systemic steroid use in the past 6 mo were excluded. Serum total IgE and periostin were estimated by ELISA. Results The median (IQR) serum periostin level was 52.6 (45.4, 58.3) ng/mL. Levels did not vary with age, gender, duration of symptoms, positive family history, or history of exacerbations in the last 6 mo. There was no signifcant correlation with anthropometric parameters or their z scores, or markers of eosinophilic infammation in blood including serum total IgE, eosinophil percentage or absolute eosinophil count. There was no diference in median periostin levels of children with diferent asthma symptom control or asthma severity. Conclusions In a group of 26 Indian children with physician-diagnosed asthma, serum periostin showed no signifcant correlation to markers of eosinophilic infammation.Item Systematic Identification and Critical Appraisal of Pediatric COVID-19 Guidelines Applicable in India(Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation, 2022-07) Singhal, Kamal Kumar; Mathew, Joseph L.; Dsouza, Jeanne M.; Agrawal, Surbhi; Kutlehrria, Ipsa; Singh, MeenuObjective To systematically identify and critically appraise the methodological quality of pediatric guidelines applicable to management of COVID-19 in India. Methods Pediatric COVID-19 guidelines applicable to India, published until 30 April 2021, were identifed through a systematic search across ten databases. Each was critically appraised for methodological quality using the AGREE-II tool, by at least two appraisers. Median (interquartile range) of the total score and domain-wise scores were calculated, and compared for Indian vs. foreign guidelines, updated vs. original versions of guidelines, and those developed earlier vs. later in the pandemic. Results A total of 62 guidelines was identifed. Only 8 (12.9%) were published in India. The overall AGREE-II score ranged from 4.7% to 72.8%; with median (IQR) 37.9% (29.4, 48.6). This suggested overall low(er) methodological quality. The median (IQR) domain-wise scores were as follows: Scope and Purpose 66.7% (58.3, 83.3), Stakeholder Involvement 41.7% (30.6, 83.3), Rigor of Development 23.4% (14.8, 37.5), Clarity of Presentation 59.7% (50.0, 75.0), Applicability 27.1% (18.8, 33.3), and Editorial Independence 8.3% (0.0, 45.8). This suggested diversity in quality of diferent aspects of the guidelines, with very low quality in the critical domain of methodological rigor. There were no statistically signifcant diferences in the overall scores of Indian vs. foreign guidelines, updated versions vs. original versions, and those developed earlier vs. later in the pandemic. Conclusion The currently available pediatric COVID-19 guidelines have low methodological quality, adversely afecting their credibility, validity, and applicability. Urgent corrective strategies are presented for consideration.