Appraising the quality standard of clinical practice guidelines related to central venous catheter-related thrombosis prevention: a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines

Objective
To evaluate the quality and analyse the content of clinical practice guidelines regarding central venous catheter-related thrombosis (CRT) to provide evidence for formulating an evidence-based practice protocol and a risk assessment scale to prevent it.

Design
Scoring and analysis of the guidelines using the AGREE II and AGREE REX scales.

Data sources
Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature, and the relevant websites of the guideline, were searched from 1 January 2017 to 26 March 2022.

Eligibility criteria
Guidelines covering CRT treatment, prevention, or management were included from 1 January 2017 to 26 March 2022.

Data extraction and synthesis
Three independent reviewers systematically trained in using the AGREE II and AGREE REX scales were selected to evaluate these guidelines.

Results
Nine guidelines were included, and the quality grade results showed that three were at A-level and six were at B-level. The included guidelines mainly recommended the prevention measure of central venous CRT from three aspects: risk screening, prevention strategies, and knowledge training, with a total of 22 suggestions being recommended.

Conclusion
The overall quality of the guidelines is high, but there are few preventive measures for central venous CRT involved in the guidelines. All preventive measures have yet to be systematically integrated and evaluated, and no risk assessment scale dedicated to this field has been recommended. Therefore, developing an evidence-based practice protocol and a risk assessment scale to prevent it is urgent.

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Marzo 2024

Empiric use of standard triple therapy in Helicobacter pylori eradication does not require readjustment in the clarithromycin resistance cut-off point

We appreciate the considerations of Hsu et al about the recommendation of empiric first-line therapies in our Maastricht VI/Florence consensus report for the management of Helicobacter pylori.1 2 We fully agree that H. pylori eradication therapy should aim at a cure rate of ≥90%. This also meets the expectation of patients as referred by the authors from a real-world expectation survey of the Asia-Pacific region.3 However, we disagree that the cut-off for clarithromycin resistance, at least for now, is too high at 15% for triple therapy consisting of proton pump inhibitor (PPI), amoxicillin and clarithromycin used as empirical first-line option.2 Hsu et al suggest a cutoff for clarithromycin resistance at or below 5 % for the empirical use of PPI-amoxicillin-clarithromycin and base their claim on a recent systematic review.4 However, this review has several relevant limitations: First, the…

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Marzo 2024

Should intermittent pneumatic compression devices be standard therapy for the prevention of venous thromboembolic events in major surgery? Protocol for a randomised clinical trial (IMPOSTERS)

Introduction
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a recognised postsurgical risk. Current prevention methods involve low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), graduated compression stockings (GCS), and intermittent pneumatic compression devices (IPCDs). Australian guidelines, commonly adopted by surgeons, recommend LMWH with GCS and/or IPCDs. IPCDs pose clinical risks, increase care burden, are poorly tolerated, and are costly single-use plastic items. Utilising only LMWH and GCS, without IPCDs, could be more practical, patient-friendly, and cost-effective, with added environmental benefits.

Methods
This is a multicentre, prospective, two-arm randomised controlled non-inferiority trial at five New South Wales (NSW) hospitals, in Australia. We propose to randomise 4130 participants in a 1:1 ratio between arm A: LMWH+GCS+IPCDs (n=2065) or arm B: LMWH+GCS (n=2065). The primary outcome of interest is symptomatic VTE (deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism) identified at the day 30 phone follow-up (FU), confirmed by ultrasound or imaging. Radiologists interpreting the lower-extremity ultrasonography will be blinded to intervention allocation. Secondary outcomes are quality of life at baseline, days 30 and 90 FU using the 5-level European Quality of Life Score, compliance and adverse events with IPCDs, GCS, and LMWH, as well as healthcare costs (from the perspective of the patient and the hospital), and all-cause mortality. The trial has 90% power to detect a 2% non-inferiority margin to detect a reduction rate of VTE from 4% to 2%.

Ethics and dissemination
This study has been approved by the Hunter New England Human Research Ethics Committee (2022/ETH02276) protocol V.10, 13 July 2023. Study findings will be presented at local and national conferences and in scientific research journals.

Trial registration number
ANZCTR12622001527752

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Febbraio 2024

Over-the-scope clips versus standard therapy in upper gastrointestinal bleeding

We read with high interest the randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Chan et al investigating over-the-scope clips (OTSC) versus standard therapy for the prevention of rebleeding in large (≥1.5 cm) peptic ulcers.1 However, this study and some aspects of study design deserve further critical evaluation and interpretation. One hundred patients with peptic ulcer bleeding and lesion size ≥1.5 cm were randomised to OTSC or standard treatment. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the primary endpoint of clinical rebleeding within 30 days was achieved in 10% with OTSC vs 18% with standard therapy. The difference was statistically not significant. Two previously published RCTs assessing OTSC first-line therapy in non-variceal upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding have shown superiority to standard treatment.2 3 In both trials, only high-risk patients were included (eg, patients with haemodynamic instability or Rockall Score ≥7). The only selection criterium in the study of Chan et al…

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Febbraio 2024