Treatments in Decreasing Symptoms.
| Pitcher’s Name | Lance Gonzalves, Zyrra Cepeda, Kajol Pandya | Date Completed | |
| (A) Working Title | Current: Effects of Chloroquine Compared to other Treatments in Decreasing Symptoms of Severely ill Patients with Covid-19. Alternative: Effects of Hydroxychloroquine Alone vs Concomitant use of Hydroxychloroquine and Other Medication in Decreasing Symptoms of Severely ill Patients with Covid-19 | ||
| (B) Basic Research Question | Current: What are the effects of Chloroquine compared to other treatments in decreasing symptoms of severely ill patients with Covid-19? Alternative: What are the effects of Hydroxychloroquine Alone vs Concomitant use of Hydroxychloroquine and other medication in Decreasing Symptoms of Severely ill Patients with Covid-19 | ||
| (C) Key paper(s) | Borba, M. G. S., Val, F. F. A., Sampaio, V. S., Alexandre, M. A. A., Melo, G. C., Brito, M., … Lacerda, M. V. G. (2020). Effect of High vs Low Doses of Chloroquine Diphosphate as Adjunctive Therapy for Patients Hospitalized With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 3(4), e208857. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.8857 Duška, F., Waldauf, P., Halačová, M., Zvoníček, V., Bala, J., Balík, M., … Černý, V. (2020). Azithromycin added to hydroxychloroquine for patients admitted to intensive care due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – protocol of randomised controlled trial AZIQUINE-ICU. PubMed, 21(1), 631. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04566-x Mahévas, M., Tran, V. T., Roumier, M., Chabrol, A., Paule, R., Guillaud, C., … Costedoat-Chalumeau, N. (2020). Clinical efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with covid-19 pneumonia who require oxygen: Observational comparative study using routine care data. The BMJ, 369. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1844 | ||
| (D) Motivation/Puzzle | The dawn of 2020 has brought us face to face with the SARS-CoV causing about 36.2 million cases and 1.06 million deaths due to the pandemic. Initially with no proven therapy against it, Chloroquine has shown positive effects in dealing with SARS-Cov infection as a result due to its unique mechanism of action. It was one of the readily available drugs and has been proven beneficial due to its rapid availability. Chloroquine has been used on its own and along with combinations with other drugs to manage symptoms. The systematic review mainly focuses on the above idea, which analyses the effects of chloroquine compared to other drugs in decreasing overall symptoms. | ||
| THREE | Three core aspects of any empirical research project i.e. the “IDioTs” guide | ||
| (E) Idea? | Many therapies have been proposed for SARS-Cov virus but the use of Chloroquine has proven beneficial and cost effective due to its easy availability. Our research focuses on the effects of Chloroquine vs Chloroquine combined with other drugs as treatment against Covid-19 and documents its effects in symptom reduction. | ||
| (F) Data? | The country setting for the research will be Australia. Why? Because there is not enough data showing a systematic review conducted on Effects of Chloroquine Compared to other Treatments in Decreasing Symptoms of Severely ill Patients with Covid-19 in Australia. Content analysis: Severely-ill Patients with Covid-19, Individuals, groups, Hospital/Clinical settings, Random Control Trials, Observational Data Collection conducted in hospitals/clinics Data Source(s): Primary research data will be collected, Research data are sourced through appropriate databases, Sample sizes and time periods are based on data collected from Randomised Clinical Trials and Comparative Observational Studies from Routine Care Core Sampling Characteristics: Will focus on Severely-ill Adult patients who were Hospitalised with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Are Data “Fit for Purpose”: Yes, Challenges in Obtaining Data: Potential concerns with scientific quality and interpretation of Primary Research data, potential issues related to reliability and validity data and the combination of data collected from different sources. | ||
| (G) Tools? | Research Design: Available research tools appropriate for a Systematic review are Primary Research Articles (e.g. Clinical Trials, Randomised Controlled Trials, Prospective Studies, Double-Blind Exploratory Trial… ) Accessible Appropriate Databases: PubMed Central, EMBASE, Scopus, Torrens University Library, etc … | ||
| TWO | Two key questions | ||
| (H) What’s New? | In the time of the pandemic and considering the severity of COVID-19, knowing that a drug possibly helps in the treatment of the so called incurable virus is what excites us to do this research. During the last 2 years, a systematic review has not been conducted on this research, which is why all findings will be very relevant for the public and policymaker. Early research of Chloroquine suggests that patients that are most likely to benefit from the treatment are those with severe but early stages of the disease. | ||
| (I) So What? | This research will be a massive help to health professionals and policy makers in making treatment plans and care guidelines for those fighting against COVID-19 and for future potential outbreaks caused by the Coronavirus | ||
| ONE | One bottom line | ||
| (J) Contribution? | The Outcome of this research will help save time to figure out which drug, Chloroquine or Chloroquine combined with other drugs, reduces the symptoms of Covid-19, decrease mortality rate and further benefit patients suffering from COVID-19 all around the world and saves many lives. | ||
| (K) Other Considerations | Target Journal(s): Relevant to Science journals that have conducted studies on Covid-19 treatment using hydroxychloroquine and other concomitant medication with hydroxychloroquine. Potential risk due to the Covid-19 situation being too recent Realistic?: Yes, Due to the advancement of science and research, there is a more rapid action on Clinical trials for Covid-19 treatment and historical knowledge on potential treatments Risk Assessment: Very low, this review will deal with publicly available data and presented Clinical trials Other Risks: Ethical dilemma on some RCT studies regarding offering placebo treatment due to strong influences of media favouring the use of Hydroxychloroquine as a standard treatment for Covid-19 Further risk: Primary research datas that are available may potentially yield results based in single-centered settings with small sample size and limited variety of age groups and other health complications present with Covid-19. Potentially affecting validity of studies Scope: Ideal and Feasible |
