Methodological quality of COVID-19 clinical research

Jung, Richard G.; Santo, Pietro Di; Clifford, Cole; Prosperi-Porta, Graeme; Skanes, Stephanie; Hung, Annie; Parlow, Simon; Visintini, Sarah; Ramirez, F. Daniel; Simard, Trevor; Hibbert, Benjamin

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21220-5

Cited by 129 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…We aim to provide an updated overview of the COVID-19 impact on circadian rhythms and sleep quality based on findings reported by verified and reliable research articles. This is an important point to consider as there have been concerns over the methodological quality and validity of reported findings/perspectives related to the pandemic [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Section: - Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian disturbances, sleep difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2022

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The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed extraordinary and unpredictable changes on our lifestyle for an unknown duration. Consequently, core aspects of wellbeing including behavior, emotion, cognition, and social interactions are negatively affected. Sleep and circadian rhythms, with an extensive impact on physiology, behavior, emotion, and cognition are inevitably affected too. We provided an updated overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on circadian rhythms and sleep based on the results of published studies ( n =48) in three sections. First, we focus on circadian misalignment due to the pandemic in the general population (including shift workers, health staff, students) and COVID-19 patients and summarize the most critically contributing factors to circadian misalignment. Next, we address sleep difficulties and poor sleep quality during the pandemic, their contributing factors, rate and prevalence, and their effects on both the general population and COVID-19 patients. Finally, we summarize the currently applied/recommended interventions for aligning circadian rhythms and improving sleep quality in both, the general population, and COVID-19 patients during the pandemic situation. Briefly, circadian misalignment and sleep difficulties are common consequences of the pandemic in the general population (with elderly, students, children, health and night-work shifters as risk groups) and COVID-19 patients. Home confinement and its physiological, circadian, and psychological derivates are central to these difficulties. Symptoms severity, treatment progress, recovery duration, and even diagnosis of COVID-19 patients are considerably affected by circadian and sleep difficulties. Behavioral interventions for normalizing the factors that contribute to circadian and sleep difficulties are helpful and recommended.

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Section: - Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian disturbances, sleep difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2022

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“…Much has been written about the challenges created by this disruption including the quantity and quality of information that is being produced. 11 Concerns about waste of resources and validity of publications are widespread, often focusing on the growth in pre-prints and the pressure on journals for rapid publication amidst a deluge of submissions. 12 , 13 , 14 At the same time, this disruption has reunited clinicians and researchers in collaborative efforts to inform decisions about disease risk, prevention, prognosis and treatment ( Figure 1 ) at a time of immense clinical and public health need, creating an important opportunity to revisit the original mission of clinical epidemiology, the “basic science for clinical medicine”.…”

Section: What Is Newmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and the future of clinical epidemiology

Armstrong

Horwitz

2021

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology

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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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“…Understanding the circumstances of SARS-CoV-2 transmission has been a public health priority. Yet, a consensus is lacking, partly due to the suboptimal quality of the available research to date [1][2][3][4][5][6] . The lack of high-quality evidence has highlighted the pressing need for a contemporary conceptual framework to assess causality in the transmission of respiratory viruses in humans, especially SARS-CoV-2.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Hierarchical Framework for Assessing Transmission Causality of Respiratory Viruses<strong> </strong>

Jefferson¹,

Heneghan²,

Spencer³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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We propose a hierarchical framework based on our experience of systematically reviewing and synthesizing 378 primary studies for an evidence-based update of the modes of transmission for SARS-CoV-2. These studies revealed significant methodological shortcomings with a lack of standardization in the design, conduct, testing and reporting of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. While this situation is in part excusable at the outset of a pandemic, evidence rules of proof for assessing the transmission of this virus are needed for this and future pandemics of viral respiratory pathogens. We review the history of causality assessment related to microbial etiologies with a focus on respiratory viruses and suggest a hierarchy of evidence to integrate clinical, epidemiologic, molecular and laboratory perspectives on transmission. The hierarchy, if applied to future studies, should narrow the uncertainty over the twin concepts of causality and transmission of human respiratory viruses. We attempt to address the translational gap between the current research evidence and the assessment of causality in the transmission of respiratory viruses with a focus on SARS-CoV-2. Experimentation, consistency and independent replication of research alongside our proposed framework provide a chain of evidence that can reduce the uncertainty over the transmission of respiratory viruses and increase the level of confidence in specific modes of transmission and the measures that should be undertaken to prevent transmission

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Methodological quality of COVID-19 clinical research

Cited by 129 publications

References 46 publications

Circadian disturbances, sleep difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic

Circadian disturbances, sleep difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 and the future of clinical epidemiology

A Hierarchical Framework for Assessing Transmission Causality of Respiratory Viruses<strong> </strong>

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