Almossawi, O, Friend, A, Palla, L et al. (2 more authors) (2021) Is there a sex difference in mortality rates for deaths occurring in paediatric intensive care units? Systematic literature review protocol. BMJ Open, 11 (2). e046794. ISSN 2044-6055
Abstract
Introduction In the general population, female children have been reported to have a survival advantage. For children admitted to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs), mortality has been reported to be lower in males despite the higher admission rates for males into intensive care. This apparent sex reversal in PICU mortality is not well studied. To address this, we propose to conduct a systematic literature review to summarise the available evidence. Our review will study the reported differences in mortality between males and females aged 0–17, who died in a PICU, to examine if there is a difference between the two sexes in PICU mortality, and if so, to describe the magnitude and direction of this difference.
Methods and analysis Studies that directly or indirectly addressed the association between sex and mortality in children admitted to intensive care will be eligible for inclusion. Studies that directly address the association will be eligible for data extraction. The search strings were based on terms related to the population (children in intensive care), the exposure (sex) and the outcome (mortality). We used the databases MEDLINE (1946–2020), Embase (1980–2020) and Web of Science (1985–2020) as these cover relevant clinical publications. We will assess the reliability of included studies using the risk of bias in observational studies of exposures tool. We will consider a pooled effect if we have at least three studies with similar periods of follow up and adjustment variables.
Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required for this review as it will synthesise data from existing studies. This manuscript is a part of a larger data linkage study, for which Ethical approval was granted. Dissemination will be via peer-reviewed journals and via public and patient groups.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. |
Keywords: | epidemiology; intensive & critical care; paediatric intensive & critical care |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) > Clinical & Population Science Dept (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NIHR National Inst Health Research Not Known |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 16 Feb 2021 20:43 |
Last Modified: | 16 Feb 2021 20:43 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BMJ Publishing Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046794 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:171134 |
Download
Filename: PICU mortality sex differences litreview protocol_BMJ Open 2021.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC 4.0