Effectiveness of Bacille Calmette-Guerin Vaccination Policies in reducing infection and severity of COVID-19: A systematic review protocol

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Introduction:</strong> The bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is used for the prevention of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. Evidence reports a much lower incidence of COVID-19 in TB-endemic areas implying a possible protective mechanism of BCG in countries with mandated BCG policies. The objective of the study is to synthesize and critically evaluate the effectiveness of national BCG vaccination policies in reducing infection and severity of COVID-19 in their native population.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods:</strong> Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a comprehensive search using pre-identified keywords will be done in PubMed, Cochrane, HERDIN Plus, WPRIM, Web of Science and EBSCO databases. After the initial selection of studies based on eligibility criteria, methodological appraisal will be conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal instruments and an adapted quality assessment checklist for ecologic studies. Relevant data will be extracted and synthesized including reporting descriptive and inferential statistics to interpret results.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Results:</strong> The study will generate a systematic review synthesizing evidence regarding the effects of BCG in curtailing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Discussion:</strong> The battle against the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, and as such, further studies must be undertaken to verify the evidence behind initial strategies in battling it. This includes the use of BCG in decreasing COVID-19 incidence and mortality. The results of the review can ultimately guide health authorities and policy makers create evidence-based decisions regarding BCG vaccination policies and clinical trials related to COVID-19 control and prevention.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Systematic Review Registration:</strong> PROSPERO, CRD42021244060</p>

Improving balance control in older persons through martial arts: A scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION@#Martial arts, other than Tai chi, are now being integrated into exercise programs to improve the balance control of older adults. This scoping review aims to describe the extent, range, and nature of available literature on martial arts use to improve balance control in older adults. @*METHODS AND ANALYSIS@#This scoping review will adhere to the steps described in the Arksey and O’Malley framework. Studies on martial arts use, aside from Tai chi, in improving balance in older adults are eligible. Only experimental studies written in English will be included. Literature search on published articles from inception to February 2021 will be conducted in ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Medline, and ProQuest. Grey literature search will be implemented in Google Scholar, Pro-Quest Dissertations and Theses Open, University of Santo Tomas Library. Handsearching for additional articles from reference lists of included studies will also be performed. Data on author and year of publication, country, study design, target population, type of martial art, exercise protocol, balance outcome measures used, and main findings will be extracted from the included studies.@*ETHICS AND DESSIMINATION@#This protocol describes the rigorous process that will be implemented to map the breadth of existing literature on martial arts use in improving the balance control of older adults. Ethical approval is not required because only information from publicly accessible sources will be collected. Review findings will be disseminated through publications and presentations in local and international conferences and shared with relevant agencies and societies.@*SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION@#This protocol was registered in Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/vez68.

Association of educational interventions with clinician learning and ventilator-associated pneumonia patient outcomes: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

@#Recent studies have shown that educational interventions for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention may result in positive outcomes in intensive care units. However, other studies investigating this kind of intervention have produced inconsistent results. Thus this paper reports a protocol for systematic review and planned meta-analysis to investigate the association of instituted VAP educational interventions with clinician learning and patient outcomes. In this review, the authors will identify relevant citations from electronic databases, reference lists, and other sources; screen articles against predetermined eligibility criteria; appraise each study using the Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias assessment tools and combine acquired evidence using the meta-analytic approach. The results of this review are crucial to assist clinicians and policy-makers in making well-informed decisions regarding VAP prevention practices for mechanically ventilated patients. This review protocol followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses for Protocols 2015 guidelines and was registered with PROSPERO as CRD42016051561.