ESCMID

Participation of elderly adults in RCT addressing anitbiotic treatment of pneumonia

01.09.2013 bis 31.08.2017

OBJECTIVES: To examine how relevant current evidence on antibiotic treatment of pneumonia is for elderly adults. DESIGN: Systematic review. SETTING: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing different antibiotics and prospective observational studies published since 2005 till 2014 will be included. PARTICIPANTS: Adults with community-acquired (CAP), healthcare-associated (HCAP), hospital-acquired (HAP), or ventilator-associated (VAP) pneumonia.
MEASUREMENTS: Exclusion criteria that could preferentially limit participation of elderly adults will be examined, subgroup or other adjusted analyses will be searched for according to age, and treatment effects in participants younger than 65 in RCTs were compared with those in participants aged 65 and older. Mean participant ages in RCTs and observational studies will be compared. Risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for differences between older and younger adults will be pooled using a fixed effect metaanalysis.