NUMBER ONE
The number one most read open research article of 2020 is rapid review, 'Should Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine be used to treat COVID-19?', with the aim of establishing current evidence for the effectiveness of CQ and HCQ in treating COVID-19. The study, performed by department DPhil student, Kome Gbinigie, and former DPhil student, Kerstin Frie, concluded that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether CQ/HCQ are safe and effective treatments for COVID-19, and that high quality randomised clinical trials are urgently required to guide policymakers and clinicians.
Number two
At number two, we have rapid review, 'Should Azithromycin be used to treat COVID-19?', reviewing the evidence to ascertain the effectiveness and safety of azithromycin in treating COVID-19. Also led by Kome Gbinigie and Kerstin Frie, concluded that there is no evidence to support the use of azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19 outside of the context of clinical trials, unless it is used to treat bacterial super-infection, as well as extremely limited evidence of a possible synergy between azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine.
Number Five
The fifth most read open research article of 2020 is online survey, 'GP's understanding of the benefits and harms of treatments for long-term conditions', with the aim of measuring the level and range of the quantitative understanding of the benefits and harms of treatments for common long-term conditions (LTCs) among GPs. This study, led by the departments Professor of Primary Health Care, Trish Greenhalgh, and NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, Julian Treadwell, concluded that GPs’ knowledge of the absolute benefits and harms of treatments is poor, with inaccuracies of a magnitude likely to meaningfully affect clinical decision-making and impede conversations with patients regarding treatment choices. Qualitative follow up out soon. More qualitative research is being done, working with fellow GP's and patients to co-design an information solution.
Access the complete top 10 list here: https://twitter.com/i/moments/1361304921543442434
More about our authors:
Kome Gbinigie: GP and DPhil student, affiliated with the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, focusing on the diagnosis and management of bacterial infections in older adults.
Kerstin Frie: Kerstin recently completed her DPhil within the department, looking into the effectiveness of self-regulation for weight loss.
Julian Treadwell: Julian is an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, whose DPhil project will use qualitative and co-design methods to develop novel ways to communicate evidence on the benefits and harms of treatments for long term conditions to support GPs' decision making in clinical practice.
Trish Greenhalgh: As well as Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences, Trish is also Programme Director for the MSc and DPhil in Translational Health Sciences.