Abstract
BackgroundNeonatal systemic infections and their consequent impairments give rise to long-lasting health, economic and social effects on the neonate, the family and the nation. Considering the dearth of consolidated economic evidence in this important area, this systematic review aims to critically appraise and consolidate the evidence on economic evaluations of management of neonatal systemic infections in South Asia.MethodsFull and partial economic evaluations, published in English, associated with the management of neonatal systemic infections in South Asia will be included. Any intervention related to management of neonatal systemic infections will be eligible for inclusion. Comparison can include a placebo or alternative standard of care. Interventions without any comparators will also be eligible for inclusion. Outcomes of this review will include measures related to resource use, costs and cost-effectiveness. Electronic searches will be conducted on PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, Web of Science, EconLit, the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination Library (CRD) Database, Popline, IndMed, MedKnow, IMSEAR, the Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) Registry and Pediatric Economic Database Evaluation (PEDE). Conference proceedings and grey literature will be searched in addition to performing back referencing of bibliographies of included studies. Two authors will independently screen studies (in title, abstract and full-text stages), extract data and assess risk of bias. A narrative summary and tables will be used to summarize the characteristics and results of included studies.DiscussionNeonatal systemic infections can have significant economic repercussions on the families, health care providers and, cumulatively, the nation. Pediatric economic evaluations have focused on the under-five age group, and published consolidated economic evidence for neonates is missing in the developing world context. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review of economic evidence on neonatal systemic infections in the South Asian context. Further, this protocol provides an underst anding of the methods used to design and evaluate economic evidence for methodological quality, transparency and focus on health equity. This review will also highlight existing gaps in research and identify scope for further research.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42017047275
Highlights
Neonatal systemic infections and their consequent impairments give rise to long-lasting health, economic and social effects on the neonate, the family and the nation
The types of studies [21,22,23] that will be eligible for inclusion are: 1. Full economic evaluation: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA) and Cost-Minimization Analysis (CMA)
Evidence from health economics studies are vital for all stakeholders dealing with neonatal systemic infections to make comprehensive decisions at the individual, societal, regional and national levels
Summary
This protocol has been developed based on “The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols” (PRISMA-P) [15] and registered in PROSPERO (CRD42017047275) [16]. The systematic review will be conducted and reported in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines [17], the Cochrane Collaboration [18] and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) [19]. The member countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka [20]. Criteria for considering studies for this review Type of studies Inclusion criteria Economic evaluation studies in English will be included. One of the authors (DJ) will help source potential studies in local languages through his networks at Health Economics Associations in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Both trial-based and model-based economic evaluations will be eligible for inclusion. The types of studies [21,22,23] that will be eligible for inclusion are: 1. Full economic evaluation: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA) and Cost-Minimization Analysis (CMA)
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