Literature Review

Sample Literature Review Petition

Title or purpose: To perform a critical review of the scientific literature that examines the efficacy of antioxidant vitamin and mineral cation supplementation on the reduction of asthma morbidity.

Question or Hypothesis: Does antioxidant vitamin and mineral cation supplementation reduce asthma morbidity?

This project will be a literature review. I intend to search Medline for any publications that evaluate the use of antioxidant vitamin and mineral cation supplementation in patients with known asthma and address the question of whether such status - symptom days, pulmonary function tests, or bronchodilator/medication use). I will measure the quality of the clinical trials I find and come to a critical conclusion conclusion regarding the efficacy of these dietary interventions. I will measure the quality of the trials I am evaluating by focusing on the following questions:

How objective and clinically relevant are the inclusion criteria? (i.e. Did the authors enroll "asthmatic subjects" without adequate classification or was severity of disease considered objectively? Disease severity can be measured by such things as evidence of reversible bronchospasm, poor pulmonary function, or unscheduled use of medical services or medications.
Was there a comparison/control group? If so, were subjects randomly allocated to the control and intervention groups?
Were the outcome measures objective and measurable?
Was the person measuring the outcomes blinded to allocation?
Did the trial last long enough to expect the change being measured?
What was the retention rate?
Were people enrolled in sufficient numbers to demonstrate the effect being sought?

Preparing the Petition | Methodological Standards (Users' Guides) | Sample Petition | Final Report