Priorities for tuberculosis research: a systematic review.
Abstract
Authors Rylance, Pai, Lienhardt and Garner identified and assessed all the published statements outlining priorities for research in tuberculosis, and described the rigour of methods used to generate these topics. Thirty-three documents were found that specifically outline priorities in tuberculosis research. The top priority areas were drug development, diagnosis and diagnostic tests, epidemiology, health services research, basic research, and vaccine development and use. The most focused questions were on the treatment and prevention of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in people co-infected with HIV. Methods used to identify these priorities were varied: little use was made of systematic reviews, conflict of interest was rarely taken into account, and only one panel included a consumer. The Authors concluded that improvements can be made to ensure the process is more rigorous and transparent, and to use existing research or systematic reviews more often. WHO, Stop TB Partnership, and other organisations could adopt an incremental process of priority development, building on the existing knowledge base.
Citation
Rylance, J.; Pai, M.; Lienhardt, C; Garner, P. Priorities for tuberculosis research: a systematic review. Lancet Infectious Diseases (2010) 10 (12) 886-892. [DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(10)70201-2]