Publications by authors named "Matthew Ridd"
Article Synopsis
- A study was conducted to reach a consensus on interpreting skin prick tests (SPT) and dietary history related to food allergies in children under two with atopic dermatitis (AD).
- Fourteen healthcare professionals participated in a modified Delphi study, discussing symptoms related to allergies and reaching agreements on allergen categorization and dietary advice.
- The findings led to standardized recommendations for managing common food allergies like cow's milk, hen's egg, wheat, and soy, aiming to improve clinician education and decision-making.
Article Synopsis
- - The study aims to assess the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of low-dose amitriptyline as a second-line treatment for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in primary care, especially when first-line treatments fail.
- - Conducted as a pragmatic, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial across 55 general practices in England, the design included both quantitative outcomes and qualitative experiences from participants and general practitioners regarding the treatment.
- - Participants included adults over 18 diagnosed with IBS who did not respond to initial therapies; they received either amitriptyline or a placebo for 6 months, with a focus on measuring the difference in IBS symptoms to see if the medication has a significant impact.
Article Synopsis
- Acne is a common skin condition that affects women's quality of life and often leads to long-term antibiotic use, prompting the study of spironolactone as a potential treatment.
- The study was a randomized, double-blind trial assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of spironolactone for treating facial acne in women aged 18 and older, continuing their usual topical treatments.
- Results showed that among the 410 women randomized, the treatment group successfully tolerated spironolactone at increasing doses, with a focus on improvements in acne-related quality of life over a 12-week period.
Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can cause troublesome symptoms impacting patients' quality of life and incur considerable health service resource use. Guidelines suggest low-dose amitriptyline for IBS as second line treatment, but this is rarely prescribed in primary care.
Aim: To explore patients' and general practitioners' (GPs) views and experiences of using low-dose amitriptyline for IBS.
Background: Emollients and topical corticosteroids (TCS) prevent and treat flares in eczema. However, topical treatment use is poorly recorded and reported in clinical trials. There is no clear consensus of how best to capture and summarise topical treatment use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Shingles (herpes zoster), caused by reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, is usually diagnosed and managed in primary care. The lifetime risk of shingles in the general population is approximately 30%, and it can have a detrimental effect on quality of life. There has been little qualitative research about patient experience and understanding of shingles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Atopic eczema is a frequent skin condition in children that can decrease their quality of life and is associated with other allergic conditions like asthma and food allergies.
- The study aimed to see if applying daily emollients in the first year of life could prevent eczema and other related atopic diseases in infants at high risk.
- The trial involved over 1,300 newborns, with results showing a slight difference in eczema rates at age 2, suggesting emollient use may have a modest protective effect.
Article Synopsis
- Antibiotics are frequently prescribed for respiratory infections in primary care despite evidence showing minimal benefit and a contribution to microbial resistance; point-of-care tests could help reduce unnecessary prescriptions.
- A randomized controlled trial is being conducted in the UK with participants providing swab samples and being assigned to either receive a rapid microbiological test or standard care to assess the impact on antibiotic prescribing.
- The study will evaluate antibiotic prescription rates, patient symptom tracking, and follow-up medical records over six months, aiming to recruit 514 patients to achieve strong statistical validity.
This research letter discusses the perspectives of community pharmacy staff on commonly encountered skin conditions and the key challenges towards enhancing their role in this area. A mixed methods online survey was created, and a total of 174 community pharmacy staff completed the survey. The results highlight the range of conditions currently encountered in community pharmacy and the breadth of challenges facing community pharmacy staff, in particular challenges surrounding providing a differential diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Conservative therapies are recommended as initial treatment for male lower urinary tract symptoms. However, there is a lack of evidence on effectiveness and uncertainty regarding approaches to delivery.
Objective: The objective was to determine whether or not a standardised and manualised care intervention delivered in primary care achieves superior symptomatic outcome for lower urinary tract symptoms to usual care.
Introduction: Effective communication can help optimise healthcare interactions and patient outcomes. However, few interventions have been tested clinically, subjected to cost-effectiveness analysis or are sufficiently brief and well-described for implementation in primary care. This paper presents the protocol for determining the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a rigorously developed brief eLearning tool, EMPathicO, among patients with and without musculoskeletal pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Herpes zoster (shingles) is normally diagnosed clinically. Timely diagnosis is important so that antiviral treatment can be started soon after rash onset.
Aim: To assess whether a practice-level educational intervention, aimed at non-clinical patient-facing staff, improves the timely assessment of patients with shingles.
Background: Two online behavioural interventions (one website for parents/carers of children with eczema; and one for young people with eczema) have been shown in randomised controlled trials to facilitate a sustained improvement in eczema severity.
Aim: To describe intervention use and examine potential mediators of intervention outcomes and contextual factors that may influence intervention delivery and outcomes.
Design And Setting: Quantitative process evaluation in UK primary care.
Objectives: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a primary care intervention for male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) compared with usual care.
Design: Economic evaluation alongside a cluster randomised controlled trial from a UK National Health Service (NHS) perspective with a 12-month time horizon.
Setting: Thirty NHS general practice sites in England.
Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of online behavioral interventions (EczemaCareOnline.org.uk) designed to support eczema self-care management for parents/carers and young people from an NHS perspective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To establish research priorities which will support the development and delivery of community pharmacy initiatives for the management of skin conditions.
Design: An iterative, multistage stakeholder consultation consisting of online survey, participant workshops and prioritisation meeting.
Setting: All data collection took place online with participants completing a survey (delivered via the JISC Online Survey platform, between July 2021 and January 2022) and participating in online workshops and meetings (hosted on Microsoft Teams between April and July 2022).
Background: The main determinant of emollient effectiveness is whether it is used, which in turn is linked with user satisfaction.
Objectives: To compare parental satisfaction with emollient type for the treatment of childhood eczema.
Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the Best Emollients for Eczema (BEE) trial was undertaken.
Objective: This study aims to estimate the cost-effectiveness of oral spironolactone plus routine topical treatment compared with routine topical treatment alone for persistent acne in adult women from a British NHS perspective over 24 weeks.
Design: Economic evaluation undertaken alongside a pragmatic, parallel, double-blind, randomised trial.
Setting: Primary and secondary healthcare, community and social media advertising.
Objective: To determine whether a standardised and manualised care intervention in men in primary care could achieve superior improvement of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) compared with usual care.
Design: Cluster randomised controlled trial.
Setting: 30 National Health Service general practice sites in England.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to compare the effectiveness and acceptability of four commonly used emollients (lotion, cream, gel, ointment) for treating childhood eczema, highlighting the need for clearer options due to previous inconsistencies.
- Conducted in primary care settings in England, the study enrolled 550 children aged 6 months to 12 years with mild eczema, using a randomised clinical trial design and collecting both quantitative and qualitative data.
- The main outcome focused on evaluating changes in eczema severity over 16 weeks, with secondary measures including quality of life assessments and family impact, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of treatment effects.
Purpose: To explore the views of clinicians and researchers about the challenges of measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children (5-11 years) and to explore whether digital ecological momentary assessment (EMA) could enhance HRQoL measurement.
Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 18 professionals (10 academics/researchers, four clinicians, four with both professional backgrounds) experienced in child HRQoL measurement. We analysed data thematically.
Background: Most patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are managed in primary care. When first-line therapies for IBS are ineffective, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline suggests considering low- dose tricyclic antidepressants as second-line treatment, but their effectiveness in primary care is unknown, and they are infrequently prescribed in this setting.
Methods: This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Amitriptyline at Low-Dose and Titrated for Irritable Bowel Syndrome as Second-Line Treatment [ATLANTIS]) was conducted at 55 general practices in England.
Background: Recent discoveries have led to the suggestion that enhancing skin barrier from birth might prevent eczema and food allergy.
Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of daily all-over-body application of emollient during the first year of life for preventing atopic eczema in high-risk children at 2 years from a health service perspective. We also considered a 5-year time horizon as a sensitivity analysis.
Background: Eliciting patients' ideas, concerns, expectations, and whether a problem has an 'effect' on their life (ICEE), is a widely recommended communication technique. However, it is not known how frequently ICEE components are raised in UK GP consultations.
Aim: To assess the frequency of ICEE in routine GP consultations with adult patients and explore variables associated with ICEE.