An overview of the study designs and statistical methods used in the determination of predictors of melioidosis mortality in Malaysia: 2010-2021

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> In Malaysia, the mortality from melioidosis infection was reported to be higher than in other infectious diseases. The research on melioidosis is still limited in Malaysia but slightly increasing.<br /> <b>Objectives: </b>The objective of the study was to give an overview of the study designs, statistical methods, and comparison of research in identifying the predictors of melioidosis mortality in Malaysia between January 2010 to December 2021.<br /> <b>Data sources:</b> Pubmed/Medline.<br /> <b>Study eligibility criteria:</b> Original English-language articles were abstracted. The articles that identified the predictors of melioidosis from mortality in Malaysia only included. Letters to the editor, editorials, reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, case reports, and any other ineligible articles were excluded.<br /> <b>Results:</b> A total of eight studies were identified related to predictors of melioidosis mortality in Malaysia. From the selected articles, 87.5% were retrospectively collected. Five out of eight articles (62.5%) used the logistic regression in identifying the predictors of melioidosis mortality. Only one (12.5%) used advanced survival analysis methods of Cox regression analysis. Another 25.0% used Chi-square test.<br /> <b>Conclusions:</b> Logistic regression methods remain the most common methods of analysis in publications on predictors of melioidosis mortality in Malaysia while retrospective research designs are preferred. There is a limitation of research in predictors of melioidosis mortality and the use of advanced statistical techniques reported using the melioidosis data in Malaysia. More published research on melioidosis will provide input to the clinicians on a more detailed understanding of how to improve the diagnosis of melioidosis and the prognosis factors of this disease.