Advice
Search strategy and evidence selection
Search strategy
The following search strategy was used to search Ovid MEDLINE (R) 1946 to January week 3 and Ovid MEDLINE (R) In Process & Other Non-Index Citations, February 1, 2016:
1 (mediplus and catheter).tw. (1)
2 "s‑cath system".tw. (0)
3 "mediplus SPC".tw. (0)
4 "mediplus guidewire".tw. (0)
5 ((Seldinger or mediplus) and suprapubic catheter*).tw. (3)
6 or/1-5 (3)
Similar search strategies were adapted for Embase, Cochrane Library (all relevant components), ECONLit, Web of Science, Scopus, NHS Evidence and Pubmed. The searches returned a total of 12 references after duplicate removal. A further 3 articles were identified from citation tracking (1 article) and from the manufacturer (2 articles) resulting in 15 articles.
ClinicalTrials.gov, the UK Clinical Research Network (UKCRN) and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) were searched to identify ongoing or in-development trials.
Evidence selection
Retrieved results were sifted by 2 researchers using the selection criteria below.
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Population – men or women patients of any age:
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in whom urethral catheterisation failed, or was difficult or complex or
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who needed medium to long‑term catheterisation.
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Intervention: S‑Cath System for suprapubic catheterisation.
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Comparator:
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standard blinded suprapubic catheterisation
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ultrasound-guided suprapubic catheterisation.
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Outcomes:
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improved device placement
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length of hospital stay
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NHS costs
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procedural complications
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quality of life
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patient comfort
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infection
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clinical ease of use.
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From the 15 records obtained from the searches, 6 records were identified that met the selection criteria: 2 case series; 2 case reports; 1 observational study, and 1 validation study with user survey. Two of these were only available as conference abstracts. Due to the paucity of data, all 6 studies meeting the selection criteria were included.