8. Oral dexamethasone compared to intramuscular dexamethasone for croup.
| Oral dexamethasone compared to intramuscular dexamethasone for croup | |||||
| Patient or population: children with croup Intervention: oral dexamethasone Comparison: intramuscular dexamethasone | |||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | № of participants (studies) | Certainty of the evidence (GRADE) | |
| Intramuscular dexamethasone | Oral dexamethasone | ||||
| Return visits or (re)admissions or both | Study population | RR 0.81 (0.58 to 1.12) | 440 (3 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ MODERATEa | |
| 259 per 1000 | 210 per 1000 (150 to 290) | ||||
| Adverse events | None of the studies reported collecting adverse events data. | ||||
| *The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; RCT: randomised controlled trial; RR: risk ratio | |||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High certainty: We are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect. Moderate certainty: We are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different. Low certainty: Our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect. Very low certainty: We have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. | |||||
aWe downgraded by one level for imprecision. The effect estimate included both a null effect and substantial benefit for oral compared to intramuscular dexamethasone.