Abstract
Introduction: Rare diseases (RDs) are often chronic and progressive life-threatening medical conditions that affect a low percentage of the population compared with other diseases. These conditions can be treated with medications known as orphan drugs (ODs). Unfortunately, there is no universal definition of RDs or ODs. This systematic review (SR) will identify the quantitative and qualitative criteria and the underlying rationale used internationally to define RDs and ODs. Methods and analysis: This protocol follows the conventions for the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (2015 guidelines). A SR will be conducted, including a search of the following databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, GreyLit and OpenGrey. Eligible publications will be selected based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Extracted data will be analysed using thematic and content analyses of qualitative descriptors, whereas quantitative data will be analysed descriptively and reported in the form of frequencies and percentages. Ethics and dissemination: No ethical approval is required since this SR focuses on the secondary analysis of data retrieved from the scientific literature. The outcomes of this SR will be published as part of a PhD thesis, presented at conferences, and published in peer-reviewed journals.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e062126 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | BMJ Open |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This systematic review is supported by the Medical Research Council's Northern Ireland Executive in support of the Northern Ireland Genomic Medicine Centre through the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (award number: MC_PC_16018) and the Science Foundation Ireland and Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland partnership (award number: 15/IA/3152). Princess Nourah University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is supporting this study through a PhD scholarship with no grant number. These funders played no role in the development of this protocol.
Publisher Copyright:
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Keywords
- epidemiology
- health economics
- health policy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine
Access to Document
- Criteria to define rare diseases and orphan drugs: a systematic review protocol
© 2022 The Authors. This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited.