The main claim is that antibiotics are only helpful to prevent preterm labor and the risks associated with preterm labor in only the most serious circumstances under strict medical supervision. Metronidazole is advised against use in pregnant women.

The claims aren't novel. The author themselves mention that they are drawing their conclusions off others' research. This article is just a literature review compiling taht information.

The claims reference previous literature and use the previous literature published to justify their results anc conclusions.

The results support the claim, but I would have liked to see a table summarizing the results from which the author got the data from to verify the authenticity.

The author accounted for the randomized controlled trial and judged the work from which they were reviewing based on how good of a statistical model it was. They left out the trials with little statistical significance and the trials that had high rates of attrition.

The methods described are valid, but I was still confused by parts of the method section. The author mentioned that the rates of preterm labor, neonatal morbidity, and maternal morbidity varied based on location (i.e. developed countries vs. developing countries) but never mentioned where the studies took place that were discussed and analyzed in the article, only that several of studies were multi-modal. I think the location of the studies could potentially affect the results and thus the analysis. I also think the methods could be more specific as to what was analyzed and make the lists (and links) of the studies referenced easier to find.

It’s hard to verify that the calculations are correct because there is no table summarizing the results of the information collected from the various studies. One doesn’t know where the numbers came from. This could affect the results since no two studies are ever identical regardless of the steps taken to make them reproducible.

Overall, I think the paper did what its title said and the abstract summarized the article perfectly. One didn’t even have to read the article to find the final results and conclusions mentioned since they were all in the abstract. The research and conclusions made seem logical. However, I would have liked more explanation concerning the different results among the different antibiotic classes studied. The author mentions that metronidazole actually increased the risks of preterm labor, but didn’t offer a concrete explanation. I think explaining the results more rather than just listing the numbers would push the research forward a little more. I think it would take quite a bit of time and effort, but it would be well worth it.

I don't think the research is groundbreaking and isn't offering new opinions on the material, therefore I can't classify it as outstanding.

The background information explained the risks of preterm labor and the potential for antibiotics to lower the rate of preterm labor. This leads to the purpose of the article: to review literature about how antibiotics affect preterm labor and neonatal morbidity. The objective of the article was made clear in the introduction.

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University of Kentucky - Biopharmaceutical Program