Contributing to allergyguide.ca

Joshua Yu January 31, 2025

Thanks for checking us out! If you're interested in clinical allergy and immunology and would like to help out, connect with us (see the mail button at the bottom of the page).

TODO:

Content:

- Make example articles for 1) a condition (ie. penicillin allergy) 2) macro 3) research
- Pediatric medicine crash course
- port original pen-fast questions over with extra options
- add non-ige mediated mast cell degranulation section (with specific sections with things like IV iron, NAC, alcohol, opioids, etc)
- sections for pdfs for not only patient handouts but how to use inhalers, etc.
- Billing tips (would have to be province specific -- VERY fellow focused and low priority)

Organizational:

- fully flesh out contribution process
- set up example google drive
- opinion from staff -- UBC, Western, McMaster?
- other resident / fellow support / thoughts?

Shortcodes:

- consolidate and make dark/light themes for your boxes, particularly the question box (which does not look good on mobile)

Other stylistic:

- fix / make custom banner.png for the site
- Decide on design of home page
- Add author pictures to about

Contribution process

Content

Prerequisites: A) there are staff available to proofread drafts for topic sections B) there is an editor who can take charge over the 'section' C) We have a google drive "Resident Contributor Dashboard" (i.e. showing available topics and who’s working on what) to organize our efforts

  1. Resident or fellow picks a topic they wish to do, and connect with editor for that 'section' (to be defined later)
  2. Timeline is set for 1st rough draft (~ 2 weeks?)
  1. Editor and contributor back and forth initial edits
  2. Edited draft is sent to staff, necessary edits are made
  3. Editor / Josh / someone with some coding knowledge will add content into website

Website / coding

Prerequisites: you are reasonably comfortable with markdown, html, js, scss/css, and git. To learn the structure of the website, please refer to the Zola documentation. Pages are written in markdown with Tera templating. Josh will be the main person approving pull requests for the time being. Re: adding content to website -- there are some formatting nuances, and a myriad of shortcodes that can be used.

Stylistic Principles

General writing guidelines
  • Be concise and clear -- the intended use is for residents
  • Use clear, structured formatting (headings, bullet points, tables) for readability
  • Avoid passive voice where possible
  • Abbreviations are fine but must be defined
  • While a single topic might be quite complex (i.e. asthma), each page is still meant to be relatively simple -- the goal is not to be a comprehensive textbook. Link to a resource that goes more in depth at that juncture, or to another subpage.
General formatting guidelines
  • Bullet points: Prefer over long paragraphs; no periods at the end of items
  • Emphasize key points: Use bold, color, and highlights
  • Tables/Figures: Only if they enhance understanding (e.g., decision algorithms)

Content guidelines

Macros

Example:

# CHFe O2, UO Likely precipitant(s): diet, med, CAD, arrhythmia, infection, PE, AKI, substance This is a very long line to demonstrate that the block should have wrap around text and should not just get cut off hopefully. Ix: trop, ECG, BNP, metabolic profile, TSH, Cr, liver panel CXR ?cath Mx: NP vs BiPAP IV Lasix I&O, upright, salt/fluid restrict GDMT when out of CHFe

Topics

Not all topics will fit this general structure; this is meant as a general scaffold. Pearls, tips, pitfalls, etc. should be intermixed throughout the topic -- ideally, the page is not just a solid mass of bullet points. See here for some styling options you could use. If you're comfortable with html/md, see shortcodes for the full suite of options available.

Styling options available

Insert admonitions or callouts to draw attention to key facts.

DANGER

This is a danger section.


WARNING

This is a warning section.


INFO

This is a info section.


TIP

Tips


NOTE

Note


question icon

Question


PEARL

Sage clinical pearl

Add images. You can either have them take up the full width, or push them to the side (left or right):

Here is some text on the left.

And here is some more text!

Here is some BOLDED text

An image description

example caption

You can also add tables in markdown:

NameComment
AliceAlways involved in various communications
BobA good guy, who likes to communicate with Alice
MalroyNot so nice guy. Tries to mess with the communication of Alice and Bob.

Medications

Example:

[bilastine]
categories = ["2G antihistamine"]
brand_names = ["Blexten"]
cost = [{ province = "ON", price = "~$1 CAD / 20mg tab" }]
moa = "2nd generation H1 antagonist."
half_life = "~15 hours"
routes = "PO tab, liquid (uncommon)"
doses = [
  { indication = "CSU, AR", dose = "20mg PO OD to QID", notes = "adult dosing" },
  { indication = "CSU, AR", dose = "10mg PO OD to QID", notes = "pediatric dosing" },
]
pearls = ["Theoretically does not cross BBB"]
age_group = ">=12 years of age; has been used off-label in younger children"
pregnancy = "Avoid (not enough data)"
contraindications = "Hypersensitivity, QT prolongation or history of torsades"
side_effects.common = "QT prolongation; drowsiness (4%); headache (4%). For reference, drowisness/headache had a 2% incidence rate in placebo arm"
side_effects.severe = "Torsades (very rare)"
monograph_links = ["../monographs/bilastine_2021_1.pdf"]

How it'll actually look:

Bilastine

Brand Names: Blexten

Cost: ~$1 CAD / 20mg tab (ON)

MoA: 2nd generation H1 antagonist.

Half-life: ~15 hours

Routes: PO tab, liquid (uncommon)

Doses:

  • CSU, AR: 20mg PO OD to QID (adult dosing)
  • CSU, AR: 10mg PO OD to QID (pediatric dosing)

Age Group: >=12 years of age; has been used off-label in younger children

Pregnancy: Avoid (not enough data)

Contraindications: Hypersensitivity, QT prolongation or history of torsades

Common SEs: QT prolongation; drowsiness (4%); headache (4%). For reference, drowisness/headache had a 2% incidence rate in placebo arm

Severe SEs: Torsades (very rare)

Monograph Links:

Pearls

  • Theoretically does not cross BBB

Research appraisals

Systematic review vs primary evidence