metaanalysis

OBJECTIVE: To compare operation-specific decannulation rates between single-stage (SSLTR) and double-stage laryngotracheal reconstruction (DSLTR) when controlling for grade of airway stenosis. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed using PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases from 1970 to 2015 to examine primary SSLTR and DSLTR for subglottic stenosis in patients 18 years or younger. Primary outcome was decannulation or extubation after LTR...

The pH of the endolysosomal system is tightly regulated by a balance of proton pump and leak mechanisms that are critical for storage, recycling, turnover, and signaling functions in the cell. Dysregulation of endolysosomal pH has been linked to aging, amyloidogenesis, synaptic dysfunction, and various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that regulate luminal pH may be key to identifying new targets for managing these disorders. Metaanalysis of yeast microarray databases revealed that nutrient limiting conditions inhibited the histone deacetylase (HDAC) Rpd3 and thereby upregulated transcription of the endosomal Na+ /H+ exchanger Nhx1, resulting in vacuolar alkalinization...

Speakers implicitly learn novel phonotactic patterns by producing strings of syllables. The learning is revealed in their speech errors. First-order patterns, such as "/f/ must be a syllable onset," can be distinguished from contingent, or second-order, patterns, such as "/f/ must be an onset if the vowel is /a/, but a coda if the vowel is /o/." A metaanalysis of 19 experiments clearly demonstrated that first-order patterns affect speech errors to a very great extent in a single experimental session, but second-order vowel-contingent patterns only affect errors on the second day of testing, suggesting the need for a consolidation period...

Background/Aims: A number of clinical trials reported varying effects of cholesterol lowering agents in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. We, therefore, assessed the changes in hepatic steatosis and NAFLD activity score (NAS) after treatment with cholesterol lowering agents in NAFLD patients by metaanalysis. Methods: The Cochrane Library, the MEDLINE, and the Embase databases were searched until May 2015, without any language restrictions, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and nonrandomized studies (NRSs)...

OBJECTIVE: Vaccination is a key strategy to reduce infection risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is advocated in internationally recognized rheumatology society guidelines. The aim was to evaluate to the effect of antirheumatic drugs on influenza and pneumococcal vaccine immunogenicity. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review and metaanalysis comparing the humoral response to influenza (pandemic and seasonal trivalent subunit vaccines) and pneumococcal (23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, 7- and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugated vaccines) vaccination in adult patients with RA treated with antirheumatic drugs...

BACKGROUND: Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a genetic condition with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance and incomplete penetrance. It is characterized by multiple benign tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system including astrocytomas, ependymomas, meningeomas, and schwannomas, among which bilateral vestibular schwannomas are the most frequent. Among ocular manifestations of NF2, juvenile subcapsular cataract is the most common followed by epiretinal membranes and combined hamartomas of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of lycopene intake in primary prevention of prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: A systematic search of the literature was conducted in March 2015 and the articles published between the years 1990-2015 were reviewed. The following search terms were used: prostate cancer, prostatic neoplasm, lycopene, prevention, effectiveness and efficacy (MeSH). Publications including research in humans, written in English and whose texts were accessible were reviewed...

BACKGROUND: With increasing global use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), there is interest in its appropriate usage. Efforts to regulate IVIG usage have primarily taken the form of organizational interventions implemented in hospitals to monitor and improve physician prescribing. Similar interventions have proven effective in reducing the inappropriate and total hospital usage of other blood products, but their efficacy on IVIG use is less understood. Thus, we performed a systematic review of studies reporting the change in inappropriate IVIG use following such interventions in hospitals or regions...

Background: The choice of antibiotics for systemic infections in patients with a high risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) remains a clinical practice dilemma. Although some studies suggest that tetracyclines may be associated with a lower risk of CDI than other antibiotics, other results are conflicting. We conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis of studies that assessed the risk of CDI with tetracyclines compared to other antibiotics. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of Medline, Embase, and Web of Science from January 1978 through December 2016 to include studies that assessed the association between tetracycline use and risk of CDI...

BACKGROUND: The QoR-15 is a patient-reported outcome questionnaire that measures the quality of recovery after surgery and anaesthesia. We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the measurement properties of the QoR-15. METHODS: Studies reporting measurement properties or interpretability of the QoR-15 after surgery were eligible for inclusion. All languages were included in the PubMed and Embase search. The COSMIN guidelines for systematic reviews of patient-reported outcome measurements were followed...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current study was to review the available data regarding eosinophil density in healthy tissue specimen originating from lower gastrointestinal segments to support suggested diagnostic cut-offs widely used in clinical practice. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in three different databases. Calculations were made with Comprehensive MetaAnalysis software using random effects model. Cell number measurements were pooled using the random effects model and displayed on forest plots...

INTRODUCTION: The use of a venoactive drug is considered an important component of medical treatment of chronic venous disease (CVD), although the efficacy of certain VADs on one or more individual leg symptoms or signs may have not been extensively studied to justify a strong recommendation in guidelines on CVD. The aim of this systematic review and metaanalysis was to study the effectiveness of the micronized purified flavonoid fraction (MPFF, Daflon®) across the spectrum of defined venous symptoms, signs, quality of life (QoL) and treatment assessment by the physician...

BACKGROUND: Insomnia is a widespread complaint in the general population. Wendan decoction has been widely applied in the treatment of primary insomnia. However, to our knowledge, there has been no systematic review or meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails regarding the effectiveness of this treatment. Here, we provide a protocol to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Wendan decoction for primary insomnia. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Relevant randomized controlled trials in 5 English databases [EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Cochrane Library), PubMed, the Allied and Complementary Medicine Databases (AMED), and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)], 4 Chinese databases [Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Medical Current Content (CMCC), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Database] will be comprehensively searched by 2 researchers in October 2017...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of 6 tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNFi) in treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) at 12 weeks and 24 weeks. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature review of randomized controlled trials of TNFi in patients with active AS. We included trials that reported efficacy at 10 to 14 weeks (12-week analysis) and at 24 to 30 weeks (24-week analysis). We used Bayesian network metaanalysis (NMA) to compare their relative efficacy to improve the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), and C-reactive protein (CRP) level...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a combination of sorafenib and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc), WanFang Database, for all years up to January 2017. Pooled analyses of overall survival (OS), tumor- free survival, recurrence rates and adverse events were performed...

MRP4 transports multiple endogenous and exogenous substances and is critical not only for detoxification but also in the homeostasis of several signaling molecules. Its dysregulation has been reported in numerous pathological disorders, thus MRP4 appears as an attractive therapeutic target. However, the efficacy of MRP4 inhibitors is still controversial. The design of specific pharmacological agents with the ability to selectively modulate the activity of this transporter or modify its affinity to certain substrates represents a challenge in current medicine and chemical biology...

The number of medical studies being published is increasing exponentially, and clinicians must routinely process large amounts of new information. Moreover, the results of individual studies are often insufficient to provide confident answers, as their results are not consistently reproducible. A meta-analysis is a statistical method for combining the results of different studies on the same topic and it may resolve conflicts among studies. Meta-analysis is being used increasingly and plays an important role in medical research...

Background: Some studies have suggested using epidural analgesia after cancer surgery to reduce metastasis. This article examines the relationship between regional anesthesia (RA) and cancer metastasis in an array of cancers. Methods: We conducted a review of the literature using PubMed and included 67,577 patients across 28 studies in a metaanalysis, evaluating the hazard ratios (HRs) of overall survival, recurrence-free survival, and biochemical recurrence-free survival...

BACKGROUND: Concern has been raised about the quality of available biological variation (BV) estimates and the effect of their application in clinical practice. A European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Task and Finish Group has addressed this issue. The aim of this report is to ( a ) describe the Biological Variation Data Critical Appraisal Checklist (BIVAC), which verifies whether publications have included all essential elements that may impact the veracity of associated BV estimates, ( b ) use the BIVAC to critically appraise existing BV publications on enzymes, lipids, kidney, and diabetes-related measurands, and ( c ) apply metaanalysis to deliver a global within-subject BV (CVI ) estimate for alanine aminotransferase (ALT)...

A recent metaanalysis shows that 0.7% of nanoparticles are delivered to solid tumors. This low delivery efficiency has major implications in the translation of cancer nanomedicines, as most of the nanomedicines are sequestered by nontumor cells. To improve the delivery efficiency, there is a need to investigate the quantitative contribution of each organ in blocking the transport of nanoparticles to solid tumors. Here, we hypothesize that the removal of the liver macrophages, cells that have been reported to take up the largest amount of circulating nanoparticles, would lead to a significant increase in the nanoparticle delivery efficiency to solid tumors...