Medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Probiotics for Preventing Late-Onset Sepsis in Preterm Neonates: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
The effect of probiotics on late-onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm neonates remains controversial. The authors systematically reviewed the literature to investigate whether enteral probiotic supplementation reduced the risk of LOS in preterm neonates in neonatal intensive care units. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding the effect of probiotics in preterm neonates. ⋯ Current evidence indicates that probiotic supplementation is safe, and effective in reducing the risk of LOS in preterm neonates in neonatal intensive care units. Further studies are needed to address the optimal probiotic organism, dosing, timing, and duration. High-quality and adequately powered RCTs regarding the efficacy and safety of the use of probiotics in extremely low birth weight infants are still warranted.
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Review Meta Analysis
Association Between Cd Exposure and Risk of Prostate Cancer: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Several observational studies on the association between Cd exposure and risk of prostate cancer have yielded inconsistent results. To address this issue, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the correlation between Cd exposure and risk of prostate cancer. Relevant studies in PubMed and Embase databases were retrieved until October 2015. ⋯ This meta-analysis suggests high Cd exposure as a risk factor for prostate cancer in occupational rather than nonoccupational populations. However, these results should be carefully interpreted because of the significant heterogeneity among studies. Additional large-scale and high-quality prospective studies are needed to confirm the association between Cd exposure and risk of prostate cancer.
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Review Meta Analysis
Child-Pugh Versus MELD Score for the Assessment of Prognosis in Liver Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.
Child-Pugh and MELD scores have been widely used for the assessment of prognosis in liver cirrhosis. A systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the discriminative ability of Child-Pugh versus MELD score to assess the prognosis of cirrhotic patients. PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched. ⋯ In other subgroup analyses, Child-Pugh and MELD scores had statistically similar discriminative abilities or could not be compared due to the presence of significant diagnostic threshold effects. Although Child-Pugh and MELD scores had similar prognostic values in most of cases, their benefits might be heterogeneous in some specific conditions. The indications for Child-Pugh and MELD scores should be further identified.
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Review Meta Analysis
Metformin Is Associated With Slightly Reduced Risk of Colorectal Cancer and Moderate Survival Benefits in Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis.
To systematically assess the effect of metformin on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk and mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases for relevant articles before August 2015. Two investigators identified and extracted data independently. ⋯ There was no publication bias across studies. Our meta-analysis demonstrated that metformin therapy could slightly reduce CRC incidence and moderately improve the survival outcomes in patients with T2DM. More prospective studies are warranted to certify this protective association.
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Review Meta Analysis
Impact of Intracranial Pressure Monitoring on Prognosis of Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A PRISMA Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
To evaluate the influences of using intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring on the prognosis of patients with severe traumatic brain injury. Systematic search were conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, and CNKI. The eligible studies were identified for pooling analysis under fixed- or random effects model. ⋯ However, ICP monitoring was not significant for hospital mortality (RR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.77-0.1.06), decreasing rate of pulmonary infection (RR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.76-1.14), rate of mechanical ventilation (RR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.86-1.09), and duration of hospital stays (weighted mean difference (WMD) = 0.06, 95% CI: -0.03, 0.16). ICP monitoring may not reduce the risk of hospital mortality, but plays a role in decreasing the rate of electrolyte disturbances, rate of renal failure, and increasing favorable functional outcome. However, effect of other outcomes need to be further confirmed in the future randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with larger sample size.