Medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Pancreatic Amylase Value on Postoperative Day 1 After Pancreatic Resection to Predict Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula.
Early detection of postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) may help to improve the outcome following pancreatic surgery, and exclusion of POPF may allow early drain removal which can accelerate recovery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of drain/plasma pancreatic amylase values on postoperative day 1 (DPA1/PPA1) in POPF by means of a systemic review and meta-analysis. Online journal databases and a manual search up to March 2015 were used. ⋯ Negative LR were 0.06 (0.03-0.14) and 0.18 (0.07-0.47) respectively. DPA1 is a useful predictive test for overall POPF and clinically relevant POPF which has good sensitivity and specificity based on the current studies. Meanwhile, it should be cautiously applied to clinical practice because cutoffs had a wide range between studies.
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Review Meta Analysis
Probiotics for Prevention of Atopy and Food Hypersensitivity in Early Childhood: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Most studies investigated probiotics on food hypersensitivity, not on oral food challenge confirmed food allergy in children. The authors systematically reviewed the literature to investigate whether probiotic supplementation prenatally and/or postnatally could reduce the risk of atopy and food hypersensitivity in young children. PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and 4 main Chinese literature databases (Wan Fang, VIP, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and SinoMed) were searched for randomized controlled trials regarding the effect of probiotics on the prevention of allergy in children. ⋯ Probiotics administered prenatally and postnatally appears to be a feasible way to prevent atopy and food hypersensitivity in young children. The long-term effects of probiotics, however, remain to be defined in the follow-up of existing trials. Still, studies on probiotics and confirmed food allergy, rather than surrogate measure of food hypersensitivity, are warranted.
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Review Meta Analysis
Moxibustion is an Alternative in Treating Knee Osteoarthritis: The Evidence From Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common disorder in elderly. There is no known cure for KOA, and thus therapeutic strategies of alleviating symptoms are increasingly emphasized. Moxibustion has been widely used to treat KOA; however, results are inconclusive. ⋯ Our meta-analysis also found that moxibustion is superior to usual care and sham moxibustion in reducing WOMAC score (MD = 7.56; 95% CI = 4.11, 11.00; P = 0.00), pain and function, as well as increasing QoL. Moreover, most AEs caused by moxibustion can heal without medical care. We concluded that moxibustion treatment is equal to the oral drugs and intra-articular injections and may be an alternative in treating patients with KOA.
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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
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Hospital Volume and the Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.
Previous reviews have suggested that hospital volume is inversely related to in-hospital mortality. However, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) practices have changed substantially in recent years, and whether this relationship persists remains controversial. A systematic search was performed using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify studies that describe the effect of hospital volume on the outcomes of PCI. ⋯ This meta-analysis only included studies published after 2006 and revealed that postoperative mortality following PCI correlates significantly and inversely with hospital volume. However, the magnitude of the effect of volume on long-term survival is difficult to assess. Additional research is necessary to confirm our findings and to elucidate the mechanism underlying the volume-outcome relationship.