Medicine
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Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, defined as negative hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) but detectable HBV DNA in serum and liver tissue, has very rarely been described in cryoglobulinemia (CG) patients. This case report sheds light on the possible link between occult HBV infection and CG. ⋯ Future studies are needed to explore the link between occult HBV infection and CG, to investigate the mediating role of lymphomagenesis, and to examine the effectiveness of anti-HBV drugs in treating the group of CG patients with occult HBV infection. We encourage clinicians to incorporate HBV viral load testing into the evaluation panel for CG patients especially in HBV-endemic areas, and to test HBV viral load for essential CG patients in whom CG cannot be attributed to any primary disease.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Review of economic analysis of available interventions on idiopathic short stature: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.
Idiopathic short stature (ISS) causes a high economic burden worldwide. As part of a research project that synthesizes economic evidence for Korean medicine treatment of ISS, we describe the methods that will be used for the comprehensive review of articles that analyze health-related economic evaluation for available interventions for ISS using a systematic review methodology. ⋯ The findings of this review will help clinicians and patients in evidence-based decision-making in clinical settings and help policy makers develop effective policies and distribute resources based on the available evidence.
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To explore the effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection regarding functional recovery, pain relief, and range of motion (ROM) of shoulder compared with the corticosteroid injection in patients with rotator cuff lesions treated non-operatively. ⋯ The current clinical evidence revealed short-term efficacy of corticosteroid injection and no significant medium- to long-term difference between corticosteroid and PRP injection in the treatment of rotator cuff lesions. Additional studies with longer follow-ups, larger sample sizes, and more rigorous designs are needed to draw more reliable and accurate conclusions.
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Meta Analysis
The effect of nurse-led interventions on re-admission and mortality for congestive heart failure: A meta-analysis.
The European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend the implementation of nurse-led heart failure programs to achieve optimal management of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). In this analysis, we aimed to systematically show the impact of nurse-led interventions (NLI) on re-admission and mortality in patients with CHF (reduced ejection fraction). ⋯ This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed that NLI had significant impacts in reducing the risk of rehospitalization and mortality in these patients with CHF (reduced ejection fraction). Hence, we believe that nurse-led clinics and other interventional programs would be beneficial to patients with heart failure and this practice should, in the future be implemented to the health care system.
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Glucokinase activators are a novel family of glucose-lowering agents used for the treatment of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Glucokinase activators blind to GK activate the enzyme allosterically. Treatment with different GKAs has been shown to reduce fasting and postprandial glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes. We compared the efficacy/safety of glucokinase activators in T2DM patients through a meta-analysis. ⋯ CRD42021220364.