Medicine
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Meta Analysis
Efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment for stiff neck: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Stiff neck is a common acute musculoskeletal condition that significantly affects the quality of life of patients. Acupuncture is recommended as an effective method for alleviating pain and restoring neck mobility in patients with stiff neck, but there is currently a lack of scientific evidence supporting its efficacy and safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of stiff neck. ⋯ Acupuncture is an effective and safe method for treating stiff neck. However, to validate this conclusion, more rigorously designed and higher-quality studies are needed in the future.
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Bronchiectasis clinically manifests airway mucus hypersecretion as mucopurulent sputum production and chronic cough. In the past decade, Tanreqing injection (TRQ) has been often used in clinical practice as an add-on treatment for bronchiectasis in China. Several in vivo studies have indicated that TRQ is effective in improving sputum expectoration and cough in acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis but results of individual studies are inconsistent. Therefore, systematically and critically evaluating the effectiveness and safety of TRQ on mucus hypersecretion and cough in bronchiectasis is necessary. ⋯ The findings suggest that TRQ positively impacts mucus hypersecretion and mucociliary clearance, leading to improvements in sputum production and cough during bronchiectasis exacerbations, without increasing the risk of adverse effects. TRQ may be considered a viable option for managing bronchiectasis and could serve as a novel mucus-modifying agent.
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Meta Analysis
Herbal medicine for the treatment of non-erosive reflux disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) is the most prevalent gastroesophageal reflux disease. Currently, proton pump inhibitors are the most commonly used treatment for NERD. Recently, the demand for herbal medicines with relatively few side effects is increasing and trials confirming the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicines for the treatment of NERD have been conducted. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine in the treatment of NERD through published randomized-controlled trials. ⋯ This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that herbal medicine can be an effective and safe therapy for NERD; however, there are several limitations regarding the methodological quality of the included studies. Further research with high methodological quality is necessary to improve the quality of evidence.
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To evaluate the efficacy of intranasal acupuncture as a treatment for allergic rhinitis (AR) through a comprehensive review. ⋯ The findings suggest that intranasal acupuncture serves as an effective intervention for AR, particularly in alleviating both nasal and nonnasal symptoms and enhancing quality of life. However, these positive outcomes should be approached with caution, and further high-quality and extensive studies to substantiate these results are warranted.
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To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of osimertinib plus bevacizumab in treating advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. ⋯ For patients with advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC, osimertinib plus bevacizumab has some clinical benefit compared with osimertinib alone. Still, it does not provide additional long-term survival benefits and has higher toxicity. More well-designed, multicenter RCTs are needed to identify the subgroups of patients most likely to benefit from this combination regimen and to validate the optimal dose of this combination regimen.