Current medical research and opinion
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Meta Analysis
Restrictive versus liberal blood transfusion in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis.
To compare clinical outcomes between restrictive versus liberal blood transfusion strategies in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). ⋯ The findings suggest that restrictive blood transfusion was associated with higher in-hospital and 30 day mortality than liberal blood transfusion in CAD patients. The conclusions are mainly based on retrospective studies and should not be considered as recommendation before they are supported by randomized controlled trials.
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Meta Analysis
Impact of intraoperative MRI-guided resection on resection and survival in patient with gliomas: a meta-analysis.
This study addressed the benefit of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) compared with conventional neuronavigation-guided resection in patients with gliomas. ⋯ Our findings indicate that iMRI more frequently resulted in more complete resections leading to improved PFS in patients with malignant gliomas.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Comparative effectiveness of interferons in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a meta-analysis of real-world studies.
Differences between interferons have been evaluated for over 20 years. While randomized controlled trial (RCT) data is mainly used for assessments and strong data for causal inferences, it does not necessarily reflect everyday practice. Real-world data may provide additional information. ⋯ In this comprehensive meta-analysis of real-world studies in RRMS, IFN-beta-1a IM, IFN-beta-1a SC and IFN-beta-1b SC had similar clinical profiles. When selecting an IFN, practitioners should consider observational data in their decision making process.
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The Bowel Function Index (BFI) is a simple and sound bowel function and opioid-induced constipation (OIC) screening tool. We aimed to develop the translation and cultural adaptation of this measure (BFI-P) and to assess its reliability and validity for the Portuguese language and a chronic pain population. ⋯ This study had some limitations, namely, the criterion validity of BFI-P was not directly assessed; and the absence of a direct criterion for OIC precluded the assessment of the criterion based responsiveness of BFI-P. Nevertheless, BFI may importantly contribute to better OIC screening and its Portuguese version (BFI-P) has been shown to have excellent reliability, internal consistency, validity and responsiveness. Further suggestions regarding statistically and clinically important change cut-offs for this instrument are presented.
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Modified docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (mDCF) therapy has been shown to be a well tolerated and highly effective regimen for metastatic gastric carcinoma. Herein we investigated the effectiveness of the mDCF combination as the first-line treatment in patients with recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). ⋯ The efficiency of the mDCF combination for induction chemotherapy has been well established previously. To our knowledge, this is one of the largest studies evaluating the survival and safety significance of mDCF chemotherapy as a first-line treatment in patients with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC.