Medicina intensiva
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Review Meta Analysis
Levosimendan in patients with cardiogenic shock complicating myocardial infarction: A meta-analysis.
Cardiac shock is the leading cause of death in patients with acute myocardial infarction. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate whether levosimendan, compared to any type of control, is associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock complicating myocardial infarction. ⋯ Levosimendan can improve hemodynamic parameters and cardiac function when compared with a control group, with no evidence of benefit in terms of survival.
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To ascertain the ability of adrenomedullin (ADM) and proadrenomedullin (proADM) to predict mortality in sepsis patients. ⋯ Both ADM and proADM might serve as useful markers for predicting the prognosis of sepsis.
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In this review the usual methods applied in systematic reviews and meta-analyses are outlined. The ideal hypothesis for a systematic review should be generated by information not used later in meta-analyses. The selection of studies involves searching in web repertories, and more than one should be consulted. ⋯ Such collection also should be carried out by two researchers on an independent basis. The most common procedures for combining studies with binary outcomes are described (inverse of variance, Mantel-Haenszel, and Peto), illustrating how they can be done using Stata commands. Assessment of heterogeneity and publication bias is also illustrated with the same program.