Plos One
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Review Meta Analysis
Association between Polymorphisms in Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene and Response to Chemotherapies in Colorectal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.
Some studies have investigated the effects of polymorphisms in the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene on responsiveness to chemotherapy for colorectal cancer (CRC) and have shown inconclusive results. ⋯ CC vs. CA of the VEGF -2578 C/A polymorphism and CC+CT vs. TT of the VEGF -460 C/T polymorphism might be predictive factors of responsiveness to chemotherapy in CRC. However, single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the VEGF gene lacked sufficient predictive ability to determine whether patients with CRC should add anti-angiogenic agents to their chemotherapy regimens.
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Immunological disturbances are hypothesised to play a role in recurrent miscarriage (RM) and therefore intravenous immunoglubulins (IVIg) have been tested in RM patients. ⋯ We cannot recommend or refute IVIg in women with RM. IVIg should therefore be assessed in further randomised clinical trials with positive outcomes before any clinical use is considered.
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Prevalence of Arthritis in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
In this systematic review, we estimate the prevalence of six types of arthritis in Africa; namely rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, juvenile arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, and ankylosing spondylitis. ⋯ In this systematic review, we have identified the paucity of latest prevalence data on arthritis in Africa. More studies are needed to address the prevalence and the true burden of this disease in Africa.
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Review Meta Analysis
Clinical outcomes with alternative dosing strategies for piperacillin/tazobactam: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
A better dosing strategy can improve clinical outcomes for patients. We sought to compare the extended or continuous infusion with conventional intermittent infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam, investigating which approach is better and worthy of recommendation for clinical use. ⋯ Our systematic review and meta-analysis suggested that the extended or continuous infusion strategy of piperacillin/tazobactam should be recommended for clinical use considering its higher clinical cure rate and lower mortality rate in comparison with conventional intermittent strategy. Data from this study could be extrapolated for other β-lactam antimicrobials. Therefore, this dosing strategy could be considered in clinical practice.
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Review Meta Analysis
Diffusion tensor imaging studies of cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a systemic review and meta-analysis.
A meta-analysis was conducted to assess alterations in measures of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in the patients of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), exploring the potential role of DTI as a diagnosis biomarker. A systematic search of all related studies written in English was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane comparing CSM patients with healthy controls. Key details for each study regarding participants, imaging techniques, and results were extracted. ⋯ The meta-analysis of DTI studies of CSM patients clearly demonstrated a significant FA reduction and ADC increase compared with healthy subjects. This result supports the use of DTI parameters in differentiating CSM patients from health subjects. Future researches are required to investigate the diagnosis performance of DTI in cervical spondylotic myelopathy.