Electrochemotherapy for the palliative management of cutaneous metastases: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundElectrochemotherapy combines electroporation in conjunction with chemotherapeutic agents and is used to treat tumours in many localisations, including cutaneous metastases. The symptoms associated with cutaneous malignant wounds can be distressing for patients and their management is a challenge in healthcare.AimThe purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of electrochemotherapy in the context of palliative care.DesignAll aspects of the systematic review were followed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement.Data sourcesThe following databases were searched for English-language reviews; Medline, Embase, CINAHL, British Nursing Index and the Cochrane Library. The search was conducted between the publication of Standard Operating Procedures in 2006 and the third week of October 2017. Studies involving oral cancers and studies with fewer than 10 patients were excluded. The selected studies were assessed for risk of bias and sub-group data were synthesised in a random-effects meta-analysis.ResultsFrom 425 studies, 29 studies were included involving 1503 patients, the pooled results were 46.6% for complete response and 82.2% for objective response according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours. The meta-analysis indicated that small tumours were over twice as likely (2.25) to have a complete response than large.ConclusionsElectrochemotherapy is an effective, repeatable and minimally invasive intervention within the palliative population that can reduce symptom burden. This review is an update of previous systematic reviews by Mali et al. [1,2] and highlights the need for tailored treatment depending on each individual case.     

腹腔镜前列腺癌根治术与开放术式的疗效比较Meta分析

目的利用Meta分析的方法,评价腹腔镜前列腺癌根治术(LRP)与开放前列腺癌根治术(ORP)两种手术方式治疗局限性前列腺癌的疗效。方法选取发表于1990～2011年的文献,对比LRP与ORP两种术式治疗局限性前列腺癌的随机对照试验和临床对照试验,并应用Meta分析评价手术时间、术中出血量、输血情况、切缘阳性率、术后尿道狭窄发生率、术后控尿、术后勃起功能等相关指标。结果本篇Meta分析,共分析了14篇临床同期对照试验。共纳入了9006例患者,其中行LRP3261例患者,行ORP5745例患者。对于切缘阳性的发生率,腹腔镜与ORP之间无统计学差异(OR0.88,95%CI0.77～1.01,P=0.06);LRP手术时间长于开放手术(WMD60.25min,95%CI30.83～89.68min,P<0.0001),差异具有统计学意义。LRP术中出血量小于ORP(WMD-686.61ml,95%CI-1101.49～-271.72ml,P=0.001),差异具有统计学意义。LRP患者输血率低于ORP(OR0.17,95%CI0.10～0.29,P<0.0001),差异具有统计学意义。LRP术后尿道狭窄的发生率低于ORP(OR0.32,95%CI0.14～0.71,P=0.005),差异具有统计学意义。LRP的术后一年控尿率与ORP无统计学差异(OR1.29,95%CI0.88～1.89,P=0.20)。术中保留双侧性神经的患者的术后一年勃起功能,LRP优于ORP(OR2.23,95%CI1.48～3.36,P=0.0001)。结论对于局限性前列腺癌,腹腔镜与ORP的切缘阳性发生率和术后一年控尿功能相似。LRP的手术时间长于ORP,但术中出血量少于ORP,患者输血率小于ORP,且术后尿道狭窄发生率和术后一年阳痿发生率小于ORP。     

基于网状Meta分析的中药注射液治疗不稳定性心绞痛的有效性及安全性

目的 评价中药注射液（TCMI）辅助治疗不稳定性心绞痛（UAP）的临床疗效及安全性。方法 检索中国期刊全文数据库（CNKI），维普数据库（VIP），万方数据库（Wanfang），中国生物医学文献数据库（CBM），PubMed，EMBASE，The Cochrane Library，Web of Science 8个数据库收集常规治疗联合TCMI（治疗组）对比单纯常规治疗（对照组）治疗UAP的临床随机对照研究（RCT），文献检索年限均为建库起至2021年3月31日，采用Stata 16.0软件进行网状Meta分析。结果 最终纳入39项RCT，3 407例患者。网状Meta分析结果显示，中药注射液对心绞痛改善总有效率排序为痰热清注射液+常规治疗>香丹注射液+常规治疗>刺五加注射液+常规治疗=生脉注射液+常规治疗>血塞通注射液+常规治疗>灯盏花素注射液+常规治疗>疏血通注射液+常规治疗>苦碟子注射液+常规治疗>舒血宁注射液+常规治疗>丹参注射液+常规治疗>冠心宁注射液+常规治疗>灯盏细辛注射液+常规治疗>血栓通注射液+常规治疗>瓜蒌皮注射液+常规治疗>常规治疗；对心电图改善总有效率排序为疏血通注射液+常规治疗>香丹注射+常规治疗>痰热清注射液+常规治疗>刺五加注射液+常规治疗>血栓通注射液+常规治疗>灯盏花素注射液+常规治疗>血塞通注射+常规治疗>舒血宁注射液+常规治疗>冠心宁注射液+常规治疗>苦碟子注射液+常规治疗>灯盏细辛注射液+常规治疗>瓜蒌皮注射液+常规治疗>常规治疗>生脉注射液+常规治疗；对不良反应发生率排序为灯盏细辛注射液+常规治疗>香丹注射液+常规治疗>丹参注射液+常规治疗>灯盏花素注射液+常规治疗>生脉注射液+常规治疗>舒血宁注射液+常规治疗>常规治疗>瓜蒌皮注射液+常规治疗>冠心宁注射液+常规治疗>疏血通注射+常规治疗>苦碟子注射液+常规治疗>刺五加注射液+常规治疗，对减少纤维蛋白原（FIB）排序为灯盏花素注射液+常规治疗>疏血通注射液+常规治疗>血塞通注射液+常规治疗>常规治疗>苦碟子注射液+常规治疗；对降低C反应蛋白（CRP）排序为丹参注射液+常规治疗>灯盏细辛注射液+常规治疗>血栓通注射液+常规治疗>常规治疗；对降低超敏C反应蛋白（hs-CRP）排序为舒血宁注射液+常规治疗>苦碟子注射液+常规治疗>疏血通注射液+常规治疗>灯盏细辛注射液+常规治疗>瓜蒌皮注射液+常规治疗>痰热清注射液+常规治疗>血塞通注射液+常规治疗>常规治疗。亚组分析结果与整体Meta分析基本一致。结论 在常规治疗基础上联合中药注射液可改善心绞痛发作及心电图情况，同时对FIB，CRP，hs-CRP均有不同程度的改善。然而，由于不同中药注射液纳入研究的质量和数量存在差异，临床应用时应结合具体情况。     

出院计划对脑卒中患者及其照顾者干预效果的系统评价

目的系统评价出院计划对脑卒中患者及其照顾者的干预效果。方法计算机检索建库至2016年3月公开发表在Pub Med、MEDLINE(Ovid)、CINAHL、The Cochrane Library、CNKI、万方、CBM等数据库的文献,收集所有出院计划对比常规出院护理应用于脑卒中患者的随机对照试验及半随机对照试验。由2名研究者按照纳入和排除标准,独立进行数据提取和文献评价。采用Rev Man 5.3软件进行Meta分析。结果共纳入15篇文献,相较于常规出院护理,出院计划能缩短脑卒中患者的住院时长[MD=-4.79,95%(-6.95,-2.63),Z=4.35,P0.000 1],改善其出院3个月内的自理能力[MD=9.03,95%(1.73,16.33),Z=2.42,P=0.02]及提高护理满意度[OR=1.99,95%(1.20,3.30),Z=2.66,P=0.008],但照顾者负荷及护理满意度差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论出院计划对脑卒中患者的实施效果优于常规出院护理,可减少患者住院时间,提高患者的自理能力及护理满意度,是一种可行的临床护理模式。     

Inflammatory mediators in human epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundAccumulating evidence suggests a role for inflammation in the pathophysiology of epilepsy.MethodsWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that investigated inflammatory mediators in human epilepsy. Studies reporting on inflammatory mediators in serum, cerebrospinal fluid or brain tissue of epilepsy patients were included. Studies comparing patients to controls were included in a meta-analysis.Results66 articles reporting on 1934 patients were included. IL-1ra, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ and TNF-α were the most extensively investigated proteins. Elevated levels for IL-1ra, IL-1β, IL-6 and CXCL8/IL-8 were reported in several different epilepsy etiologies and media, while other proteins were specifically increased for one etiology. IL-1α, IL-7 and IL-13, as well as the chemokines CCL2-5, −19 and −22, were increased exclusively in brain tissue. In an aggregate meta-analysis, we found significantly different protein levels for serum IL-6, IL-17 and CSF IL-1β and IL-10.ConclusionInflammatory pathways are involved in epilepsy. Future studies may further clarify their role, and prove potential of targeted anti-inflammatory treatment.     

The more the better? A meta-analysis on effects of combined cognitive and physical intervention on cognition in healthy older adults

Both cognitive intervention and physical exercise benefit cognitive function in older adults. It has been suggested that combined cognitive and physical intervention may induce larger effects than cognitive or physical intervention alone, but existing literature has shown mixed results. This meta-analysis aimed at assessing the efficacy of combined intervention on cognition by comparing combined intervention to control group, cognitive intervention and physical exercise. Eligible studies were controlled trials examining the effects of combined intervention on cognition in older adults without known cognitive impairment. Twenty interventional studies comprising 2667 participants were included. Results showed that the overall effect size for combined intervention versus control group was 0.29 (random effects model, p = 0.001). Compared to physical exercise, combined intervention produced greater effects on overall effect size (0.22, p < 0.01), while no significant difference was found between combined intervention and cognitive intervention. Effects of combined intervention were moderated by age of participants, intervention frequency and setting. The findings suggest that combined intervention demonstrates advantages over control group and physical exercise, while evidence is still lacking for superiority when compared combined intervention to cognitive intervention. More well-designed studies with long follow-ups are needed to clarify the potential unique efficacy of combined intervention for older adults.     

Specific and non-specific effects of psychotherapeutic interventions for depression: Results from a meta-analysis of 84 studies

There is a long-standing and very active debate regarding which psychotherapeutic intervention should be used in depressive disorders. However, the effects of psychotherapies may result majorly from non-specific factors rather than from specific factors related to the type of psychotherapeutic intervention. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on aggregated data to understand how the effects of different psychotherapies are impacted by non-specific factors. We included randomized controlled trials that assessed the efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions in the treatment of adult depressive disorders. The primary outcome was the change in depression score from baseline to the latest follow-up visit (i.e. response). A meta-regression was performed to predict response according to the type of intervention and non-specific factors (e.g. number of treatment sessions, length of follow-up, therapeutic allegiance of the investigator). The main analysis included 214 study arms from 84 trials. The effects of psychotherapies compared to the waiting list control condition failed to remain significant after adjusting for non-specific factors. Response increased with the number of treatment sessions (β = 0.03, 95% CI [0.01; 0.04]) and the length of follow-up (β = 0.01, 95% CI [0.00; 0.02]). Response also improved in case of presumed therapeutic allegiances among investigators (β = 0.29, 95% CI [0.07; 0.52]). Response to psychotherapies seems to be closely related to non-specific effects. The development of a well-designed trial that controls for non-specific factors might help disentangle the effects of psychotherapies.     

Treatment of insomnia with tricyclic antidepressants: a meta-analysis of polysomnographic randomized controlled trials

BackgroundInsomnia represents a significant public health burden worldwide. Antidepressants have often been the insomnia treatment of choice in recent decades. Some tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) have been shown to improve sleep efficiency.ObjectiveAssess the efficacy and safety of TCAs for the treatment of insomnia using a meta-analysis of randomized control trials (RCTs).MethodsRelevant studies were identified in electronic databases such as PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science, up until July 2016. We included all polysomnographic (PSG) RCTs using TCAs to treat insomnia. The primary outcome measure was the total sleep time (TST), although other polysomnographic measures were also investigated. Next-day somnolence and dropout rates were also assessed.ResultsThe meta-analysis included nine RCTs. TCAs significantly improved TST compared with placebo (SMD = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.50–0.71, P < 0.00001). Participants receiving TCAs were not more likely to drop out than those receiving a placebo because of adverse side effects (1.71% vs 1.19%, RR = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.67–2.80, P = 0.39) or any other reason (7.08% vs 8.20%; RR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.60–1.23, P = 0.42). However, the incidence of somnolence was higher in participants receiving TCAs (6.06% vs. 3.21%; RR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.10–3.00, P = 0.02).ConclusionsBased on our limited data analysis with two medications at particular doses (most studies included extremely low doxepin), we assert that TCAs can be an effective pharmacological treatment for insomnia. TCAs were found to improve sleep outcome measures, with the notable exception of an 82% increase in somnolence. Overall TCAs have very problematic and dangerous side effects, while TCAs were not found to increase the dropout rate compared with the placebo.     

奥马珠单抗治疗变应性鼻炎疗效与安全性的Meta分析

目的系统分析奥马珠单抗治疗难治型变应性鼻炎的疗效及安全性。方法通过搜索PubMed,Cochrane Library,CNKI及万方数据库,收集奥马珠单抗治疗难治型变应性鼻炎的随机对照试验(RCT),使用Revman 5.3软件对数据进行Meta分析,评价奥马珠单抗的疗效及安全性。结果 Meta分析结果显示,奥马珠单抗在降低鼻部症状方面差异有统计学意义,药物引起的不良反应差异无统计学意义。结论奥马珠单抗在缓解鼻部症状等方面具有显著的效果,是一种相对安全的药物。