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The Cochrane Database of Systematic... 2002The use of mega-vitamin intervention began in the early 1950's with the treatment of schizophrenic patients. Pyroxidine (vitamin B6) was first used with children... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
The use of mega-vitamin intervention began in the early 1950's with the treatment of schizophrenic patients. Pyroxidine (vitamin B6) was first used with children diagnosed with "autism syndrome" when speech and language improvement was observed in some children as a result of large doses of B6. A number of published studies attempted to assess the effects of vitamin B6-Mg (Mg was found to reduce undesirable side effects from B6) on a variety of characteristics such as verbal communication, non-verbal communication, interpersonal skills, and physiological function, in individuals with autism.
OBJECTIVES
To determine the efficacy of vitamin B6 and magnesium (B6-Mg) for treating social, communication and behavioural responses of children and adults with autism.
SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2002), MEDLINE (1966- January 2002), EMBASE (1980-January 2002), PsychINFO (1887 - January 2002), Dissertation Abstracts International (1861 - January 2002). The search engine FirstSearch was also used (January 2002). Reference lists for all the obtained studies and other review articles were examined for additional studies.
SELECTION CRITERIA
All studies in which the participants were randomly allocated prior to intervention and in which outcomes were compared to either a placebo or non-treated group were included.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two reviewers independently evaluated all potential studies identified as indicated above for inclusion.
MAIN RESULTS
Two trials were included in the review. Both studies used a double-blind crossover design. One study (Tolbert 1993) provided insufficient data to conduct an analysis. The senior author was contacted for supporting data but was unable to provide the needed information. The remaining study (Findling, 1997) yielded no significant differences between treatment and placebo group performances following the B6 intervention on measures of social interaction, communication, compulsivity, impulsivity, or hyperactivity.
REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
Due to the small number of studies, the methodological quality of studies, and small sample sizes, no recommendation can be advanced regarding the use of B6-Mg as a treatment for autism.
Topics: Adult; Autistic Disorder; Child; Drug Therapy, Combination; Humans; Magnesium; Vitamin B 6
PubMed: 12519599
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003497 -
The use of knee mega-prosthesis for the management of distal femoral fractures: A systematic review.Injury Aug 2020Distal femur fractures (DFFs) are unusual and difficult to deal, especially in elderly patients. A consensus about a gold-standard treatment has not been reached yet....
INTRODUCTION
Distal femur fractures (DFFs) are unusual and difficult to deal, especially in elderly patients. A consensus about a gold-standard treatment has not been reached yet. Available options include both conservative and surgical management. In elderly patients a prosthetic replacement could be a valid treatment option. Literature is lacking about the use of mega-prosthesis in this type of fractures. The purpose of the present systematic review is to examine which fracture, both acute and chronic, involving distal femur should be treated by using a mega-prosthesis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Studies were identified by searching electronic databases. All studies that enrolled people of any age affected by a DFFs treated by using a megaprosthesis were included. Primary outcomes of the present reviews were: ROM, functional assessment and complications. Two review authors independently selected eligible trials. Disagreements at any stage were resolved by consensus or a third party adjudication. Descriptive statics was used to summarize the data.
RESULTS
Thirteen article were finally included in the review. One hundred-four patients were treated with knee megaprosthesis. Three categories of patients were identified: 29 patients were affected by supracondylar femur fracture; 51 patients occurred with a periprosthetic fracture; 24 patients suffered a non-union of a previous supracondylar fracture. The follow-up varied between 6 months to 58 months. All studies showed good results in terms of improving quality of life, resuming activities of daily living (ADLs), early mobilization, ROM, shorter hospital stay. Although not frequent, the only reported complications were infection and aseptic loosening.
DISCUSSION
The present review showed that the use of knee megaprosthetic implants could represent a valid treatment option aiming to reduce patients' immobilitazion and hospital stay. Good clinical outcomes with low rate of complications were reported by all included studies. Literature is lacking about long-term outcomes and complications. Moreover studies comparing knee prostheses and other types of surgical treatment (intramedullary nails, plate fixation system) are needed.
CONCLUSIONS
Megaprosthesis represent a viable treatment option in patients affected by DFFs (either acute, periprostethic or non-union) because they allow immediate weight-bearing, shorter hospital stay, a fast recovery of knee function and ADLs.
Topics: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Femoral Fractures; Fracture Fixation, Internal; Humans; Knee Prosthesis; Periprosthetic Fractures; Quality of Life; Retrospective Studies; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 31526601
DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2019.08.011 -
Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome 2013Recently a hot debate was raised to answer if intensive glycemic control aimed to reduce HbA1c to less than 6.5% is better than conventional therapy in terms of future... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Review
BACKGROUND
Recently a hot debate was raised to answer if intensive glycemic control aimed to reduce HbA1c to less than 6.5% is better than conventional therapy in terms of future outcomes. A lot of studies were conducted to explore that but few mega trials were conducted.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect and safety of both intensive and conventional insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes.
METHODOLOGY
Traditional systematic review was conducted; criteria for studies selection were formatted. Studies selected were criticized.
RESULTS
Three mega trials (3) randomized 23,182 participants with type 2 diabetes (11,591 to intensive glycemic control and 11,591 to conventional glycemic control) were included. Only diabetic nephropathy was noted to be delayed in onset or progression by intensive insulin therapy.
CONCLUSION
There are no benefits from intensive glycemic therapy (target HbA1c<6.4%) versus conventional glycemic therapy (target HbA1c>6.4%) except for decrease the rate of new onset or progression of nephropathy.
Topics: Aged; Blood Glucose; Cardiovascular Diseases; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Angiopathies; Diabetic Nephropathies; Disease Progression; Female; Glycated Hemoglobin; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents; Insulin; Male; Middle Aged; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 23517797
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsx.2013.02.008 -
Sao Paulo Medical Journal = Revista... 2022Augmented reality (AR) involves digitally overlapping virtual objects onto physical objects in real space so that individuals can interact with both at the same time. AR...
BACKGROUND
Augmented reality (AR) involves digitally overlapping virtual objects onto physical objects in real space so that individuals can interact with both at the same time. AR in medical education seeks to reduce surgical complications through high-quality education. There is uncertainty in the use of AR as a learning tool for interventional radiology procedures.
OBJECTIVE
To compare AR with other learning methods in interventional radiology.
DESIGN AND SETTING
Systematic review of comparative studies on teaching techniques.
METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, Tripdatabase, ERIC, CINAHL, SciELO and LILACS electronic databases for studies comparing AR simulation with other teaching methods in interventional radiology. This systematic review was performed in accordance with PRISMA and the BEME Collaboration. Eligible studies were evaluated using the quality indicators provided in the BEME Collaboration Guide no. 11, and the Kirkpatrick model.
RESULTS
Four randomized clinical trials were included in this review. The level of educational evidence found among all the papers was 2B, according to the Kirkpatrick model. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was applied to assess the risk of bias for individual studies and across studies. Three studies showed an improvement in teaching of the proposed procedure through AR; one study showed that the participants took longer to perform the procedure through AR.
CONCLUSION
AR, as a complementary teaching tool, can provide learners with additional skills, but there is still a lack of studies with a higher evidence level according to the Kirkpatrick model.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER
DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/ACZBM in the Open Science Framework database.
Topics: Augmented Reality; Clinical Competence; Humans; Learning; Radiology, Interventional; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 35946678
DOI: 10.1590/1516-3180.2021.0606.R2.27122021 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Oct 2004The role of oral vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the prevention and treatment of the common cold has been a subject of controversy for at least sixty years. Public interest... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
The role of oral vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the prevention and treatment of the common cold has been a subject of controversy for at least sixty years. Public interest in the topic continues to be high and vitamin C continues to be widely sold and used as a preventive and therapeutic agent for this common ailment.
OBJECTIVES
To discover whether oral vitamin C in doses of 200 mg or more daily, reduces the incidence, duration or severity of the common cold when used either as continuous prophylaxis or after the onset of cold symptoms.
SEARCH STRATEGY
This updated review added to earlier searches, a full search of the following electronic databases: the Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2004); MEDLINE (January 1966 to June 2004); and EMBASE (1990 to June 2004).
SELECTION CRITERIA
Papers were excluded if a dose less than 200 mg daily of vitamin C was used; if there was no placebo comparison; if methods of outcome assessment were inadequately described; and if the report did not record any of the three study outcomes (incidence, duration or severity) in sufficient detail to enter into the meta-analysis. Three criteria of study quality were assessed: Jadad scores, placebo distinguish-ability, and allocation concealment.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed trial quality. 'Incidence' of colds during prophylaxis was assessed as the proportion of participants experiencing one or more colds during the study period. 'Duration' was the mean days of illness of cold episodes and 'severity' of these episodes was assessed by days confined indoors, off work or school. or by symptom severity scores.
MAIN RESULTS
Twenty-nine trial comparisons involving 11,077 study participants contributed to the meta-analysis on the relative risk (RR) of developing a cold while taking prophylaxis. The pooled RR was 0.96 (95% CI 0.92 to 1.00). A subgroup of six trials that involved a total of 642 marathon runners, skiers, and soldiers on sub-arctic exercises reported a pooled RR of 0.50 (95%CI 0.38 to 0.66). Thirty comparisons that involved 9,676 respiratory episodes contributed to the meta-analysis on common cold duration during prophylaxis . A consistent benefit was observed, representing a reduction in cold duration of 8% (95% CI 3% to 13%) for adult participants and 13.5% (95% CI 5% to 21%) for child participants. Fifteen trial comparisons that involved 7,045 respiratory episodes contributed to the meta-analysis of severity of episodes experienced while on prophylaxis. The pooled results revealed a difference favouring those on vitamin C when days confined to home and off work or school were taken as a measure of severity (p = 0.02), and when restricting to studies which used symptom severity scores (p = 0.16), and for the both measures of severity combined (p = 0.004). Seven trial comparisons that involved 3,294 respiratory episodes contributed to the meta-analysis of cold duration during therapy with vitamin C that was initiated after the onset of cold symptoms, and no significant difference from placebo was seen. Four trial comparisons that involved 2,753 respiratory episodes, contributed to the meta-analysis of cold severity during therapy and no significant difference from placebo was seen.In laboratory studies, differing methods of artificial transmission of virus to vitamin C or placebo treated volunteers in residential experiments gave different results. Volunteers infected by nasal installation showed small or no benefit from vitamin C, whereas a group who were infected more naturally, reported less severe symptom severity scores (p = 0.04).
REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS
The failure of vitamin C supplementation to reduce the incidence of colds in the normal population indicates that routine mega-dose prophylaxis is not rationally justified for community use. But evidence shows that it could be justified in persons exposed to brief periods of severe physical exercise and/or cold environments. Also, the consistent and statistically significant small benefits on duration and severity for those using regular vitamin C prophylaxis indicates that vitamin C plays some role in respiratory defence mechanisms. The trials in which vitamin C was introduced at the onset of colds as therapy did not show any benefit in doses up to 4 grams daily, but one large trial reported equivocal benefit from an 8 gram therapeutic dose at onset of symptoms.
Topics: Administration, Oral; Ascorbic Acid; Common Cold; Humans; Respiratory Tract Infections
PubMed: 15495002
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000980.pub2 -
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine... Aug 2019To evaluate the effect and safety of Chinese herbal medicines on Helicobacter pylori (HP)-associated gastroduodenal ulcers. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect and safety of Chinese herbal medicines on Helicobacter pylori (HP)-associated gastroduodenal ulcers.
METHODS
All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) listed in the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, WanFang, China Science and Technology Journal Database and SinoMed databases that were published in English or Chinese were searched, and the retrieval time range was from database inception to December 31, 2018. A comprehensive Meta-analysis of all publications was performed with RevMan 5.3 software, and the quality of the evidence reported in the results of Meta-analysis was analyzed with GRADE profiler software (version 3.6.1). Dichotomous data were analyzed by calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Outcome measures included the HP clearance rate and percentage of adverse effects.
RESULTS
Eight trials with 919 participants were included in this Meta-analysis. Compared with the effects of single drug therapy on HP-associated gastroduodenal ulcers, according to the statistical analysis, odds ratios for the HP clearance rate and percentage of adverse effects of Chinese herbal medicines administered as complementary medicines combined with drugs were 3.10 [95% CI (2.21, 4.36), P < 0.01] and 0.28 [95% CI (0.15, 0.52), P < 0.01], respectively, and the differences were statistically significant. According to the GRADE analysis, the quality of evidence for the HP clearance rate and percentage of adverse effects were both very low.
CONCLUSION
Compared with using the drug therapy only, the combination of Chinese herbal medicines with the drug therapy more effectively eliminates HP and alleviates adverse reactions. However, the available studies were of low quality, and therefore more well-designed studies are required to further confirm the findings.
Topics: Adult; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Female; Helicobacter Infections; Helicobacter pylori; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Peptic Ulcer; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult
PubMed: 32186092
DOI: No ID Found -
Obesity Reviews : An Official Journal... Jun 2019This systematic review of systematic reviews investigated the effectiveness of lifestyle weight management interventions for postnatal women. We systematically reviewed...
This systematic review of systematic reviews investigated the effectiveness of lifestyle weight management interventions for postnatal women. We systematically reviewed Medline (PubMed), Embase, CINAHL Plus, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus from 2000 until January 2018, to identify systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effectiveness of behavioural lifestyle interventions for weight management in postnatal women. Results were summarized both descriptively and statistically using a mega meta-analysis of data from randomized controlled trials included in previous systematic reviews. Nine systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria. Overall the reviews concluded that lifestyle interventions involving physical activity and/or dietary changes resulted in a reduction in postnatal weight. Results from the overall mega meta-analysis confirmed this finding with a mean difference of -1.7 kg (95% CI, -2.3 to -1.1). Findings for subgroup analyses gave mean differences of -1.9 kg (95% CI, -2.9 to -1.0) for combined diet and physical activity interventions, -1.6 kg (95% CI, -2.1 to -1.2) for physical activity-only interventions, and -9.3 kg (95% CI, -16.5 to -2.1) for diet-only interventions (one study). Heterogeneity varied from 0% to 68%. Interventions involving lifestyle interventions appeared to be effective in reducing weight in postnatal women, although these findings should be interpreted with some caution due to statistical heterogeneity.
Topics: Diet; Exercise; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Life Style; Postpartum Period; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Weight Reduction Programs
PubMed: 30941875
DOI: 10.1111/obr.12834 -
Cerebrovascular Diseases (Basel,... 2004Endovascular treatment for carotid artery stenosis avoids some of the complications of carotid endarterectomy, but has not been widely accepted. Concerns about the risks... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Meta-Analysis
Endovascular treatment for carotid artery stenosis avoids some of the complications of carotid endarterectomy, but has not been widely accepted. Concerns about the risks and benefits of endovascular treatment led to the Carotid and Vertebral Artery Transluminal Angioplasty Study (CAVATAS). There was no difference in major outcome events between endovascular treatment and carotid endarterectomy, but the rate of procedural stroke or death was higher than desirable. There was no difference either in the rate of stroke during follow-up, but the confidence intervals were very wide and severe ipsilateral carotid stenosis was more frequent 1 year after endovascular treatment than after carotid surgery. Two other randomised trials of carotid stenting were stopped early after poor outcomes in stented patients. These early trials used techniques which have now been superseded, but the results emphasise the need to improve the safety of endovascular treatment. Recent advances designed to improve safety include new designs of stents and delivery systems, and devices designed to protect the brain from embolisation during stenting. However, there is little convincing evidence that these new devices reduce the rate of stroke. Moreover, a systematic review of the existing randomised trial data concluded that there the current evidence does not support a shift away from recommending carotid endarterectomy as the standard treatment for carotid stenosis. There is therefore a clear need for further randomised trials of carotid stenting. Three of the ongoing trials, EVA-3S, SPACE and ICSS (CAVATAS-2), have prospectively agreed to combine individual patient data after completion of follow-up. This meta-analysis will provide results similar to a mega-trial and should also allow informative subgroup analyses. The co-operation between the trials in agreeing to perform this meta-analysis is a major advance in trial design. The result should determine whether carotid stenting truly rivals carotid endarterectomy as the treatment of choice for carotid stenosis.
Topics: Carotid Stenosis; Endarterectomy, Carotid; Humans; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Risk Factors; Stents; Stroke
PubMed: 15178988
DOI: 10.1159/000078750