Objective To evaluate the diagnosis value of temporal Done high-resolution computed tornography (HRCT) in cholesteatoma. Methods There were 30 causes that had received the mastoid surgery because of cholesteatoma. Each patient’s mastoid plain films (Schuller’s and Mayer’s ) and HRCT had been taken and compared with each other and surgical findings and evaluated with health economic evaluation methods. Results The sensitivity rate in diagnosing cholesteatoma with HRCF was much higher than that with mastoid film (Plt;0.005). The more important benefit with HRCT was that it can afford the detail information in ear such as the ossicular chain, facial nerve canal, tympanic sinus, etc. which were basis for otologist in surgery to remove the focus thoroughly and reconstruct the middle ear function at the same time. In the view of health economic evaluation, HRCT is also much better than mastoid X-ray film. Conclusion HRCT should replace masloid Schuller’s and Mayer’s film in diagnosis cholesteatoma and HRCT should use as ordinary examination in chronic otitis media.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical, radiographic characteristics and differential diagnosis of pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) mimicking metastasis of cancer in radiography.
MethodsClinical data of 2 patients with PLCH manifesting as metastatic cancer on HRCT and PET/CT were retrospectively analyzed. Patients reported as PLCH on WanFang Database, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database and Pubmed were reviewed to screen misdiagnosis literature and further analyzed the clinical and radiographic characteristics.
ResultsTwo cases both presented with cough and sputum. 18F-FDG PET/CT showed increased 18F-FDG up-take in both nodules in the lungs. One patient presented with multiple nodules, diffuse multiple cystic changes in lungs and osteoclasia in the right 4th rib on HRCT who was diagnosed by a video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy of rib biopsy. The other patient presented with diffuse multiple nodules on HRCT who was diagnosed by a video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy of lung biopsy. The pathological characteristics of both biopsy specimen demonstrated infiltration by Langerhans cells (LC) and eosinophils. The LC were positive for CD1a. Literature review found seven PLCH cases who were misdignosed as depression, eosinophilic pneumonia, interstitial lung disease involvement of autoimmune disorders and malignant tumor.
ConclusionWhen clinician faced with a patient suspected as metastatic cancer by HRCT and PET/CT, it is reasonable to consider PLCH as a differential diagnosis and obtain the pathological information as soon as possible so that better prognosis can be achieved through early intervention.
ObjectivesTo collect the methodology and original articles on the published cohort multiple randomized controlled trial (cmRCT), and evaluate the development and application of cmRCT.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, CNKI, WanFang Data and CBM databases were electronically searched to collect studies on cmRCT from inception to September 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies, then qualitative analysis was conducted.ResultsA total of 21 studies were enrolled, including 5 original studies and 16 methodology studies. The design of cmRCT was proposed in year 2010 and continuous progress was observed, including aspect of informed consent and statistical analysis, etc. This design has been mainly utilized for chronic diseases (oncology etc.) in Europe; most of these ongoing studies were unpublished. However, to our knowledge, there were none published Chinese original studies or protocols using cmRCT design.ConclusionscmRCT design has been continuously developed and applied since its introduction. This design can be considered in Chinese studies based on Chinese large cohorts to provide more evidence for disease prevention and treatment.
Objective To assess the effectiveness of statins in treating early diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Methods We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 2, 2009), MEDLINE (1991 to August 2009), EMbase (1991 to August 2009), CBMdisc (1991 to August 2009) and CNKI (1994 to August 2009). We also handsearched relevant journals and conference proceedings. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which statins were used to treat patients with early DKD were collected. Then we screened the retrieved studies according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, evaluated the quality of the included studies, and performed meta-analyses by RevMan 4.2 software. Results A total of 281 articles were found and 22 articles inolving 1838 patients were finally included. All these articles were regarded as low quality. We chose the random-effect model to conduct meta-analysis because significant heterogeneities were found among these articles. The results of meta-analysis showed that after treatment with statins, there were significant reductions in urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) (WMD= –55.77, 95%CI –74.20 to –37.34, Plt;0.000 01), serum creatinine (Scr) (WMD= –4.34, 95%CI –6.74 to –1.94, P=0.000 4), C reactive protein (CRP) (WMD= –1.48, 95%CI – 2.32 to – 0.63, P=0.006), total cholesterol (TC) (WMD= –1.33, 95%CI –1.75 to –0.91, Plt;0.000 01), and triglyceride (TG) (WMD= –0.72, 95%CI-1.17 to -0.27, P=0.002) in group treatment compared with group control. Funnel-plot displayed a symmetrical figure, indicating there was no publication bias. No severe adverse effects were found in these articles except 12 patients with high level of transaminase which were cured after using hepatic protect therapy. Conclusion Currently available evidence shows that with the reduction of TC and TG, statins may decrease UAER and Scr in patients with early DKD and the reduction of CRP may be involved in the mechanism. Statins provide effective renal protection and no severe adverse effects in treating early DKD. However, due to lack of quality in the included studies, more studies of better quality should be conducted
The plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is a candidate gene for stroke based on PAI-1's crucial role in fibrinolytic system. However, association studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the association between PAI-1 polymorphisms and stroke susceptibility. To further elucidate the putative association, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide a complete picture of the loci investigated for association of PAI-1 polymorphism with stroke risk and to derive a precise estimation. PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were searched until June 2015 to identify eligible studies. Forty data sets from 39 studies with a total of 8336 cases and 14,403 controls were included. The most commonly investigated polymorphism was -675 4G/5G, followed by -844 G/A, 11053 T > G, HindIII C/G, and (CA)n. Overall, our meta-analysis provided evidence for the significant association of PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism with an increased risk of adult but not pediatric ischemic stroke (adult: 4G/4G vs. 4G/5G + 5G/5G, OR = 1.21, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.42). In the subgroup analysis, significant association was detected in Asians (4G/4G vs. 4G/5G + 5G/5G, OR = 1.45, 95 % CI = 1.14-1.85) but not Caucasians. Moreover, we found that -844 G/A but not 11053 T > G polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke (-844G/A: A/A vs. G/G: OR = 1.32, 95 % CI = 1.01-1.73). A tendency of PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism towards a decreased risk of hemorrhagic stroke was observed (4G/4G + 4G/5G vs. 5G/5G, OR = 0.77, 95 % CI = 0.59-1.02, P = 0.066). Future well-designed studies in large well-characterized sample size and presenting results stratified by gender, age, and stroke subtype are warranted.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) versus anti-coagulation (AC) for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, WanFang Data and CNKI databases to collect randomized clinical trials (RCTs) about CDT versus AC for DVT from inception to March 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and evaluated the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 5 RCTs and 989 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the two group in incidence of post-thrombotic syndrome (RR=0.73, 95%CI 0.49 to 1.09, P=0.13), iliofemoral venous patency rate (RR=2.57, 95%CI 0.59 to 11.24, P=0.21), bleeding (RR=2.03, 95%CI 0.50 to 8.28, P=0.32), severe bleeding (RR=1.77, 95%CI 0.91 to 3.42, P=0.09) and recurrence rate of venous thromboembolism (RR=1.00, 95%CI 0.42 to 2.36, P=0.99). However, the incidence of moderate-severe PTS decreased in CDT group was lower than that in the control group (RR=0.70, 95%CI 0.53 to 0.92, P=0.01). ConclusionsCompared with the control group, catheter-directed thrombolysis does not reduce the incidence of PTS and VTE recurrence rate, cannot improve the long-term patency of the iliofemoral vein, yet can prevent the occurrence of moderate to severe PTS. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of metformin for metabolic syndrome. Methods We searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, China Biological Medicine Database, VIP, and CMAC up to the year of 2007. Handsearches and additional searches were also conducted. Randomized controlled trials of metformin for metabolic syndrome were included. Two reviewers independently extracted data from eligible studies and evaluated the quality of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed for the results of homogeneous studies by The Cochrane Collaboration’s software RevMan 4.2.9. Results Six trials involving a total of 2442 patients with metabolic syndrome were included. Meta-analysis was not performed due to the apparent heterogeneity. Metformin, compared with placebo, exhibited more favorable effects in reducing the proportion of patients with metabolic syndrome (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.60), the proportion of patients with low HDL-c (RR 1.61, 95%CI 1.16 to 2.23), wide waist circumference (RR 1.64, 95%CI 1.06 to 2.55), and high FPG (RR 1.55, 95%CI 1.17 to 2.05). Metformin was also more effective in improving FPG and insulin sensitivity. The addition of metformin to atenolol plus nitrendipine was superior to atenolol plus nitrendipine alone in reducing the proportion of patients with high TG (RR 5.57, 95%CI 1.56 to 19.84), abdominal obesity (RR 14.47, 95%CI 3.34 to 62.61), and IGT (RR 16.51, 95%CI 6.06 to 45.0). Compared with low-fat diet therapy, metformin was superior in improving FPG, 2-hour postload plasma glucose, and insulin sensitivity. No differences were observed between metformin and acarbose in the reduction of TG and FPG, but metformin was less effective than acarbose in improving 2-hour postload plasma glucose. No adverse drug reactions were reported. Conclusion Metformin has beneficial effects in reducing the incidence of high FPG, IGT, and abdominal obesity. It also proved beneficial in reducing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and increasing insulin sensitivity. The therapeutic effects of metformin on blood pressure, obesity, and lipid profile are uncertain. There is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of metformin in the treatment of metabolic syndrome due to low methodological quality, small sample size, and limited number of trials. More high quality, large-scale randomized controlled trials are required.
Objective
To evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of traditional Chinese medicine published inChinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, and to analyze changes.
Methods
We searched CNKI to collect RCTs published inChinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine (CJITWM) in 2014. Reporting quality of RCTs was evaluated by using CONSORT 2010 checklist, the methodological quality and ethics requirements were also analyzed. The changes of quality was also analyzed by comparing with those of 2004.
Results
A total of 80 RCTs were included. The top three interventions were Chinese patent medicine, decoction, acupuncture. Items with high reporting rate (>80%) included abstract, participants, randomization sequences and informed consent. Items with reporting rate of 50% to 80% including introduction, interventions, harms and funding, and others were all less than 50%. Among them, the reporting quality of title, trial design, outcomes, sample size, type of randomization, allocation concealment, blinding, numbers analyzed, outcomes and estimation, generalizability, interpretation, registration and protocol was less than 10%. Compared with those of 2004, the quality of reporting, methodology, and ethics has all increased. Significant progress was made in items of structured summary, background and objectives, collecting participants, adverse reactions, quality control standards of TCM interventions, diagnostic evaluation criteria of TCM, follow-up, funding, ethical approval and informed consent. But small progress was made in randomization, allocation concealment and implementation, sample size, blinding and ITT. There has been no participant flow.
Conclusion
The quality of reporting, methodology, and ethics of RCTs published inChinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine have made some progress, however, trial design, outcomes selection, estimation of sample size, randomization, blinding, registration and participant flow are still needed to be further improved.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid (TXA) in reducing blood transfusion and total blood loss in patients undergoing orthopaedic trauma surgery.MethodsA systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases. A search for grey literature was also performed in American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA). The search time was up to June 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias, then meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14.0 softwares.ResultsA total of 10 studies were included, including 936 patients. The pooled results indicated that TXA group was superior to the control group in blood transfusion (RR=0.75, 95%CI 0.63 to 0.89, P=0.001), the total blood loss (MD=–157.61, 95%CI –250.09 to –65.13, P=0.000 8) and the wound complications (RR=0.24, 95%CI 0.10 to 0.58, P=0.002). There was no significant difference in risk of thromboembolic events (RR=1.25, 95%CI 0.78 to 2.00, P=0.36) and the mortality (RR=0.81, 95%CI 0.40 to 1.66, P=0.57) between TXA and control group.ConclusionsTXA can effectively reduce blood transfusion, total blood loss and wound complications in patients undergoing orthopedic trauma surgery. Furthermore, TXA does not significantly increase the incidence of thromboembolic events and mortality. Due to the limited quality of included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify the above conclusions.
