scholarly journals ‘One-Stop Shopping’ for Information on Conducting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis in Animal Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 2-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Sargeant ◽  
A. M. O'Connor
2017 ◽  
Vol 181 (8) ◽  
pp. 198-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Lees ◽  
L. Pelligand ◽  
M. Whiting ◽  
D. Chambers ◽  
P-L. Toutain ◽  
...  

Part 2 of this narrative review outlines the theoretical and practical bases for assessing the efficacy and effectiveness of conventional medicines and homeopathic products. Known and postulated mechanisms of action are critically reviewed. The evidence for clinical efficacy of products in both categories, in the form of practitioner experience, meta-analysis and systematic reviews of clinical trial results, is discussed. The review also addresses problems and pitfalls in assessing data, and the ethical and negative aspects of pharmacology and homeopathy in veterinary medicine.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Gladys Kusumowidagdo ◽  
Randy Sarayar ◽  
Kartika Rahayu ◽  
Gitalisa Andayani

Background: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the main cause of visual impairment in diabetic retinopathy (DR). Current gold standard therapy of DME is macular laser photocoagulation (MPC). Growing evidences have shown benefits of intravitreal anti-VEGF agents (i.e bevacizumab) and intravitreal corticosteroids (i.e triamcinolone acetonide). Aim: To compare the visual acuity (VA) improvement of patients with DME, treated with intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB), a combination of IVB and intravitreal triamcinolone (IVB/IVT), and MPC. Method: A comprehensive PubMed® and Cochrane® databases search was conducted on May 4th, 2017 using appropriate keywords (diabetic macular edema, bevacizumab, triamcinolone, and laser photocoagulation using their MeSH terms). Studies were filtered using inclusion criterions (clinical trials, RCT, meta-analysis, systematic review, English, humans, and publication within 10 years) Results: Three studies (2 systematic reviews and 1 RCT) were found suitable. From these results, all studies showed favoring effects of IVB when compared to IVB/IVT combination and MPC in short term period (up to 6 months). However, there was no significant improvement of VA beyond this period in all groups. Conclusion: IVB appears to be superior to IVB/IVT and MPC in improving VA during 6 months follow- up period. Future systematic reviews and meta-analysis are required on the effect of IVB and MPC combination in cases of DME.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-255
Author(s):  
Sierra-Puente D. ◽  
Abadi-Alfie S. ◽  
Arakanchi-Altaled K. ◽  
Bogard-Brondo M. ◽  
García-Lascurain M. ◽  
...  

Spices such as cinnamon (Cinnamomum Spp.) have been of interest due to their phytochemical composition that exert hypoglycemic effects with potential for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We summarize data from 27 manuscripts that include, one book chapter, 3 review articles, 10 randomized controlled trials, 4 systematic reviews with meta-analysis, and 9 preclinical studies. The most frequently used cinnamon variety was Cinnamomum cassia rather than the Cinnamomum zeylanicum, whereas outcomes were defined as fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and oral glucose tolerance test. A great variability in methodology such as different doses (from 120 mg to 6 g), duration of intervention, data retrieved and use of different concomitant medication, were found to be key aspects of most of trials and systematic reviews with meta-analysis available to date. Low quality studies have been made in most cases with a lot of heterogeneity clouding significance of results. More research needs to be done in order to yield accurate evidence for evidence-based recommendations. Its use is not currently a reliable nor advisable option for the treatment of T2DM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3607
Author(s):  
Hoofar Shokravi ◽  
Hooman Shokravi ◽  
Norhisham Bakhary ◽  
Mahshid Heidarrezaei ◽  
Seyed Saeid Rahimian Koloor ◽  
...  

A large number of research studies in structural health monitoring (SHM) have presented, extended, and used subspace system identification. However, there is a lack of research on systematic literature reviews and surveys of studies in this field. Therefore, the current study is undertaken to systematically review the literature published on the development and application of subspace system identification methods. In this regard, major databases in SHM, including Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, have been selected and preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) has been applied to ensure complete and transparent reporting of systematic reviews. Along this line, the presented review addresses the available studies that employed subspace-based techniques in the vibration-based damage detection (VDD) of civil structures. The selected papers in this review were categorized into authors, publication year, name of journal, applied techniques, research objectives, research gap, proposed solutions and models, and findings. This study can assist practitioners and academicians for better condition assessment of structures and to gain insight into the literature.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e048119
Author(s):  
Dyuti Coomar ◽  
Jonathan M Hazlehurst ◽  
Frances Austin ◽  
Charlie Foster ◽  
Graham A Hitman ◽  
...  

IntroductionMothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased risk of pregnancy-related complications and developing type 2 diabetes after delivery. Diet and physical activity-based interventions may prevent GDM, but variations in populations, interventions and outcomes in primary trials have limited the translation of available evidence into practice. We plan to undertake an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of randomised trials to assess the differential effects and cost-effectiveness of diet and physical activity-based interventions in preventing GDM and its complications.MethodsThe International Weight Management in Pregnancy Collaborative Network database is a living repository of IPD from randomised trials on diet and physical activity in pregnancy identified through a systematic literature search. We shall update our existing search on MEDLINE, Embase, BIOSIS, LILACS, Pascal, Science Citation Index, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and Health Technology Assessment Database without language restriction to identify relevant trials until March 2021. Primary researchers will be invited to join the Network and share their IPD. Trials including women with GDM at baseline will be excluded. We shall perform a one and two stage random-effect meta-analysis for each intervention type (all interventions, diet-based, physical activity-based and mixed approach) to obtain summary intervention effects on GDM with 95% CIs and summary treatment–covariate interactions. Heterogeneity will be summarised using I2 and tau2 statistics with 95% prediction intervals. Publication and availability bias will be assessed by examining small study effects. Study quality of included trials will be assessed by the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations approach will be used to grade the evidence in the results. A model-based economic analysis will be carried out to assess the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent GDM and its complications compared with usual care.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required. The study is registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42020212884). Results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.


Respiration ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Kerrie A. Sullivan ◽  
Isabella F. Churchill ◽  
Danielle A. Hylton ◽  
Waël C. Hanna

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Currently, consensus on the effectiveness of incentive spirometry (IS) following cardiac, thoracic, and upper abdominal surgery has been based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews of lower methodological quality. To improve the quality of the research and to account for the effects of IS following thoracic surgery, in addition to cardiac and upper abdominal surgery, we performed a meta-analysis with thorough application of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation scoring system and extensive reference to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The objective of this study was to determine, with rigorous methodology, whether IS for adult patients (18 years of age or older) undergoing cardiac, thoracic, or upper abdominal surgery significantly reduces30-day post-operative pulmonary complications (PPCs), 30-day mortality, and length of hospital stay (LHS) when compared to other rehabilitation strategies. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The literature was searched using Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science for RCTs between the databases’ inception and March 2019. A random-effect model was selected to calculate risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Thirty-one RCTs involving 3,776 adults undergoing cardiac, thoracic, or upper abdominal surgery were included. By comparing the use of IS to other chest rehabilitation strategies, we found that IS alone did not significantly reduce 30-day PPCs (RR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.88–1.13) or 30-day mortality (RR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.42–1.25). Likewise, there was no difference in LHS (mean difference = −0.17,95% CI: −0.65 to 0.30) between IS and the other rehabilitation strategies. None of the included trials significantly impacted the sensitivity analysis and publication bias was not detected. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> This meta-analysis showed that IS alone likely results in little to no reduction in the number of adult patients with PPCs, in mortality, or in the LHS, following cardiac, thoracic, and upper abdominal surgery.


2021 ◽  
pp. 193229682110124
Author(s):  
Aaron Drovandi ◽  
Shannon Wong ◽  
Leonard Seng ◽  
Benjamin Crowley ◽  
Chanika Alahakoon ◽  
...  

Background: Diabetes-related foot disease (DFD) management requires input from multiple healthcare professionals, and has worse outcomes for people living in remote localities by comparison to urban areas. Remotely delivered healthcare may reduce this disparity. This overview summarizes current evidence on the effectiveness, stakeholder perceptions, and cost-effectiveness of remotely delivered healthcare for DFD. Methods: A search of 5 databases was conducted to identify systematic reviews published between January 2000 and June 2020. Eligible reviews were those evaluating remotely delivered monitoring or management of patients at risk of or with active DFD, or clinicians managing these patients. Risk of bias was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 tool. Results: Eight reviews were eligible for inclusion, including 88 primary studies and 8509 participants, of which 36 studies involving 4357 participants evaluated remotely delivered monitoring or management of DFD. Only one review had a low risk of bias, with most reviews demonstrating limited search strategies and poor reporting of participants. Evidence on effectiveness was mixed, with meta-analyses demonstrating long-term ulcer healing and mortality were not significantly different between telehealth and standard care groups, although the lower-limb amputation rate was significantly decreased in one meta-analysis. Perceptions of telehealth by patients and clinicians were generally positive, whilst acknowledging limitations relating to access and use. Cost-effectiveness data were limited, with poor reporting preventing clear conclusions. Conclusions: Remotely delivered healthcare of DFD is well received by patients and clinicians, but its effectiveness is unclear. High quality trials are needed to evaluate the risks and benefits of remotely delivered DFD management.


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