scholarly journals Tai Chi and other mind–body interventions for cancer-related fatigue: an updated systematic review and network meta-analyses protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. e052137
Author(s):  
Hong-Juan Fu ◽  
Hao Zhou ◽  
Yong Tang ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Da Zhang ◽  
...  

IntroductionFatigue is one of the most common symptoms in patients with cancer and is responsible for a reduced quality of life. There is a strong evidence base for mind–body interventions (MBIs) to manage cancer-related fatigue (CRF). However, the efficacy of Tai Chi and other MBIs in the treatment of CRF remains controversial.Methods and analysisWe will perform a systematic review and network meta-analyses (NMAs) that aim to assess the effects of Tai Chi and other MBIs in patients with CRF. The following databases will be searched from their inception to 1 August 2021: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, OVID, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Database and Wan Fang Digital Journals. We will include randomised controlled trials that compare MBIs with no treatment, placebo and usual care in the treatment of CRF. The primary outcome will be changes in the fatigue state as evaluated by validated scales. We will perform a Bayesian NMA to analyse all the evidence for each outcome. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve and the mean ranks will be used to rank the various treatments. We will assess the quality of evidence contributing to network estimates of outcomes using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system framework.Ethics and disseminationThis NMAs will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Since no individual patient data will be involved in the review, ethics approval and concerns about privacy are not needed.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021244999.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Shaojun Liao ◽  
Xiankun Chen ◽  
Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg ◽  
Gaetano Marrone ◽  
...  

Background. Depression is a debilitating comorbidity of heart failure (HF) that needs assessment and management. Along with mind-body exercise to deal with HF with depression, the use of TaiChi and/or Qigong practices (TQPs) has increased. Therefore, this systematic review assesses the effects of TQPs on depression among patients with HF. Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the effect of TQPs on depression in patients with HF were searched by five databases (PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, CINAHL, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)). With standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), random-effects meta-analyses of the effect of TQPs on depressive symptoms were performed. Results. Of eight included RCTs, seven (481 patients) provided data for the meta-analysis. The pooling revealed that TQPs contribute to depression remission in HF (SMD −0.66; 95% CI −0.98 to −0.33, P < 0.0001 ; I2 = 64%). Its antidepressive effect was not influenced by intervention duration or exercise setting, but rather by ejection fraction subtype, depressive severity, and depression instruments. The beneficial effects were preserved when the study with the largest effect was removed. Conclusion. This study suggests that TQPs might be a good strategy for alleviating depressive symptoms in patients with HF. And rigorous-design RCTs, which focus on the identified research gaps, are needed to further establish the therapeutic effects of TQPs for depression in HF.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e049213
Author(s):  
Karla Morganna Pereira Pinto de Mendonça ◽  
Sean Collins ◽  
Tácito ZM Santos ◽  
Gabriela Chaves ◽  
Sarah Leite ◽  
...  

IntroductionButeyko method is recommended as a non-pharmacological treatment for people with asthma. Although the worldwide interest in the Buteyko method, there is a paucity of studies gathering evidence to support its use. Therefore, we aim to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effects of the Buteyko method in children and adults with asthma.Methods and analysisWe will search on Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, US National Institutes of Health Ongoing Trials Register ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for studies focusing on the Buteyko method for children and adults with asthma. The searches will be carried out in September 2021 from database’s inception to the present. We will include randomised controlled trials comparing Buteyko method alone with asthma education or inactive control intervention. There will be no restriction on language. Primary outcomes include quality of life, asthma symptoms and adverse events/side effects. Two review authors will independently screen the studies for inclusion and extract data. We will assess the quality of the included studies using the ‘Risk of Bias’ tool. The certainty of the evidence will be assessed using the GRADE approach. Data synthesis will be conducted using Review Manager software. Reporting of the review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidance and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.Ethics and disseminationThis study will assess and provide evidence for the use of the Buteyko method in people with asthma. We will analyse secondary data and this does not require ethics approval. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals, at relevant conferences and will be shared in plain language in social media. Moreover, the findings of this review could guide the direction of healthcare practice and research.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020193132.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e042997
Author(s):  
Lili Chen ◽  
Xinhua Xu ◽  
Huizhen Cao ◽  
Hong Li

IntroductionAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease and is characterised by cognitive impairment. Non-pharmacological treatments such as diet therapy have been widely investigated in studies on AD. Given the synergistic effects of nutrients present in foods, considering overall dietary composition rather than focusing on a single nutrient may be more useful for evaluating the relationship between diet and AD cognition. The present study aimed to assess the efficacy of different dietary interventions (eg, ketogenic and Mediterranean diets) on cognitive function in patients with AD in a systematic review and pairwise and network meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials or clinical trials.Methods and analysisTwo reviewers will independently conduct searches of PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. Data will be extracted from selected studies and risk of bias will be assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and evidence quality will be assessed according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework. The primary outcome of interest is cognitive function in patients with AD; secondary outcomes include biochemical biomarkers of AD and oxidative stress and/or inflammatory biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid or plasma. For each outcome, random-effects pairwise and network meta-analyses will be carried out to determine the pooled relative effect of each intervention relative to every other intervention.Ethics and disseminationAs this study is based solely on published literature, no ethics approval is required. The research will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e045819
Author(s):  
Jinhui Ma ◽  
Megan Cheng ◽  
Lehana Thabane ◽  
Caihong Ma ◽  
Ning Zhang ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe aetiology of sleep disruptions is unknown, but hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and menopause have been shown to potentially affect how well a woman sleeps. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate whether hormonal contraceptives are associated with a decreased quality of sleep and increased sleep duration in women of reproductive age.MethodsThis review will analyse data from randomised controlled trials or non-randomised comparative studies investigating the association between hormonal contraceptives and sleep outcomes among women of reproductive age. Reviews addressing the same research question with similar eligibility criteria will be included. A literature search will be performed using the MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases from inception to 7 March 2021. The Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias for Randomised Trials V.2.0 and The Risk of Bias for Non-randomised Studies of Interventions tool will be used to assess risk of bias for each outcome in eligible studies. Two reviewers will independently assess eligibility of studies and risk of bias and extract the data. All extracted data will be presented in tables and narrative form. For sleep measures investigated by two or more studies with low heterogeneity, we will conduct random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the magnitude of the overall effect of hormonal contraceptives. If studies included in this systematic review form a connected network, a network meta-analysis will be conducted to estimate the comparative effect of different contraceptives. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach will be used to summarise the quality of evidence. Our protocol follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Protocols 2015 guidelines.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required as data were sourced from previously reported studies. The findings of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at relevant conferences.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020199958.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e041184
Author(s):  
Dan Wang ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Feilong Zhu ◽  
Qianqin Hong ◽  
Ming Zhang ◽  
...  

IntroductionBoth physical and mental disorders may be exacerbated in patients with COVID-19 due to the experience of receiving intensive care; undergoing prolonged mechanical ventilation, sedation, proning and paralysis. Pulmonary rehabilitation is aimed to improve dyspnoea, relieve anxiety and depression, reduce the incidence of related complications, as well as prevent and improve dysfunction. However, the impact of respiratory rehabilitation on discharged patients with COVID-19 is currently unclear, especially on patients who have been mechanically ventilated over 24 hours. Therefore, we aim to investigate the efficacy of respiratory rehabilitation programmes, initiated after discharge from the intensive care unit, on the physical and mental health and health-related quality of life in critical patients with COVID-19.Methods and analysisWe have registered the protocol on PROSPERO and in the process of drafting it, we strictly followed the checklist of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Potocols. We will search the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, VIP information databases and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. Additionally, ongoing trials in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, ClinicalTrials.gov and ISRCTN registry will be searched as well. Studies in English or Chinese and from any country will be accepted regardless of study design. Two review authors will independently extract data and assess the quality of included studies. Continuous data are described as standard mean differences (SMDs) with 95% CIs. Dichotomous data from randomised controlled trials are described as risk ratio(RR) with 95% CIs; otherwise, it is described as odds ratio(OR) with 95% CIs. I2 and the Cochrane’s Q statistic will be used to conduct heterogeneity assessment. The quality of evidence of main outcomes will be evaluated according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation(GRADE) criteria. When included studies are sufficient, we will conduct subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis; the publication bias will be statistically analysed using a funnel plot analysis and Egger’s test.Ethics and disseminationOur review, planning to include published studies, does not need the request to the ethical committee. The final results of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal after completion.Patient and public involvementNo patient involved.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020186791.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. e019066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Ye ◽  
Ling-Yong Xiao ◽  
Yi-Hua Liu ◽  
Jing-Wen Yang ◽  
Chao-Qun Yan ◽  
...  

IntroductionThis systematic review protocol aims to provide the methods used to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapy for treating vascular dementia.Methods and analysisThe following eight databases will be searched from inception to July 2017: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database and Wanfang Database. All randomised controlled trials in English or Chinese related to acupuncture for vascular dementia will be included. Outcomes will include change in cognitive function and activities of daily living. The incidence of adverse events will be assessed for safety evaluation. Study inclusion, data extraction and quality assessment will be performed independently by two reviewers. Assessment of risk of bias and data synthesis will be performed using Review Manager software.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required because individual patient data are not included. The findings of this systematic review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication or conference presentations.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017071820.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e040962
Author(s):  
Mathilda Björk ◽  
Björn Gerdle ◽  
Gunilla Liedberg ◽  
Frida Svanholm ◽  
Marco Solmi ◽  
...  

IntroductionWork absenteeism due to chronic non-malignant pain (CNMP) is a major societal and individual cause of concern that requires effective treatments.ObjectiveWe present a protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) aiming to compare available interventions for return to work (RTW) in adults with CNMP.Methods and analysisPubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases will be searched till 31 August 2020 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining interventions for RTW outcomes among patients with CNMP. Two independent investigators will search the databases, perform data extraction and assess the methodological quality of the selected RCTs. The primary outcome will be RTW, if possible, full-time or part-time after work absence due to chronic pain from baseline to the last available follow-up. Secondary outcomes will include self-reported workability or work capacity, or self-reported physical functioning and quality of life as measured by any validated scale. Pairwise meta-analysis and NMA will be conducted for each outcome using a random-effects model. For the primary outcomes, we will also obtain the ranking of all competing interventions within each NMA using surface under the cumulative ranking curve. The assumption of coherence (ie, that direct and indirect evidence are in statistical agreement) will be examined using both a local and a global approach. We will also conduct subgroup and meta-regression analyses, whenever feasible, to investigate the unexplained variation in effect size. The comparison-adjusted funnel plot will be used to evaluate small-study effects. The overall quality of evidence will be rated with the Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis tool. Data analysis will be conducted using Stata V.16.0.Ethics and disseminationThis systematic review does not require ethical approval since it will not disseminate any private patient data. The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020171429.


2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (10) ◽  
pp. 1686-1694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bavand Bikdeli ◽  
Renuka Visvanathan ◽  
David Jimenez ◽  
Manuel Monreal ◽  
Samuel Z. Goldhaber ◽  
...  

AbstractAlthough prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE) is recommended after many surgeries, evidence base for use of VTE prophylaxis after foot or ankle surgery has been elusive, leading into varying guidelines recommendations and notable practice variations. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine if use of VTE prophylaxis decreased the frequency of subsequent VTE, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE), compared with control. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov through May 2018, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or prospective controlled observational studies of VTE prophylaxis in patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery. Our search retrieved 263 studies, of which 6 were finally included comprising 1,600 patients. Patients receiving VTE prophylaxis had lower risk for subsequent DVT (risk ratio [RR]: 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55–0.94) and subsequent VTE (RR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.55–0.94). There was only one case of nonfatal PE, no cases of fatal PE, and no change in all-cause mortality (RR: 3.51; 95% CI: 0.14–84.84). There was no significant difference in the risk for bleeding (RR: 2.12; 95% CI: 0.53–8.56). Very few RCTs exist regarding the efficacy and safety of VTE prophylaxis in foot and ankle surgery. Prophylaxis appears to reduce the risk of subsequent VTE, but the event rates are low and symptomatic events are rare. Future studies should determine the subgroups of patients undergoing foot or ankle surgery in whom prophylaxis may be most useful.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. e034846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutger MJ de Zoete ◽  
James H McAuley ◽  
Nigel R Armfield ◽  
Michele Sterling

IntroductionNeck pain is a global burdensome problem, with a large proportion of neck pain cases becoming chronic. Although physical exercise is a commonly prescribed treatment, the evidence on the effectiveness of isolated exercise interventions remains limited. Traditional pairwise randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses are limited in only comparing two interventions. This protocol describes the design of a network meta-analysis, which enables a comparative investigation of all physical exercise interventions for which RCTs are available. We aim to systematically compare the effectiveness of different types of physical exercise in people with chronic non-specific neck pain.Methods and analysisNine electronic databases (AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, PsycINFO, Scopus and SPORTDiscus) were searched for RCTs from inception to 12 March 2019. Titles and abstract firstly, and full-text papers secondly, will be screened by two reviewers. Data will be extracted by two reviewers. The primary outcome measure is effectiveness of the intervention. Methodological quality of included studies will be assessed by two reviewers using the PEDro scale. The overall quality of evidence will be assessed with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework, which has been adapted for network meta-analyses. The available evidence will be summarised using a network diagram. A contribution matrix will be presented to allow assessment of direct and indirect evidence. Forest plots will be constructed to visualise effects of all included exercise interventions. Pairwise effect sizes will be calculated by including all evidence available in the network. Effect measures for treatments that have not been compared in a pairwise RCT can be compared indirectly by contrasting effect sizes of comparisons with a common comparator.Ethics and disseminationThis work synthesises evidence from previously published studies and does not require ethics review or approval. A manuscript describing the findings will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019126523.


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