scholarly journals Acupuncture for Hypertension in Animal Models: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Ling-Yong Xiao ◽  
Zheng Li ◽  
Yu-Zheng Du ◽  
Hui-Yan Shi ◽  
Si-Qi Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Blood Pressure ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Sham Acupuncture ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Biomedical Literature ◽  
Acupuncture Group ◽  
Sham Acupuncture Group

Objective. The aim of this study was to summarize and evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in hypertension animal study. Methods. Studies were searched from six databases, including Medline, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP information database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. Study quality of each included study was evaluated according to the Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines, and the risk of bias was evaluated by the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) tool. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were selected as outcomes. Meta-analyses were performed using Stata 12.0 software. The effect size was calculated by combining SBP/DBP/MAP data with the random effects model, respectively. Results. 67 studies containing 1522 animals were included. According to the ARRIVE guideline, 8 items were assessed as poor and 4 items were assessed as excellent. According to the SYRCLE tool, all studies were judged as having high risk of bias. Compared with the hypertension group, the pooled results showed significant antihypertension effects of acupuncture for SBP, DBP, and MAP. Similarly, compared with the sham-acupuncture group, the pooled results showed significant antihypertension effects of acupuncture for SBP, DBP, and MAP. Conclusion. Although pooled data suggested that the acupuncture group was superior to the hypertension group or sham-acupuncture group for SBP/DBP/MAP, the presentation of poor methodological quality, high risk of bias, and heterogeneity deserves cautious interpretation of the results.

scholarly journals Acupuncture as an Add-On Treatment for Functional Dyspepsia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chan-Young Kwon ◽  
Seok-Jae Ko ◽  
Boram Lee ◽  
Jae Myung Cha ◽  
Jin Young Yoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Functional Dyspepsia ◽  
Methodological Quality ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Effective Rate ◽  
Sham Acupuncture ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Acupuncture Group

Background: We aimed to critically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture as an add-on therapy to conventional Western medication (WM) and assess the quality of evidence (QoE) of these findings.Methods: A total of 12 English, Korean, and Chinese databases were searched on December 18, 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture as an add-on therapy to conventional WM for functional dyspepsia (FD) were included. The primary outcome was the symptom score of FD. The risk of bias of the included studies and QoE were evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation method, respectively.Results: A total of 22 RCTs were included. The total and individual FD symptom scores were significantly improved in the acupuncture combined with WM groups compared with the WM alone groups, except for in one study. The Nepean dyspepsia index score and total effective rate mostly improved significantly in the acupuncture group, regardless of the WM used and acupuncture type. FD-related biomarkers, such as ghrelin and gastrin levels, showed mixed results. The acupuncture group showed a significantly lower recurrence rate after 3–6 months of follow-up than the WM alone group. There were no differences in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups. The included studies generally had low methodological quality. The QoE for the main findings was generally very low to moderate.Conclusion: Limited evidence suggests that acupuncture has the potential to improve FD treatment in combination with conventional WM. Furthermore, the methodological quality of the included studies and QoE of the main findings were generally low. Therefore, RCTs with a rigorous methodology, including sham acupuncture and multiethnic subjects, should be performed.Systematic Review Registration: OSF registries [https://osf.io/mxren], PROSPERO [CRD42021226608].

What Types of Exercise Are More Effective in Reducing Obesity and Blood Pressure for Middle-Aged Women? A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 109980042110154
Author(s):  
Seong-Hi Park ◽  
Chul-Gyu Kim
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Waist Circumference ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Physical Activities ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Middle Aged

Background: A systematic review was performed to identify the types of physical activities effective as interventions in preventing metabolic syndrome in middle-aged women. Methods: Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and CINAHL) served as the data sources. Cochrane’s Risk of Bias 2 was applied to assess the risk of bias of the randomized controlled trials. Meta-analyses were performed on selected studies using Review Manager 5.3. Thirty-one trials enrolling 2,202 participants were included. Results: Compared to controls, the effects of physical activity were indicated by pooled mean differences, which were −0.57 kg for body weight, −0.43 kg/m2 for body mass index, −1.63 cm for waist circumference, −4.89 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (BP), and −2.71 mmHg for diastolic BP. The effects were greater on the measurements of waist circumference and BP than on body weight and BMI. The types of physical activities were further analyzed according to sub-groups. Only aerobic exercise did not affect body weight and resistance exercise did not significantly change any results. Contrarily, combined exercises significantly reduced measurements of waist circumference and BP. Conclusion: This review can provide valuable information for research and implementation of measures to prevent metabolic syndrome in middle-aged women.

The Effect of Plantago major on Wound Healing in Preclinical Studies: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Fernanda Cardoso ◽  
Jéssica Breder ◽  
Priscila Apolinário ◽  
Henrique Oliveia ◽  
Maria Saidel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Wound Healing ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Preclinical Studies ◽  
Plantago Major ◽  
Best Response ◽  
Meta Analyses

BACKGROUND: Plantago major is a medicinal plant that has been used for centuries to treat various health conditions including wounds. PURPOSE: To investigate the effectiveness of the topical use of P major in healing skin wounds in animal models. METHODS: Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a systematic review was conducted. Seven (7) electronic databases (Virtual Health Library, Public/Publisher MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and CAB Direct) were searched for controlled studies published in English from January 2006 to March 2020. The Collaborative Approach to Meta Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies tools guided the evaluation of the studies and determined their quality. The Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation was used to assess the risk of bias. RESULTS: Of the 176 publications identified, 4 met the inclusion criteria. Studies included 20 to 100 animals and varying concentrations of P major. There were no reports of losses during research. Wound healing was assessed between 17 and 21 days following wounding. The best response in terms of wound contraction rate occurred with 10%, 20%, and 50% concentrations when compared with control groups. One (1) study did not have an animal ethics committee review. All studies had a high risk of bias and a lack of methodological rigor. CONCLUSION: The results of this review did not find evidence about the in vivo effectiveness of P major for wound healing. More rigorous preclinical studies with adequate sample sizes are required to identify the best concentrations and formulations as well as increase understanding about the mechanisms of action of P major in wound healing.

scholarly journals Rapid diagnostic test for antenatal syphilis screening in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e018132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Phang Romero Casas ◽  
Marrissa Martyn-St James ◽  
Jean Hamilton ◽  
Daniel S Marinho ◽  
Rodolfo Castro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Sensitivity And Specificity ◽  
Methodological Quality ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Antenatal Clinics

ObjectivesTo undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the test performance including sensitivity and specificity of rapid immunochromatographic syphilis (ICS) point-of-care (POC) tests at antenatal clinics compared with reference standard tests (non-treponemal (TP) and TP tests) for active syphilis in pregnant women.MethodsFive electronic databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, CRD, Cochrane Library and LILACS) to March 2016 for diagnostic accuracy studies of ICS test and standard reference tests for syphilis in pregnant women. Methodological quality was assessed using QUADAS-2 (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies). A bivariate meta-analysis was undertaken to generate pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters. Results were presented using a coupled forest plot of sensitivity and specificity and a scatter plot.ResultsThe methodological quality of the five included studies with regards to risk of bias and applicability concern judgements was either low or unclear. One study was judged as high risk of bias for patient selection due to exclusion of pregnant women with a previous history of syphilis, and one study was judged at high risk of bias for study flow and timing as not all patients were included in the analysis. Five studies contributed to the meta-analysis, providing a pooled sensitivity and specificity for ICS of 0.85 (95% CrI: 0.73 to 0.92) and 0.98 (95% CrI: 0.95 to 0.99), respectively.ConclusionsThis review and meta-analysis observed that rapid ICS POC tests have a high sensitivity and specificity when performed in pregnant women at antenatal clinics. However, the methodological quality of the existing evidence base should be taken into consideration when interpreting these results.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42016036335.

High Risk of Bias and Low Transparency in “How Effective are F-MARC Injury Prevention Programs for Soccer Players? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Thorborg ◽  
Kasper Krommes ◽  
Ernest Esteve ◽  
Mikkel Bek Clausen ◽  
Else Marie Bartels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Injury Prevention ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Soccer Players

scholarly journals Acupuncture for Managing Cancer-Related Insomnia: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Young Choi ◽  
Jong In Kim ◽  
Hyun-Ja Lim ◽  
Myeong Soo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Sham Acupuncture ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
The Other ◽  
Level Of Evidence

Background. Insomnia is a prominent complaint of cancer patients that can significantly affect their quality of life and symptoms related to sleep quality. Conventional drug approaches have a low rate of success in alleviating those suffering insomnia. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in the management of cancer-related insomnia. Methods. A total of 12 databases were searched from their inception through January 2016 without language restriction. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs were included if acupuncture was used as the sole intervention or as an adjunct to another standard treatment for any cancer-related insomnia. The data extraction and the risk of bias assessments were performed by 2 independent reviewers. Results. Of the 90 studies screened, 6 RCTs were included. The risk of bias was generally unclear or low. Three RCTs showed equivalent effects on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and 2 RCTs showed the similar effects on response rate to those of conventional drugs at the end of treatment. The other RCT showed acupuncture was better than hormone therapy in the numbers of hours slept each night and number of times woken up each night. The 3 weeks of follow-up in 2 RCTs showed superior effects of acupuncture compared with conventional drugs, and a meta-analysis showed significant effects of acupuncture. Two RCTs tested the effects of acupuncture on cancer-related insomnia compared with sham acupuncture. One RCT showed favourable effects, while the other trial failed to do so. Conclusion. There is a low level of evidence that acupuncture may be superior to sham acupuncture, drugs or hormones therapy. However, the number of studies and effect size are small for clinical significance. Further clinical trials are warranted.

scholarly journals Risk Prediction Models for Liver Cancer in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maomao Cao ◽  
He Li ◽  
Dianqin Sun ◽  
Siyi He ◽  
Yadi Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Risk Prediction ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Risk Models ◽  
Risk Prediction Models ◽  
Prediction Risk

Abstract Background Prediction of liver cancer risk is beneficial to define high-risk population of liver cancer and guide clinical decisions. We aimed to review and critically appraise the quality of existing risk-prediction models for liver cancer. Methods This systematic review followed the guidelines of CHARMS (Checklist for Critical Appraisal and data extraction for systematic Reviews of prediction Modelling Studies) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta (PRISMA). We searched for PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from inception to July 2020. Prediction model Risk Of Bias Assessment Tool was used to assess the risk of bias of all potential articles. A narrative description and meta-analysis were conducted. Results After removal irrespective and duplicated citations, 20 risk prediction publications were finally included. Within the 20 studies, 15 studies performed model derivation and validation process, three publications only conducted developed procedure without validation and two articles were used to validate existing models. Discrimination was expressed as area under curve or C statistic, which was acceptable for most models, ranging from 0.64 to 0.96. Calibration of the predictions model were rarely assessed. All models were graded at high risk of bias. The risk bias of applicability in 13 studies was considered low. Conclusions This systematic review gives an overall review of the prediction risk models for liver cancer, pointing out several methodological issues in their development. No prediction risk models were recommended due to the high risk of bias.Systematic review registration: This systematic has been registered in PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systemic Review: CRD42020203244).

scholarly journals Do continuous forms of intra-operative ultrafiltration enhance recovery after adult cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass? A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Bierer ◽  
David Horne ◽  
Roger Stanzel ◽  
Mark Henderson ◽  
Leah Boulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cardiac Surgery ◽  
Cardiopulmonary Bypass ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Inflammatory Syndrome ◽  
Adult Cardiac Surgery

Abstract Background Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with a systemic inflammatory syndrome that adversely impacts cardiopulmonary function and can contribute to prolonged postoperative recovery. Intra-operative ultrafiltration during CPB is a strategy developed by pediatric cardiac specialists, aiming to dampen the inflammatory syndrome by removing circulating cytokines and improving coagulation profiles during the cardiac operation. Although ultrafiltration is commonly used in the pediatric population, it is not routinely used in the adult population. This study aims to evaluate if randomized evidence supports the use of continuous intra-operative ultrafiltration to enhance recovery for adults undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB. Methods This systematic review and meta-analysis will include randomized controlled trials (RCT) that feature continuous forms of ultrafiltration during adult cardiac surgery with CPB, specifically assessing for benefit in mortality rates, invasive ventilation time and intensive care unit length of stay (ICU LOS). Relevant RCTs will be retrieved from databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL and Scopus, by a pre-defined search strategy. Search results will be screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria by two independent persons with consensus. Selected RCTs will have study demographics and outcome data extracted by two independent persons and transferred into RevMan. Risk of bias will be independently assessed by the Revised Cochrane Risk-of-Bias (RoB2) tool and studies rated as low-, some-, or high- risk of bias. Meta-analyses will compare the intervention of continuous ultrafiltration against comparators in terms of mortality, ventilation time, ICU LOS, and renal failure. Heterogeneity will be measured by the χ2 test and described by the I2 statistic. A sensitivity analysis will be completed by excluding included studies judged to have a high risk of bias. Summary of findings and certainty of the evidence, determined by the GRADE approach, will display the analysis findings. Discussion The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis will summarize the evidence to date of continuous forms of ultrafiltration in adult cardiac surgery with CPB, to both inform adult cardiac specialists about this technique and identify critical questions for future research in this subject area. Systematic review registration This systematic review and meta-analysis is registered in PROSPERO CRD42020219309 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020219309). 

scholarly journals Is reiki or prayer effective in relieving pain during hospitalization for cesarean? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

2017 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Augusto Rago Ferraz ◽  
Meline Rosseto Kron Rodrigues ◽  
Silvana Andrea Molina Lima ◽  
Marcelo Aparecido Ferraz Lima ◽  
Gabriela Lopes Maia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trials ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Spiritual Healing ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Section Design

ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: This systematic review compared reiki and prayer with drug use for relieving pain during hospitalization for cesarean, given that the popularity of integrative medicine and spiritual healing has been increasing. It had the aim of evaluating whether reiki or prayer is effective in relieving pain during cesarean section. DESIGN AND SETTING: Systematic review with meta-analysis conducted at Botucatu Medical School, UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: The following databases were searched up to March 2016: MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS and CENTRAL. Randomized controlled trials published in English or Portuguese were included in the review. Two reviewers independently screened eligible articles, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. A GRADE table was produced to evaluate the risk of bias. RESULTS: There was evidence with a high risk of bias showing a statistically significant decrease in pain score through use of reiki and prayer, in relation to the protocol group: mean difference = -1.68; 95% confidence interval: -1.92 to -1.43; P < 0.00001; I2 = 92%. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference in heart rate or systolic or diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Evidence with a high risk of bias suggested that reiki and prayer meditation might be associated with pain reduction.

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