Is intramedullary nailing better than the use of volar locking plates for fractures of the distal radius? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 543-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wang ◽  
L. Zhang ◽  
J. Ma ◽  
Y. Yang ◽  
H. Jia ◽  
...  

We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that compared the use of intramedullary nails and volar locking plates in distal radial fractures. PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Collaboration Central database were used to find randomized controlled trials that met the eligibility criteria. Two reviewers screened the studies, extracted the data, evaluated the methodological quality and analysed the data with RevMan 5.1 software. No statistically significant differences were detected in the disability of the arm, shoulder and hand and the Gartland and Werley scores, radiographic parameters, wrist range of motion, grip strength, total complication rate and incidence of tendon rupture between the two groups. However, carpal tunnel syndrome occurred less often after intramedullary nailing. The two fixation methods achieved equal clinical, functional and radiological outcomes for primary fixation of the indicated types of distal radial fractures. Level of evidence: Therapeutic/LevelI

Cartilage ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 194760352090659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Previtali ◽  
Giulia Merli ◽  
Giorgio Di Laura Frattura ◽  
Christian Candrian ◽  
Stefano Zaffagnini ◽  
...  

Objectives To quantify the placebo effect of intraarticular injections for knee osteoarthritis in terms of pain, function, and objective outcomes. Factors influencing placebo effect were investigated. Design Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials; Level of evidence, 2. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and grey literature databases were searched on January 8, 2020, using the string: (knee) AND (osteoarthritis OR OA) AND (injections OR intra-articular) AND (saline OR placebo). The following inclusion criteria were used: double-blind, randomized controlled trials on knee osteoarthritis, including a placebo arm on saline injections. The primary outcome was pain variation. Risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2.0 tool, and quality of evidence was graded following the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) guidelines. Results Out of 2,363 records, 50 articles on 4,076 patients were included. The meta-analysis showed significant improvements up to the 6-month follow-up: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)-pain −13.4 mean difference (MD) (95% confidence interval [CI]: −21.7/−5.1; P < 0.001), Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)-pain −3.3 MD (95% CI: −3.9/−2.7; P < 0.001). Other significant improvements were WOMAC-stiffness −1.1 MD (95% CI: −1.6/−0.6; P < 0.001), WOMAC-function −10.1 MD (95% CI: −12.2/−8.0; P < 0.001), and Evaluator Global Assessment −21.4 MD (95% CI: −29.2/−13.6; P < 0.001). The responder rate was 52% (95% CI: 40% to 63%). Improvements were greater than the “minimal clinically important difference” for all outcomes (except 6-month VAS-pain). The level of evidence was moderate for almost all outcomes. Conclusions The placebo effect of knee injections is significant, with functional improvements lasting even longer than those reported for pain perception. The high, long-lasting, and heterogeneous effects on the scales commonly used in clinical trials further highlight that the impact of placebo should not be overlooked in the research on and management of knee osteoarthritis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 153473541986691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsai-Ju Chien ◽  
Chia-Yu Liu ◽  
Ching-Ju Fang

Background: Breast cancer–related lymphedema (BCRL) is hard to control. Management may include lymphatic drainage, skin care, bandaging, or even surgery. Since acupuncture has been proven to affect the neurophysiology and neuroendocrine systems, it has the potential to control BCRL. Aim: To evaluate the effect of acupuncture in BCRL in randomized controlled trials. Design: A literature search was performed, following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement and without language restrictions. Data Sources: Five databases were searched from inception tthrough September 2018. Only studies that fulfilled the eligibility criteria of evaluating the effect of acupuncture on lymphedema in breast cancer were included. The methodological quality of these trials was assessed using the Cochrane criteria, and meta-analysis software (RevMan 5.3) was used for analysis. Results: We examined 178 breast cancer patients from 6 trials. All included randomized controlled trials had medium to high quality, based on the modified Jadad scale. The systematic review showed that acupuncture is safe and has a trend to improve symptoms, but trials did not consistently measure outcomes. The meta-analysis showed that acupuncture produced no significant improvement in the extent of lymphedema as compared with the control intervention (−1.90; 95% confidence interval = −5.39 to 1.59, P = .29). None of the studies reported severe adverse events. Conclusions: Acupuncture is safe and has a trend to improve the lymphedema related to breast cancer, yet it did not significantly change arm circumference in BCRL. Future studies should include both subjective and objective measurements and large-scale studies are warranted.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 2764-2771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiharu Shimozono ◽  
Eoghan T. Hurley ◽  
C. Lucas Myerson ◽  
Christopher D. Murawski ◽  
John G. Kennedy

Background: Operative treatment is indicated for unstable syndesmosis injuries, and approximately 20% of all ankle fractures require operative fixation for syndesmosis injuries. Purpose: To perform a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating clinical outcomes between suture button (SB) and syndesmotic screw (SS) fixation techniques for syndesmosis injuries of the ankle. Study Design: Meta-analysis. Methods: A literature search was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines to identify randomized controlled trials comparing the SB and SS techniques for syndesmosis injuries. Level of evidence was assessed per the criteria of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Statistical analysis was performed with RevMan, and a P value ≤.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Five clinical studies were identified, allowing comparison of 143 patients in the SB group with 142 patients in the SS group. Patients treated with the SB technique had a higher postoperative American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society score at a mean 20.8 months (95.3 vs 86.7, P < .001). The SB group resulted in a lower rate of broken implants (0.0% vs 25.4%, P < .001), implant removal (6.0% vs 22.4%, P = .01), and joint malreduction (0.8% vs 11.5%, P = .05) as compared with the SS group. Conclusion: The SB technique results in improved functional outcomes as well as lower rates of broken implant and joint malreduction. Based on the findings of this meta-analysis, the SB technique warrants a grade A recommendation by comparison with the SS technique for the treatment of syndesmosis injuries.


Author(s):  
Ning Kuo ◽  
Nien-Yin Su ◽  
Sen-Kuang Hou ◽  
Yi-No Kang

IntroductionWhen a child presents with fever in the clinical encounter, parents are usually concerned about alleviating the fever. However, the indications for selecting an appropriate drug from the most commonly used antipyretic drugs acetaminophen and ibuprofen remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of acetaminophen and ibuprofen in febrile children through a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).Material and methodsCochrane, Embase, and PubMed databases were searched for the relevant RCTs. Two authors individually extracted information on trial design, demography, rate of fever resolution, body temperature, and overall adverse event. Data were pooled mainly using random-effects model; however, because of some sparse data, Peto odds ratios (PORs) were used for outcomes of fever resolution and adverse event. 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were also presented.ResultsIn total, 26 RCTs (n=4137) fulfilled eligibility criteria. Pooled estimates demonstrated that acetaminophen led to significantly lower fever resolution rates than ibuprofen did (POR=0.91, 95%CI: 0.84–0.98; I2=0%) in the subgroup of trials with a mean age of <2 years. However, the treatment–time interaction model for body temperature demonstrated that the fever resolution effect was mainly from the time factor based on the available data (effect size=−0.20; 95%CI: −0.30 to −0.11; I2=6.9%). Acetaminophen demonstrated a lower overall adverse event rates than ibuprofen (POR=0.71; 95%CI: 0.58–0.87; I2=0%).ConclusionsThe effects of ibuprofen are similar to acetaminophen even in children mean aged approximately 5 years old. Nevertheless, acetaminophen is safer than ibuprofen, particularly in children approximately 5 years old.


Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregoire Boulouis ◽  
Andrea Morotti ◽  
Joshua N Goldstein ◽  
Andreas Charidimou

Objective: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess whether intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering in acute intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) patients is safe and effective in improving clinical outcomes. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane databases for relevant RCTs and calculated pooled odds ratios (OR) for 3-month mortality (safety outcome) and 3-month death or dependency (efficacy outcome), in acute ICH patients randomized to either intensive BP-lowering vs. standard BP lowering treatment protocols. We also investigated the association between treatment arm and significant ICH expansion at 24h. Random effects models with DerSimonian-Laird weights were used. Results: Five eligible studies including 4360 acute ICH patients were pooled in meta-analysis. The risk of 3-month mortality was similar between patients randomized to intensive BP-lowering treatment vs. standard BP-lowering treatment (OR: 0.99; 95%CI: 0.82-1.20, p=0.909). Intensive BP-lowering treatment showed a (non-significant) trend for an association with lower 3-month death or dependency risk compared to standard treatment (OR: 0.91; 95%CI: 0.80-1.02), p=0.106). Intensive BP-reduction was associated with a trend for lower risk of significant ICH expansion compared to standard treatment (OR: 0.82; 95%CI: 0.68-1.00, p=0.056), especially in larger RCTs. Conclusion: For acute ICH patients similar to those included in RCTs and without contraindication to acute BP treatment, intensive acute BP-lowering is safe (Class I; Level of Evidence A), but does not seem to provide an incremental clinical benefit in terms of functional outcomes (Class I; Level of Evidence B). The effect of intensive BP-lowering on significant hematoma expansion at 24 hours warrants further investigation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Shuo Zhang ◽  
Xue Bai ◽  
Zhen-Lin Chen ◽  
Jia-Jia Li ◽  
Yan-Yan Chen ◽  
...  

Objective. To systematically evaluate the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine Qiju Dihuang Decoction (QDD) for hypertension. Methods. A comprehensive literature search of randomized controlled trials using QDD to treat hypertension was conducted in 7 electronic databases, including Chinese databases. Subjects and abstracts of the trials were read in NoteExpress for preliminary screening, and the full text was read for further screening. The data extraction table was made for the selected 19 trials, and risk of bias was assessed by using the Cochrane collaboration tool, followed by data analysis using Rev Man 5.3. Results. The antihypertensive efficacy of QDD is 1.45 times that of antihypertensive drugs and 1.56 times that of conventional therapies, which can also reduce the endothelin level. QPAD exhibits an antihypertensive effect, and its clinical efficacy is 1.34 times and 1.61 times that of antihypertensive drugs, which can not only significantly lower the diastolic blood pressure but also reduce the 24 h mean ambulate blood pressure. At the same time, it can decrease the TCM syndrome score, inhibit the inflammation, protect the renal function, reduce the insulin resistance, and improve the life quality of patients. Conclusion. QDD can effectively reduce blood pressure and improve the life quality of patients with hypertension, which plays a certain role in preventing hypertension complications. However, due to the methodological deficiencies, more rigorous randomized controlled trials will be needed in the future to provide stronger evidence.


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