scholarly journals Effectiveness of a long-term Tecar Therapy treatment on Knee Pain: building T.T.E.S.S.K., an evaluating scale A systematic review and meta-analysis

Author(s):  
Marco Sorrentino ◽  
Davide Ferrari

Abstract Background T.E.C.a.R (Transfer of Energy Capacitive and Resistive) Therapy (TT) is a form of endogenous thermotherapy based on radio waves 1 . It is a non-invasive procedure, that makes use of a machine able to stimulate heat inside the body to repair the inflammatory processes. Although being well known in the physiotherapy and massage therapy ambient for its benefic effects, which are still not very explored especially physiological and biochemical ones; TT is commonly used by therapists for musculoskeletal diseases. Anyhow, TT is often used as a palliative remedy for musculoskeletal disease, or linked with an ibuprofen or antidolorific medical therapy, and not as a main cure. Current literature still lacks objective ways to evaluate TT treatment. This study aims to create an evaluating Scale for the knee joint lesions treated with TT, for athletes or sports enthusiasts. Methods PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were screened to perform an extensive review. PRISMA guidelines were applied, and the risk of bias was assessed, as was the methodological quality of the included studies. 25 articles were reviewed. 178 patients (total amount of clinic cases in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library articles combined) have decreased their pain after a long-term TT treatment (> 3 or 5 sessions). Results Knee joint is often affected by non-sportive or sportive musculoskeletal lesions. ((At this point, not only the TT articles were reviewed, but also all the articles (122) that included these key aspects)). Six items were selected to evaluate the efficacy of TT on the impaired joint: Range of Motion (ROM), %MVIC of quadriceps, biceps femoris and gastrocnemius, Cincinnati Rating Scale System (CRSS), NRS Pain Scale, Muscle Fiber Orientation (MFO) and %Trigger Points. Conclusions Our study allows to build a new treatment methodology with TT. It guarantees the therapist to structure a long-lasting follow-up, which is not limited to the simple use of the machine. Applying this methodology, the patient receives a treatment that is not limited, but built on his own needs thanks to the distribution of the summing scores, strictly dependent on the type of clinical case that the therapist finds. Thanks to the six items we inserted in T.T.E.S.S.K. (“Tecar Therapy Evaluation Score System of the Knee”), every aspect of a musculotendinous pathology is recognized, and might be treated with TT by therapists.

Author(s):  
Jae Young Moon ◽  
Min Ro Lee ◽  
Gi Won Ha

Abstract Background Transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) appears to have favorable surgical and pathological outcomes. However, the evidence on survival outcomes remains unclear. We performed a meta-analysis to compare long-term oncologic outcomes of TaTME with transabdominal TME for rectal cancer. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched. Data were pooled, and overall effect size was calculated using random-effects models. Outcome measures were overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and local and distant recurrence. Results We included 11 nonrandomized studies that examined 2,143 patients for the meta-analysis. There were no significant differences between the two groups in OS, DFS, and local and distant recurrence with a RR of 0.65 (95% CI 0.39–1.09, I2 = 0%), 0.79 (95% CI 0.57–1.10, I2 = 0%), 1.14 (95% CI 0.44–2.91, I2 = 66%), and 0.75 (95% CI 0.40–1.41, I2 = 0%), respectively. Conclusion In terms of long-term oncologic outcomes, TaTME may be an alternative to transabdominal TME in patients with rectal cancer. Well-designed randomized trials are warranted to further verify these results.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e023223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Berlanga-Macías ◽  
Diana P. Pozuelo-Carrascosa ◽  
Celia Álvarez-Bueno ◽  
Jose Alberto Martínez-Hortelano ◽  
Miriam Garrido-Miguel ◽  
...  

IntroductionBreast feeding has been considered important due to its short-term and long-term benefits on infant and maternal health. Regarding the long-term benefits, the influence of exclusive breastfeeding on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) during childhood and adolescence has been studied, although with controversial conclusions. This study protocol aims to provide a clear and standardised procedure for systematically reviewing the relationship between breast feeding, in terms of duration and exclusivity, and CRF in children and adolescents.Methods and analysisThis systematic review and meta-analysis protocol is reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols. A literature search will be conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library. Observational studies regarding the association between breast feeding and CRF in children and adolescents written in English or Spanish will be included. A Critical Appraisal Checklist for Analytical Cross Sectional Studies and The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale for longitudinal studies will be used for quality assessment of included studies. Standardised mean differences of CRF by exclusive breastfeeding categories will be calculated as the primary outcome. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression will be performed based on the sources of heterogeneity.Ethics and disseminationThis evidence-based systematic review will summarise the relevant information on the association of exclusive breast feeding and CRF in children and adolescents. The results will be disseminated by publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Given that the data used for this systematic review will be exclusively extracted from published studies, ethical approval will not be required.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018082642.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Marques Simek Vega Gonçalves ◽  
Sergio Bortolini ◽  
Matteo Martinolli ◽  
Bruna Fernandes Moreira Alfenas ◽  
Daiane Cristina Peruzzo ◽  
...  

<p>Lack of standard criteria in the outcome assessment makes it difficult to draw conclusions on the clinical performance of short implants and, under these circumstances, determine the reasons for implant failure. This study evaluated, through a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis, the essential parameters required to assess the long-term clinical performance of short and extra-short implants. Electronic databases (Pubmed-MEDLINE, Cochrane Library Database, Embase, and Lilacs) were searched by two independent reviewers, without language limitation, to identify eligible papers. References from the selected articles were also reviewed. The review included clinical trials involving short dental implants placed in humans, published between January 2000 and March 2014, which described the parameters applied for outcome's measurements and provided data on survival rates. Thirteen methodologically acceptable studies were selected and 24 parameters were identified. The most frequent parameters assessed were the marginal bone loss and the cumulative implant survival rate, followed by implant failure rate and biological complications such as bleeding on probing and probing pocket depths. Only cumulative implant survival rate data allows meta-analysis revealing a positive effect size (from 0.052 (fixed) to 0.042 (random)), which means that short implant appears to be a successful treatment option. Mechanical complications and crown-to-implant (C/I) ratio measurement were also commonly described, however, considering the available evidence; no strong conclusions could be drawn since different methods were used to assess each parameter. By means of this literature review, a standard evaluation scheme is proposed, being helpful to regiment further investigations and comparisons on future studies.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohit Agrawal ◽  
Kanwaljeet Garg ◽  
Raghu Samala ◽  
Roopa Rajan ◽  
Vikas Naik ◽  
...  

Background: Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a relatively novel technique to treat essential tremor (ET). The objective of this review was to analyze the efficacy and the safety profile of MRgFUS for ET.Methods: A systematic literature review was done. The post procedure changes in the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor (CRST) score, hand score, disability and quality of life scores were analyzed.Results: We found 29 studies evaluating 617 patients. DTI based targeting was utilized in six cohorts. A significant difference was observed in the pooled standard mean difference between the pre and postoperative total CRST score (p-value &lt; 0.001 and 0.0002), hand score (p-value 0.03 and 0.02); and the disability at 12 months (p-value 0.01). Head pain and dizziness were the most in procedure complications. The immediate pooled proportion of ataxia was 50%, while it was 20% for sensory complications, which, respectively, declined to 31 and 13% on long term follow up. A significant reduction (p = 0.03) in immediate ataxia related complications was seen with DTI targeting.Conclusion: MRgFUS for ET seems to be an effective procedure for relieving unilateral tremor. Use of DTI based targeting revealed a significant reduction in post procedure ataxia related complications as compared to traditional targeting techniques. Analysis of other complications further revealed a decreasing trend on follow up.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Jinke Huang ◽  
Yao Shi ◽  
Xiaohui Qin ◽  
Min Shen ◽  
Manli Wu ◽  
...  

Objectives. Electroacupuncture (EA), an extension of acupuncture, which is based on traditional acupuncture combined with modern electrotherapy, is commonly used for poststroke dysphagia (PSD) in clinical treatment and research. However, there is still a lack of sufficient evidence to recommend the routine use of EA for PSD. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of EA in the treatment of PSD. Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of EA on PSD were identified through a comprehensive literature search of the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Database, and VIP databases from their inception to July 2020. The quality assessment of the included trials was performed based on the guidance of the Cochrane Reviewers’ Handbook, and meta-analysis (MA) was performed by using the RevMan 5.3 software. Results. Sixteen trials were identified, and these included 1,216 patients with PSD. The results demonstrated that EA in combination with swallowing rehabilitation training (SRT) was significantly superior to SRT alone with regard to effective rate (OR 5.40, 95% CI [3.78, 7.72], P < 0.00001 , water swallow test (WST) (MD −0.78, 95% CI [−1.07, −0.50], P < 0.00001 ), the video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) (MD 1.47, 95% CI [1.11, 1.84], P < 0.00001 ), the Ichiro Fujishima Rating Scale (IFRS) (MD 1.94, 95% CI [1.67, 2.22], P < 0.00001 ), and the incidence of aspiration pneumonia (IAP) (OR 0.20, 95% CI [0.06, 0.61], P = 0.005 ). Conclusions. The results showed that EA was better than the control treatment in terms of the effective rate, WST, VFSS, IFRS, and IAP of dysphagia after stroke. Strict evaluation standards and high-quality RCT designs are necessary for further exploration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 1759720X2092569
Author(s):  
Yu Heng Kwan ◽  
Ka Keat Lim ◽  
Warren Fong ◽  
Hendra Goh ◽  
Linkai Ng ◽  
...  

Background: The aim of our study was to synthesize evidence on the occurrence of malignancy in spondyloarthritis (SpA), from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing biologics with non-biologics and biologics to each other. Methods: We systematically searched Medline, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Scopus and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception until 31 October 2018. RCTs with ⩾24-week follow-up were included. We extracted data using standardized forms and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. We performed pair-wise meta-analyses and network meta-analyses to compare the risk of malignancy for each biologics class and SpA type. We reported the Peto odds ratio (OR) of any malignancy along with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Bayesian posterior probabilities comparing risk of malignancy of each biologic class with non-biologics were computed as supplementary measures. Results: Fifty-four trials were included; most (44/54) had follow-up <1 year. Among 14,245 patients, 63 developed a malignancy. While most Peto ORs were >1, they had wide 95% CI and p >0.05. The overall Peto OR comparing biologics with non-biologics was 1.42 (95% CI 0.80–2.53). Only interleukin-17 inhibitors in peripheral SpA had p <0.05 (Peto OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.07–7.13); the posterior probability that the risk was higher than non-biologics was 98%. Stratified analyses revealed no consistent trend by prior exposure to biologics, duration of follow-up, study quality, study-arm crossover, analytical approaches and type of malignancy. Conclusions: Our findings indicate no overall elevated risk of malignancy with biologics in SpA. As our meta-analyses are unable to conclude on the long-term risk, long-term pharmacovigilance of biologics in SpA may still be warranted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxian Yang ◽  
Ge Li ◽  
Shenzhong Jiang ◽  
Xinjie Bao ◽  
Renzhi Wang

Abstract Biochemical remission after transsphenoidal surgery is still unsatisfied in acromegaly patients with macroadenomas, especially with invasive macroadenomas. Concerning the impact of preoperative somatostatin analogues (SSAs) on surgical outcomes, previous studies with limited cases reported conflicting results. To assess current evidence of preoperative medical treatment, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies. A literature search was conducted in Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Five randomized controlled trials (RCT) and seven non-RCT comparative studies were included. These studies mainly focused on pituitary macroadenomas though a small number of microadenoma cases were included. For safety, preoperative SSAs were not associated with elevated risks of postoperative complications. With respect to efficacy, the short-term cure rate was improved by preoperative SSAs, but the long-term cure rate showed no significant improvement. For invasive macroadenomas, the short-term cure rate was also improved, but the long-term results were not evaluable in clinical practice because adjuvant therapy was generally required. In conclusion, preoperative SSAs are safe in patients with acromegaly, and the favorable impact on surgical results is restricted to the short-term cure rate in macroadenomas and invasive macroadenomas. Further well-designed RCTs to examine long-term results are awaited to update the finding of this meta-analysis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bradbury-Squires ◽  
Jennifer C. Noftall ◽  
Kathleen M. Sullivan ◽  
David G. Behm ◽  
Kevin E. Power ◽  
...  

Context: Roller massagers are used as a recovery and rehabilitative tool to initiate muscle relaxation and improve range of motion (ROM) and muscular performance. However, research demonstrating such effects is lacking. Objective: To determine the effects of applying a roller massager for 20 and 60 seconds on knee-joint ROM and dynamic muscular performance. Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Setting: University laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Ten recreationally active men (age = 26.6 ± 5.2 years, height = 175.3 ± 4.3 cm, mass = 84.4 ± 8.8 kg). Intervention(s): Participants performed 3 randomized experimental conditions separated by 24 to 48 hours. In condition 1 (5 repetitions of 20 seconds) and condition 2 (5 repetitions of 60 seconds), they applied a roller massager to the quadriceps muscles. Condition 3 served as a control condition in which participants sat quietly. Main Outcome Measure(s): Visual analog pain scale, electromyography (EMG) of the vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris during roller massage and lunge, and knee-joint ROM. Results: We found no differences in pain between the 20-second and 60-second roller-massager conditions. During 60 seconds of roller massage, pain was 13.5% (5.7 ± 0.70) and 20.6% (6.2 ± 0.70) greater at 40 seconds and 60 seconds, respectively, than at 20 seconds (P &lt; .05). During roller massage, VL and biceps femoris root mean square (RMS) EMG was 8% and 7%, respectively, of RMS EMG recorded during maximal voluntary isometric contraction. Knee-joint ROM was 10% and 16% greater in the 20-second and 60-second roller-massager conditions, respectively, than the control condition (P &lt; .05). Finally, average lunge VL RMS EMG decreased as roller-massage time increased (P &lt; .05). Conclusions: Roller massage was painful and induced muscle activity, but it increased knee-joint ROM and neuromuscular efficiency during a lunge.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 295-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Li ◽  
Weiqiang Zhong ◽  
Wen Peng ◽  
Gaofeng Jiang

Objective To assess the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD). Methods The following electronic databases were systematically searched: PubMed, Cochrane Library, SCI, Elsevier SDOL, China National Knowledge, Wan Fang database and Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for PPD were considered. Primary outcomes were the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) or the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores and effective rate. Our secondary outcome was the level of oestradiol. The quality of all included trials was evaluated according to the Cochrane Collaboration. This protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42016048528). Results Nine trials involving 653 women were selected. The result of this meta-analysis demonstrated that the acupuncture group had a significantly greater overall effective rate compared with the control group (seven trials, n=576, I2=24%; relative risk (RR) 1.15, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.24; P<0.001). Moreover, acupuncture significantly increased oestradiol levels compared with the control group (mean difference (MD) 36.92, 95% CI 23.14 to 50.71, P<0.001). Regarding the HAMD and EPDS scores, no difference was found between the two groups (five trials, n=276, I2=82%; MD−1.38, 95% CI −3.40 to 0.64; P=0.18; two trials, n=60, I2=16%; MD 1.08, 95% CI −1.09 to 3.26; P=0.33). Conclusions Acupuncture appears to be effective for postpartum depression with respect to certain outcomes. However, the evidence thus far is inconclusive. Further high-quality RCTs following standardised guidelines with a low risk of bias are needed to confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture for postpartum depression.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e020633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiang Pu ◽  
Zheng Jiang ◽  
Weihua Wu ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Liling Zhang ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo assess the efficacy and safety of intradialytic exercise for haemodialysis patients.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesDatabases, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, were screened from inception to March 2017.Eligibility criteriaRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) aimed at comparing the efficacy and safety of intradialytic exercise versus no exercise in adult patients on haemodialysis for at least 3 months. A minimum exercise programme period of 8 weeks.Data extractionStudy characteristics and study quality domains were reviewed. Studies were selected, and data extracted by two reviewers.Data analysisThe pooled risk ratios and mean differences (MDs) with 95% CIs for dichotomous data and continuous data were calculated, respectively.ResultsA total of 27 RCTs involving 1215 subjects were analysed. Compared with no exercise, intradialytic exercise increased dialysis adequacy (Kt/V) (MD 0.07, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.12, p=0.02) and maximum volume of oxygen that the body can use during physical exertion peak oxygen consumption (MD 4.11, 95% CI 2.94 to 5.27, p<0.0001), alleviated depression standardised mean difference (−1.16, 95% CI −1.86 to –0.45, p=0.001) and improved physical component summary-short form-36 (SF-36) level (MD 7.72, 95% CI 1.93 to 13.51, p=0.009). Also, intradialytic exercise could significantly reduce systolic blood pressure (MD −4.87, 95% CI −9.20 to –0.55, p=0.03) as well as diastolic blood pressure (MD −4.11, 95% CI −6.50 to –1.72, p=0.0007). However, intradialytic exercise could not improve mental component summary-SF-36 level (MD 3.05, 95% CI −1.47 to 7.57, p=0.19). There was no difference in the incidence of adverse events between the intradialytic exercise and control groups.ConclusionsIntradialytic exercise resulted in benefits in terms of improving haemodialysis adequacy, exercise capacity, depression and quality of life for haemodialysis.


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