scholarly journals Internal jugular phlebectasia: A systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose A. Figueroa-Sanchez ◽  
Ana S. Ferrigno ◽  
Mario Benvenutti-Regato ◽  
Enrique Caro-Osorio ◽  
Hector R. Martinez

Background: Internal jugular phlebectasia (IJP), the abnormal dilatation of internal jugular vein, is generally considered a benign anomaly. However, because IJP is uncommon, little is known about its natural history, and currently, no consensus on the best treatment modality is available. Methods: The purpose of this article is to conduct a systematic review of available literature on recently reported IJP cases to understand the main characteristics of IJP and its most frequent therapeutic approaches. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, literature search for IJP cases was conducted in the COCHRANE, PUBMED, EBSCOHOST, SCOPUS, OVID, and SCIELO databases. Results: A total of 97 original articles were found, with a total of 247 IJP cases reported including both pediatric and adult patients. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the largest systematic review analyzing all the reported cases of IJP. IJP is considered by most authors as a benign abnormality that predominantly affects the right jugular vein. It is most commonly diagnosed in children. At present, conservative treatment is preferred for pediatric but not for adult patients. Multicenter randomized prospective studies are required to further understand this rare anomaly.

Author(s):  
Jyotsana Parajuli ◽  
Judith E. Hupcey

The number of people with cancer and the need for palliative care among this population is increasing in the United States. Despite this growing need, several barriers exist to the utilization of palliative care in oncology. The purpose of this study was to synthesize the evidence on the barriers to palliative care utilization in an oncology population. A systematic review of literature was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, CINAHL, and Psych Info databases were used for the literature search. Articles were included if they: 1) focused on cancer, (2) examined and discussed barriers to palliative care, and c) were peer reviewed, published in English, and had an accessible full text. A total of 29 studies (8 quantitative, 18 qualitative, and 3 mixed-methods) were identified and synthesized for this review. The sample size of the included studies ranged from 10 participants to 313 participants. The barriers to palliative care were categorized into barriers related to the patient and family, b) barriers related to providers, and c) barriers related to the healthcare system or policy. The factors identified in this review provide guidance for intervention development to mitigate the existing barriers and facilitate the use palliative care in individuals with cancer.


Author(s):  
Sigurd Melbye ◽  
Lars Vedel Kessing ◽  
Jakob Eyvind Bardram ◽  
Maria Faurholt-Jepsen

BACKGROUND Psychiatric disorders often have an onset at an early age, and early identification and intervention help improve prognosis. A fine-grained, unobtrusive, and effective way to monitor symptoms and level of function could help distinguish severe psychiatric health problems from normal behavior and potentially lead to a more efficient use of clinical resources in the current health care system. The use of smartphones to monitor and treat children, adolescents, and young adults with psychiatric disorders has been widely investigated. However, no systematic review concerning smartphone-based monitoring and treatment in this population has been published. OBJECTIVE This systematic review aims at describing the following 4 features of the eligible studies: (1) monitoring features such as self-assessment and automatically generated data, (2) treatment delivered by the app, (3) adherence to self-monitoring, and (4) results of the individual studies. METHODS We conducted a systematic literature search of the PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo databases. We searched for studies that (1) included a smartphone app to collect self-monitoring data, a smartphone app to collect automatically generated smartphone-based data, or a smartphone-based system for treatment; (2) had participants who were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders or received treatment for a psychiatric disorder, which was verified by an external clinician; (3) had participants who were younger than 25 years; and (4) were published in a peer-reviewed journal. This systematic review was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The risk of bias in each individual study was systematically assessed. RESULTS A total of 2546 unique studies were identified through literature search; 15 of these fulfilled the criteria for inclusion. These studies covered 8 different diagnostic groups: psychosis, eating disorders, depression, autism, self-harm, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior. Smartphone-based self-monitoring was used in all but 1 study, and 11 of them reported on the participants’ adherence to self-monitoring. Most studies were feasibility/pilot studies, and all studies on feasibility reported positive attitudes toward the use of smartphones for self-monitoring. In 2 studies, automatically generated data were collected. Three studies were randomized controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of smartphone-based monitoring and treatment, with 2 of these showing a positive treatment effect. In 2 randomized controlled trials, the researchers were blinded for randomization, but the participants were not blinded in any of the studies. All studies were determined to be at high risk of bias in several areas. CONCLUSIONS Smartphones hold great potential as a modern, widely available technology platform to help diagnose, monitor, and treat psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. However, a higher level of homogeneity and rigor among studies regarding their methodology and reporting of adherence would facilitate future reviews and meta-analyses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 300-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Sun ◽  
Zhongdang Pan

Abstract Publication bias has been recognized as a threat to the validity of meta-analytic findings and scientific knowledge in general. Given the recent rise in meta-analytic research in communication, how well publication bias concerns are addressed by communication meta-analysts merits attention. In this essay, after a brief overview of publication bias and some major methods of assessment, we provide a systematic review of meta-analyses published in six major communication journals between 2005 and 2018. The review focuses on two aspects of addressing publication bias in meta-analyses: (a) reducing the potential impact of bias via an inclusive literature search; and (b) empirically assessing the extent and impact of bias in meta-analytic findings. Our review shows that the current practices in communication meta-analyses are inadequate in both aspects. We offer recommendations on ways of improving practices in meta-analyses, as well as in research and publication processes, to better safeguard knowledge claims.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Pregernig ◽  
Mattia Müller ◽  
Ulrike Held ◽  
Beatrice Beck-Schimmer

Abstract Background Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and 2 (Ang-2), high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), soluble receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (sRAGE), soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (sTREM1), and soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) have shown promising results for predicting all-cause mortality in critical care patients. The aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the prognostic value of these biomarkers for mortality in adult patients with sepsis. Methods A systematic literature search of the MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases, for articles in English published from 01.01.1990 onwards, was conducted. The systematic review focused exclusively on observational studies of adult patients with sepsis, any randomized trials were excluded. For the meta-analysis, only studies which provide biomarker concentrations within 24 h of admission in sepsis survivors and nonsurvivors were included. Results are presented as pooled mean differences (MD) between nonsurvivors and survivors with 95% confidence interval for each of the six biomarkers. Studies not included in the quantitative analysis were narratively summarized. The risk of bias was assessed in all included studies using the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool. Results The systematic literature search retrieved 2285 articles. In total, we included 44 studies in the qualitative analysis, of which 28 were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled mean differences in biomarker concentration (nonsurvivors − survivors), measured at onset of sepsis, are listed as follows: (1) Ang-1: − 2.9 ng/ml (95% CI − 4.1 to − 1.7, p < 0.01); (2) Ang-2: 4.9 ng/ml (95% CI 2.6 to 7.1, p < 0.01); (3) HMGB1: 1.2 ng/ml (95% CI 0.0 to 2.4, p = 0.05); (4) sRAGE: 1003 pg/ml (95% CI 628 to 1377, p < 0.01); (5) sTREM-1: 87 pg/ml (95% CI 2 to 171, p = 0.04); (6) suPAR: 5.2 ng/ml (95% CI 4.5 to 6.0, p < 0.01). Conclusions Ang-1, Ang-2, and suPAR provide beneficial prognostic information about mortality in adult patients with sepsis. The further development of standardized assays and the assessment of their performance when included in panels with other biomarkers may be recommended. Trial registration This study was recorded on PROSPERO, prospective register of systematic reviews, under the registration ID: CRD42018081226


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Orreaga Zugasti Echarte ◽  
Mercedes Dufur Mendivil

El taponamiento faríngeo es un procedimiento habitual realizado por los anestesistas tras la inducción anestésica en cirugía dental, maxilofacial, nasal y de vía aérea superior. No obstante, parece no haber una clara evidencia que apoye esta práctica. El propósito principal de este artículo es contestar a la pregunta: ¿Cuál es la evidencia que sustenta la colocación del taponamiento faríngeo por parte de los anestesistas? Para ello se llevó a cabo una revisión sistemática y búsqueda bibliográfica, que no consiguieron encontrar evidencia científica de calidad que avalase el uso del taponamiento. Sin embargo, se encontraron varios artículos en los que se exponían complicaciones de diversa gravedad y se ofrecían recomendaciones sobre cómo evitarlas. Tras los resultados de esta búsqueda, los autores del estudio no recomiendan la inserción rutinaria del taponamiento por parte de los anestesistas y aconsejan una indicación cuidadosa. Se presenta un protocolo de inserción del taponamiento. ABSTRACT Recommendations on the use of throat packs  in adult patients. A systematic review and consensus document   The insertion of throat packs is a procedure commonly performed by anaesthetists for dental, maxillofacial, nasal or upper airway surgery. However, the evidence supporting this practice is unclear. The aim of this article is to answer the following question: Is there enough evidence about the insertion of throat packs by anaesthetists? Consequently, the authors conducted a systematic review and literature search and they could find no study that sought to assess the benefit of their insertion by anaesthetists. Instead, there were many reports of minor and mayor complications and many descriptions of how to avoid them. As a result of these findings, the authors no longer recommend the routine insertion of throat packs by anaesthetist but advise caution and careful consideration. A protocol for pack insertion is presented.


Author(s):  
Ana Dias ◽  
Gonçalo Santinha ◽  
Mário Rodrigues ◽  
Alexandra Queirós ◽  
Carlos Rodrigues ◽  
...  

Promoting accessibility in tourism can impact on other areas, including sustainable mobility, social inclusion, and territorial marketing, since it implies taking the needs of all people into account to access tourism products and services, including those with permanent or temporary disabilities. Smart cities may change the way people experience their surroundings and their ability to provide contextual services is a key aspect to make cities more accessible, comprehensible, and enjoyable. The systematic review reported by the present chapter aimed to identify relevant research studies supported by smart cities infrastructures with an impact on accessible tourism. The literature search and the analysis of the retrieved articles were performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The results identify the most relevant achievements related to accessible tourism in the context of smart cities, including the types of smart services being developed and their maturity level.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112972982110313
Author(s):  
Mariana Garcia-Leal ◽  
Santos Guzman-Lopez ◽  
Adrian Manuel Verdines-Perez ◽  
Humberto de Leon-Gutierrez ◽  
Bernardo Alfonso Fernandez-Rodarte ◽  
...  

To determine the effect of Trendelenburg position on the diameter or cross-section area of the internal jugular vein (IJV) a systematic review and metanalysis was performed. Studies that evaluated the cross-sectional area (CSA) and anteroposterior (AP) diameter of the right internal jugular vein (RIJV) with ultrasonography in supine and any degree of head-down tilt (Trendelenburg position) were analyzed. A total of 22 articles (613 study subjects) were included. A >5° Trendelenburg position statistically increases RIJV CSA and AP diameter. Further inclination from 10° does not statistically benefit IJV size. This position should be recommended for CVC placement, when patient conditions allow it, and US-guided cannulation is not available.


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