scholarly journals A Meta-analysis and systemic review study: PCR to diagnose localized pulmonary and extra pulmonary Tuberculous Infections.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yashika Sharma ◽  
Anushree Kaviraj ◽  
Khusboo Kanda ◽  
Sanu Santosh ◽  
Supriya Singh ◽  
...  

TB ranks as the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are pivotal for the effective management and control of TB in clinical practice. However, the inherent limitations make it difficult to meet the requirement for early diagnosis. The Aim to this Meta-analysis study was to understand use of the polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB PCR) as a basis for making diagnostic and clinical decisions and to understand sensitivity of TB PCR for the same. The aim to TB-PCR as a diagnostic tool is to rule out the other though efficient yet time consuming methods to diagnose Tb infections, as these methods delay the clinical decision making and further treatment.

Hypertension ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uday M Jadhav ◽  
Tiny Nair ◽  
SANDEEP BANSAL ◽  
Saumitra Ray

Introduction: Selective beta-1 blockers (s-BBs) are used in the management of hypertension (HT) in specific subsets. Studies comparing the potency of blood pressure (BP) lowering with different s-BBs are sparse. The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of bisoprolol compared to other s-BBs (Atenolol, Betaxolol, Esmolol, Acebutolol, Metoprolol, Nebivolol) in HT patients by examining their effect on BP, heart rate (HR) and metabolic derangements, by examining the evidences reported in observational studies. Methods: Electronic databases like PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Clinicaltrials.gov, Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program and 12 PV databases were systematically searched from inception to October 2019. Observational studies that compared bisoprolol with other s-BBs in patients with HT were evaluated in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Pooled data were calculated using random-effects model for meta-analysis in terms of mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for each outcome. Outcomes of interest were BP, HR and lipid profile. Results: Four observational studies which compared bisoprolol with other s-BBs (nebivolol and atenolol) were included in this meta-analysis. Significant reduction was observed in office diastolic BP [MD: -1.70; 95% CI: -2.68,-0.72; P <0.01] among arterial HT patients treated with bisoprolol for 26 weeks (w) compared to those treated with other s-BBs. HT patients treated with bisoprolol for 26 w showed significant reduction in HR [MD: -2.20; 95% CI: -3.57,-0.65; P <0.01] and office HR [MD: -2.55; 95% CI: -3.57,-1.53; P <0.01] than other s-BBs. HDL cholesterol levels increased significantly in essential HT patients treated with bisoprolol at 26 w [MD: 7.17; 95% CI: 1.90,12.45; P <0.01], 78 w [MD: 11.70; 95% CI: 4.49,18.91; P <0.01] and 104 w [MD: 10.20, 95% CI: 4.49,18.91; P <0.01] compared to other s-BBs. Conclusion: Our results suggests that bisoprolol is superior to other s-BBs in reducing BP and HR. Bisoprolol also had a favourable effect on lipid profile shown by increase in HDL cholesterol. This meta-analysis emphasizes the efficacy of bisoprolol over other s-BBs, which aids clinical decision making in treatment of patients with HT.


2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah J. Miller ◽  
Elliot S. Spengler ◽  
Paul M. Spengler

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
T K M Wang ◽  
M T M Wang

Abstract Background The Mitraclip is the most established percutaneous mitral valve intervention indicated for severe mitral regurgitation at high or prohibitive surgical risk. Risk stratification plays a critical role in selecting the appropriate treatment modality in high risk valve disease patients but have been rarely studied in this setting. We compared the performance of risk scores at predicting mortality after Mitraclip in this meta-analysis. Methods MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane databases from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2018 were searched. Two authors reviewed studies which reported c-statistics of risk models to predict mortality after Mitraclip for inclusion, followed by data extraction and pooled analyses. Results Amongst 494 articles searched, 47 full-text articles were evaluated, and 4 studies totalling 879 Mitraclip cases were included for analyses. Operative mortality was reported at 3.3–7.4% in three studies, and 1-year mortality 11.2%-13.5% in two studies. C-statistics (95% confidence interval) for operative mortality were EuroSCORE 0.66 (0.57–0.75), EuroSCORE II 0.72 (0.60–0.85) and STS Score 0.64 (0.56–0.73). Respective Peto's odds ratios (95% confidence interval) to assess calibration were EuroSCORE 0.21 (0.14–0.31), EuroSCORE II 0.43 (0.24–0.76) and STS Score 0.36 (0.21–0.61). C-statistics (95% confidence interval) for 1-year mortality were EuroSCORE II 0.64 (0.57–0.70) and STS Score (0.58–0.64). Conclusion All scores over-estimated operative mortality, and EuroSCORE II had the best moderate discrimination while the other two scores were only modestly prognostic. Development of Mitraclip-specific scores may improve accuracy of risk stratification for this procedure to guide clinical decision-making.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-85
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Guskiewicz ◽  
Samuel R. Walton

It was not too long ago that many people referred to concussion as a “hidden injury” and a “complex injury for which we still had much to learn.” We still have a lot to learn about these injuries, but because of the advancement of concussion research we are better informed today than we were just a decade ago. Much of this work began in the early to mid-1990s with studies aimed at equipping clinicians with better concussion-assessment tools. We needed to remove the guesswork, so more systematic and objective concussion-assessment batteries (sideline and clinic) that included symptom checklists, cognitive tests, and balance assessments were developed and validated. As a result, it became easier to detect and/or rule out concussions and to track recovery for several days postinjury. From 2009 through 2014, all 50 states and the District of Columbia passed concussion legislation requiring concussion education for high school and youth athletes, among other things. This was a critical period in which more emphasis was placed on concussion prevention, ultimately leading to increased reporting of these injuries and a reduction in the number of unreported and undiagnosed concussions. More recently, the corpus of science has evolved to identify potential blood and neuroimaging biomarkers to complement the traditional-clinical assessment tools, and newer studies are focused on treatment after concussion—challenging the notions that “rest is best” and that the effects of concussion are permanent and immutable. The research is ongoing, and several large multisite studies will yield important findings to help guide clinical decision making in the next few years.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1874 (2) ◽  
pp. 188412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Larson ◽  
Bryan Oronsky ◽  
Sharad Goyal ◽  
Carolyn Ray ◽  
Farah Hedjran ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina D Fernandes ◽  
María B Arriaga ◽  
Maria Carolina M Costa ◽  
Maria Clara M Costa ◽  
Maria Heloina M Costa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the leading cause of death in children. Identification of reliable biomarkers offers the potential to develop a severity quantitative score to assist in clinical decision-making and improve outcomes. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed in PubMed and EMBASE on November 13, 2018, to examine the association between host inflammatory biomarkers and CAP severity in children. The inclusion criteria were case–control, cross-sectional, and cohort studies that examined candidate serum biomarkers. We extracted outcomes of interest, means, and standardized mean differences (SMDs) of plasma and serum levels of biomarkers together with information on disease severity. Meta-analysis was performed. This review was registered in the PROSPERO international registry (CRD42019123351). Results Two hundred seventy-two abstracts were identified, and 17 studies were included. Among the biomarkers evaluated, levels of C-reactive protein (CRP; SMD, 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35 to 0.91), interleukin (IL)-6 (SMD, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.66), IL-8 (SMD, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.15 to 1.29), neutrophil count (SMD, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.47), and procalcitonin (SMD, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.20 to 1.15) were substantially increased in severe CAP. In contrast, IL-2 concentrations (SMD, –0.24; 95% CI, –0.45 to –0.03) were higher in nonsevere CAP. Study heterogeneity was reported to be high (I2 &gt; 75%), except for IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-12p70, which were classified as moderate (I2 = 50%–74%). Only neutrophil and white blood cell counts were described by studies exhibiting a low level of heterogeneity. Conclusions Our results suggest that host biomarkers, and especially CRP, IL-6, IL-8, and procalcitonin levels, have the potential to predict severe CAP in pediatric populations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e15159-e15159
Author(s):  
Chai Hong Rim ◽  
Jeongshim Lee

e15159 Background: Locoregional recurrence of rectal cancer (LRRC) might be occurred even after combination treatments including surgery and pelvic radiotherapy. Re-irradiation might provide the control of recurrence and/or symptomatic palliation, but possible complications are fearful hindrances. This study is to integrate information from various clinical studies, regarding re-irradiation and/or surgery of LRRC, and to provide practical information for clinical decision making. Methods: We searched four databases including pubmed, MEDLINE, Cochrane library, and Embase. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints were complications of grade ≥3, local control rate (LC), and symptomatic palliation rate. Results: A total of 17 studies, involving 18 cohorts and 744 patients with LRRC were included. Median OS among included studies ranged from 10 to 45 months (median: 24.5 months). Pooled 1-, 2-, and 3- year OS rates for all LRRC patients were 76.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 61.7-86.3], 49.1% (38.5-59.7), and 38.3% (30.2-47.2), respectively. For patients who underwent re-irradiation and surgery (OP group), pooled 1-, 2-, and 3- year OS rates were 85.9% (95% CI: 74.0-92.9), 71.8% (54.6-84.4), and 51.7% (39.4-63.8). For patients who underwent re-irradiation but not surgery (non-OP group), pooled 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates were 63.5% (95% CI: 51.1-74.4), 34.2% (20.4-51.2), and 23.8% (15.4-34.8). The difference between two subgroups were significant for all 3 years analyses. Pooled 1-, 2-, and 3- year LC rates for OP group were 84.4% (95% CI: 75.5-90.4), 63.8% (55.2-71.5), and 46.9% (39.6-54.4), and for non-OP group were 72.0% (95% CI: 48.8-87.4), 54.8% (28.6-78.5), and 44.6% (16.6-76.5). The difference between subgroups were not statistically significant for all 3 years analyses. Pooled overall grade ≥3 acute complication rate was 11.7% (95% CI: 6.7-19.5), and for late complication was 25.5% (95% CI: 16.7-40.0). Patients who underwent surgery had a higher risk of grade ≥3 late complications (OR: 6.39, 95% CI: 3.2-12.7). Pooled symptomatic palliation rate was 75.2% (95% CI: 67.3-81.8). Conclusions: Re-irradiation and/or surgery might be an option with oncologic and palliative efficacies, where combined surgery provided more favorable survival outcome. However, late complication should be carefully considered especially when combined with surgery.


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