scholarly journals The Safety of Dronabinol and Nabilone: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials

2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Ákos Bajtel ◽  
Tivadar Kiss ◽  
Barbara Tóth ◽  
Szabolcs Kiss ◽  
Péter Hegyi ◽  
...  

Dronabinol, a natural cannabinoid, and its semi-synthetic derivative, nabilone, are marketed as medicines in several countries. The aim of our work was to systematically evaluate the frequency of adverse events related to dronabinol or nabilone treatment compared to placebo. Scientific databases were searched for placebo-controlled clinical studies of patients receiving either dronabinol or nabilone therapy with placebo control groups. This meta-analysis was reported following the PRISMA guidelines using the PICO format, and it was registered with the PROSPERO register. There were 16 trials included in the meta-analysis. In the nabilone studies, drowsiness was more than 7 times as frequent in patients treated with nabilone than in the placebo group (OR: 7.25; 95% CI: 1.64–31.95), and the risk of dizziness (OR: 21.14; 95% CI: 2.92–152.75) and dry mouth was also higher (OR: 17.23; 95% CI: 4.33–68.55). The frequency of headache was not different in the two groups. In case of dronabinol, the frequency of dry mouth (OR: 5.58; 95% CI: 3.19–9.78), dizziness (OR: 4.60 95% CI: 2.39–8.83) and headache (OR: 2.90; 95% CI: 1.07–7.85) was significantly higher in the dronabinol groups, whereas in case of nausea, drowsiness and fatigue there was no difference. The severity of adverse events was typically mild-to-moderate and transient. In a risk-benefit assessment, these adverse effects are acceptable compared to the achievable benefit. However, considering the diversity of the adverse effects, more studies are needed to provide a more accurate assessment on the side effect profiles of these two compounds.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barak Pertzov ◽  
Boris Krasulya ◽  
Karam Azem ◽  
Yael Shostak ◽  
Shimon Izhakian ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:Dexmedetomidine (DEX), is a highly selective alpha2 adrenoceptor (α2-AR) agonist, successfully used in various procedures including flexible bronchoscopy. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating DEX sedation during bronchoscopy report equivocal results regarding respiratory and hemodynamic outcomes. Methods We conducted an RCT to evaluate the efficacy of dexmedetomidine compared to propofol for sedation during bronchoscopy. The primary outcome was desaturation events, secondary outcomes were transcutaneous Pco2 level, hemodynamic adverse events and physician and patient satisfaction. We have also conducted A systematic review and meta-analysis of all RCTs evaluating DEX sedation during flexible bronchoscopy, included current study results.ResultsOverall, 63 patients were included, 30 and 33 in the DEX and propofol groups, respectively. The number of desaturation events was similar between groups, median (IQR) 1 (0-1) and 1 (0-2) in the DEX and control groups, respectively (P=0.29). Median desaturation time was 1 (0-2) and 1 (0-3) minutes in the DEX and control groups, respectively (P=0.48). Adverse events included hypotension, 33% vs 21.1% in intervention and control groups, respectively (P=0.04), bradycardia, cough, and delayed recovery from sedation. Total adverse events were 22 and 7 in DEX and propofol groups, respectively (P=0.009). The pooled meta-analysis included 13 trials (1604 participants) showed a significantly lower rate of desaturation events in the DEX group (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.79) with a significantly higher rate of hypotension and bradycardia events (RR 1.55, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.06 and RR 1.91, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.5, respectively)ConclusionDexmedetomidine sedation resulted in a significantly reduced rate of desaturation events in comparison to propofol, midazolam and fentanyl. However, it was also associated with a higher rate of hypotension and bradycardia.Trial registration : NCT04211298, registration date: 26/12/2019


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Zhi Dou ◽  
Liqiang Yang ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
Jiaxiang Ni ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Intravenous opioids are administered for management of visceral pain after laparoscopic surgery. Whether oxycodone has an advantage over other opioids in the treatment of visceral pain is not yet clear. Methods This article evaluates the analgesic efficiency and adverse events of oxycodone and other opioids including alfentany, sufentanyl, fentanyl and morphine for the treatment of post laparoscopic surgery visceral pain. This review was conducted according to the methodological standards described in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis statement. The PubMed, Embase and Cochrane libraries were searched in December 2019. Results Ten studies were included in this review. The sample size was 815 participants. The results showed that compared with morphine and fentanyl, oxycodone had a more potent analgesic efficacy at the first day after laparoscopic surgery, especially during the first 0.5h. There was no significant difference in sedation between the two groups. Compared to morphine and fentanyl, oxycodone was more likely to increase the risk of dizziness and drowsiness. The overall patients satisfaction had no significant difference between oxycodone versus other opioids. Conclusions Oxycodone is a superior analgesic within 24h after laparoscopic surgery with careful regards to its adverse effects.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Jun Ma ◽  
Liqiang Yang ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
Jiaxiang Ni ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Intravenous opioids are administered for management of visceral pain after laparoscopic surgery. Whether oxycodone has an advantage over other opioids in the treatment of visceral pain is not yet clear. Methods: This article evaluates the analgesic efficiency and adverse events of oxycodone and other opioids including alfentany, sufentanyl, fentanyl and morphine for the treatment of post laparoscopic surgery visceral pain. This review was conducted according to the methodological standards described in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis statement. The PubMed, Embase and Cochrane libraries were searched in December 2018. Results: Ten studies were included in this review. The sample size was 815 participants. The results showed that compared with morphine and fentanyl, oxycodone had a more potent analgesic efficacy at the first day after laparoscopic surgery, especially during the first 0.5h. There was no significant difference in sedation between the two groups. Compared to morphine and fentanyl, oxycodone was more likely to increase the risk of dizziness and drowsiness. The overall patients satisfaction had no significant difference between oxycodone versus other opioids. Conclusions: Oxycodone is a superior analgesic within 24h after laparoscopic surgery with careful regards to its adverse effects.


BMC Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Motao Liu ◽  
Amy J. Wang ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
Gexin Zhao ◽  
Zhifeng Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent studies regarding the effects of erythropoietin (EPO) for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been inconsistent. This study conducts a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the safety and efficacy of EPO for TBI patients at various follow-up time points. Methods A literature search was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Embase, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Library for RCTs studying EPO in TBI patients published through March 2019. Non-English manuscripts and non-human studies were excluded. The assessed outcomes include mortality, neurological recovery and associated adverse effects. Dichotomous variables are presented as risk ratios (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results A total of seven RCTs involving 1197 TBI patients (611 treated with EPO, 586 treated with placebo) were included in this study. Compared to the placebo arm, treatment with EPO did not improve acute hospital mortality or short-term mortality. However, there was a significant improvement in mid-term (6 months) follow-up survival rates. EPO administration was not associated with neurological function improvement. Regarding adverse effects, EPO treatment did not increase the incidence of thromboembolic events or other associated adverse events. Conclusions This meta-analysis indicates a slight mortality benefit for TBI patients treated with EPO at mid-term follow-up. EPO does not improve in-hospital mortality, nor does it increase adverse events including thrombotic, cardiovascular and other associated complications. Our analysis did not demonstrate a significant beneficial effect of EPO intervention on the recovery of neurological function. Future RCTs are required to further characterize the use of EPO in TBI.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Ghorbani ◽  
Mojgan Mirghafourvand

Objectives: An increase in life expectancy results in the aging population growth. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and adverse events of ginseng that could be used as a herbal medicine in women with sexual dysfunction. Materials and Methods: The authors of this study searched Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Persian databases without a time limitation until May 2018 and examined all the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that compared the effect of different types of ginseng on sexual function of menopausal women as compared to the placebo controls. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. The heterogeneity was determined using the I2 index. In addition, standardized mean difference (SMD) was used instead of mean differences (MD) and a random effect was reported instead of fixed effect in meta-analysis. Results: The eligibility criteria were found in five RCTs. All the included studies were placebo-controlled. Two trials had a parallel design while three studies used a crossover design. Although four trials indicated that ginseng significantly improved sexual function, they didn’t report any treatment effect compared to the placebo group. Based on the results of meta-analysis obtained from five studies including 531 women, there was no statistically significant effect of ginseng on female sexual dysfunction (FSD) compared to the placebo control group (SMD: 0.26; 95% CI: -0.26 to 0.76). Nonetheless, there was a considerable heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 81%; P < 0.0001). Moreover, all the included studies assessed adverse events, but in three of the RCTs, there was no significant difference between the placebo and ginseng groups. Conclusions: The evidence regarding ginseng as a therapeutic agent for sexual dysfunction is unjustifiable. Rigorous studies seem warranted in this respect.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246441
Author(s):  
Christopher Jackson ◽  
Alexandra L. J. Freeman ◽  
Zśofia Szlamka ◽  
David J. Spiegelhalter

Background Bisphosphonate drugs can be used to improve the outcomes of women with breast cancer. Whilst many meta-analyses have quantified their potential benefits for patients, attempts at comprehensive quantification of potential adverse effects have been limited. We undertook a meta-analysis with novel methodology to identify and quantify these adverse effects. Methods We systematically reviewed randomised controlled trials in breast cancer where at least one of the treatments was a bisphosphonate (zoledronic acid, ibandronate, pamidronate, alendronate or clodronate). Neoadjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic settings were examined. Primary outcomes were adverse events of any type or severity (excluding death). We carried out pairwise and network meta-analyses to estimate the size of any adverse effects potentially related to bisphosphonates. In order to ascertain whether adverse effects differed by individual factors such as age, or interacted with other common adjuvant breast cancer treatments, we examined individual-level patient data for one large trial, AZURE. Findings We identified 56 trials that reported adverse data, which included a total of 29,248 patients (18,301 receiving bisphosphonate drugs versus 10,947 not). 24 out of the 103 different adverse outcomes analysed showed a statistically and practically significant increase in patients receiving a bisphosphonate drug compared with those not (2 additional outcomes that appeared statistically significant came only from small studies with low event counts and no clinical suspicion so are likely artifacts). Most of these 24 are already clinically recognised: ‘flu-like symptoms, fever, headache and chills; increased bone pain, arthralgia, myalgia, back pain; cardiac events, thromboembolic events; hypocalcaemia and osteonecrosis of the jaw; as well as possibly stiffness and nausea. Oral clodronate appeared to increase the risk of vomiting and diarrhoea (which may also be increased by other bisphosphonates), and there may be some hepatotoxicity. Four additional potential adverse effects emerged for bisphosphonate drugs in this analysis which have not classically be recognised: fatigue, neurosensory problems, hypertonia/muscle spasms and possibly dysgeusia. Several symptoms previously reported as potential side effects in the literature were not significantly increased in this analysis: constipation, insomnia, respiratory problems, oedema or thirst/dry mouth. Individual patient-level data and subgroup analysis revealed little variation in side effects between women of different ages or menopausal status, those with metastatic versus non-metastatic cancer, or between women receiving different concurrent breast cancer therapies. Conclusions This meta-analysis has produced estimates for the absolute frequencies of a range of side effects significantly associated with bisphosphonate drugs when used by breast cancer patients. These results show good agreement with previous literature on the subject but are the first systematic quantification of side effects and their severities. However, the analysis is limited by the availability and quality of data on adverse events, and the potential for bias introduced by a lack of standards for reporting of such events. We therefore present a table of adverse effects for bisphosphonates, identified and quantified to the best of our ability from a large number of trials, which we hope can be used to improve the communication of the potential harms of these drugs to patients and their healthcare providers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 237-245
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tasavon Gholamhoseini ◽  
Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi ◽  
Reza Goudarzi ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Mehrolhassani

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of remdesivir in adult patients with COVID-19. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and medRxiv databases were searched using a search strategy tailored to each database. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) checklists were used for the studies' qualitative assessment. The outcomes studied were mortality, all adverse events, serious adverse events, and clinical improvement. The quantitative synthesis was conducted using fixed and random effects models in the CMA 2.2. Heterogeneity was tested using the I-squared (I2) measure. Results: In general, six studies, including five randomized controlled trials and one cohort study were found eligible. Comparison of the findings related to both groups receiving remdesivir (10-day remdesivir group) and placebo/control group showed that remdesivir treatment had no significant effect on mortality at day 14 of the treatment (RR=0.769; 95% CI :0.563-1.050; p=0.098), and all adverse events (RR= 1.078; 95% CI: 0.908-1.279; p= 0.392). However, remdesivir had a significant effect on clinical improvement at day 14 compared to placebo/control (OR= 1.447; 95% CI: 1.005-2.085; p= 0.047) and reduced serious adverse events (RR= 0.736; 95% CI: 0.611-0.887; p= 0.001). Conclusion: Remdesivir has positive effects on clinical improvement, and reduction of the risk of serious adverse events. However, it does not influence the mortality at day 14 of treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 2639-2639
Author(s):  
Nabeela Khan Patail ◽  
Amna Falak Sher ◽  
Shenhong Wu

2639 Background: Pembrolizumab, a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), has demonstrated significant clinical activity in various cancers. Despite a favorable toxicity profile, discontinuation due to adverse events including immune related adverse events (irAE) has been reported. We conducted a meta-analysis of published clinical trials to evaluate the tolerability of pembrolizumab in cancer patients. Methods: A systematic review was conducted of relevant studies from the databases of PubMed and abstracts presented at American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) from June 2015 until September 2020. Eligible studies included prospective clinical trials that reported a discontinuation rate due to adverse effects. Incidence, relative risk and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by employing fixed or random effects models. Results: A total of 6,380 patients with a variety of hematologic and solid malignancies from 20 studies of pembrolizumab were included for analysis. The overall rate of pembrolizumab discontinuation due to adverse events was 8.2% (95% CI: 6.4-10.4%). The discontinuation rate of pembrolizumab was not significantly lower than the chemotherapy controls, with RR of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.58-1.12, p = 0.33). However, the discontinuation rate of pembrolizumab was significantly higher compared to placebo control with RR of 2.20 (95% CI: 1.36-3.54, p < 0.001), and significantly lower compared to ipilimumab with RR of 0.58 (95% CI: 0.34-0.99, p = 0.04) respectively. The discontinuation rate varied widely among different tumor types with the lowest rate of 0.8% (95% CI: 0.2-3%) in gastric cancer, and the highest of 13.5% (95% CI: 10.8-16.8%) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Interestingly, the discontinuation rate varied with pembrolizumab dosing, with the fixed dosing of 200mg being 9.2% (95% CI: 6.9-12%) and the weight-based dosing being 6.5% (95% CI: 4.8-8.8%). The weight-based dosing was associated with a significantly lower discontinuation rate compared to controls with RR of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.47-0.81, p < 0.0001), while the fixed dosing had similar discontinuation rate with RR of 1.03 (95% CI: 0.89-1.20, p = 0.67). Conclusions: The tolerability of pembrolizumab may be comparable to chemotherapy in cancer patients and may vary with its dosing. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the impact of different dosing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 204062232097699
Author(s):  
Shuo Zhang ◽  
Ziyue Zhou ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Mengtao Li ◽  
Fengchun Zhang ◽  
...  

Objective: We aim to characterize the incidence and relative risk of rheumatic and systemic immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) among immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy compared with those after placebo treatment. Methods: Randomized clinical trial studies with placebo control with the following keywords were searched from Embase, PubMed, Cochrane databases: immune checkpoint inhibitors, neoplasms, randomized controlled trials, and adverse effects. Results: Among the 5444 published and 316 registration records, nine placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials met our selection criteria, and included data from 5560 patients. Compared with placebo use, using ICIs increases the risk of overall-rheumatic irAEs. The incidence and relative risk of all-grade rheumatic irAEs were 18.40% [95% confidence interval (CI) 12.16–25.59%, p < 0.01] and 2.30 (95% CI 1.32–4.02), respectively, while musculoskeletal irAEs were 11.30% (95% CI 9.76–12.85%) and 1.01 (95% CI 0.84–1.22). The incidence and relative risk of severe rheumatic irAEs were 5.72% (95% CI 3.92–7.82%), and 8.29 (95% CI 3.75–18.35), respectively. Arthralgia was the most common rheumatic irAE (incidence 11.00%, 95% CI 9.55–12.64%; relative risk 0.99, 95% CI 0.82–1.19), although usually not severe. Colitis (incidence 3.23%, 95% CI 1.27–7.98%; relative risk 6.53, 95% CI 2.66–16.04) and pneumonitis (incidence 3.11%, 95% CI 1.56–6.21; relative risk 4.04, 95% CI 1.65–9.89) were commonly observed and tended to be severe. Hepatitis, hypophysitis, thyroiditis, and myositis were rare and less recorded, yet can be severe and life threatening. Other extremely rare severe rheumatic irAEs included sarcoidosis ( n = 11), autoimmune arthritis ( n = 8), autoimmune uveitis ( n = 3), autoimmune pericarditis, bursitis, osteochondrosis, psoriasis, polymyalgia rheumatica, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and Sjögren syndrome ( n = 1, each). Conclusion: ICI therapy increased the incidence and relative risk of all-grade and severe rheumatic irAEs. Arthralgia was the most commonly observed non-severe irAE, while colitis and pneumonitis were commonly observed severe irAEs. Rare rheumatic irAEs like hepatitis, hypophysitis, thyroiditis, and myositis warrant special attention.


2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Acarturk ◽  
P. Cuijpers ◽  
A. van Straten ◽  
R. de Graaf

BackgroundOlder meta-analyses of the effects of psychological treatments of social anxiety disorder have found that these treatments have moderate to large effects. However, these earlier meta-analyses also included non-randomized studies, and there are many featured studies in this area which were published after the recent meta-analysis.MethodWe conducted a systematic literature search and identified 29 randomized studies examining the effects of psychological treatments, with a total of 1628 subjects. The quality of studies varied. For the analyses, we used the computer program comprehensive meta-analysis (version 2.2.021; Biostat, Englewood, NJ, USA).ResultsThe mean effect size on social anxiety measures (47 contrast groups) was 0.70, 0.80 on cognitive measures (26 contrast groups) and 0.70 both on depression (19 contrast groups) and general anxiety measures (16 contrast groups). We found some heterogeneity, so we conducted a series of subgroup analyses for different variables of the studies. Studies with waiting-list control groups had significantly larger effect sizes than studies with placebo and treatment-as-usual control groups. Studies aimed at subjects who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria for social anxiety disorder had smaller effect sizes than studies in which other inclusion criteria were used.ConclusionsThis study once more makes it clear that psychological treatments of social anxiety disorder are effective in adults, but that they may be less effective in more severe disorders and in studies in which care-as-usual and placebo control groups are used.


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