CURRENT RESEARCH UPDATES ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HYPOTHYROIDISM BY AYURVEDA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Hypothyroidism is one of the challenging disorders and the burden of this disorder has been growing. The prevalence of the hypothyroidism is 11% in India. This is alarming situation, and it has made many researchers to find solutions in Ayurveda. There are many research articles published on the diagnosis & management of Hypothyroidism as per Ayurveda. It was needed to update the Ayurvedic drugs, procedures proved efficacious in the management of hypothyroidism. Therefore, we made a literature search using certain keywords in various search engines. Total 12 research articles, case studies/series were included. They were summarized, analyzed for search results, and concluded that most of the studies on Hypothyroidism had too low sample size. Secondly, there should be multicentric clinical trials of Ayurvedic drugs. It is also needed that; the research should be done on, if the Ayurvedic medicines to surpass the research on modern medicines for hypothyroidism or can be prescribed as supplementary medication.

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Systematic Review of the Inclusion of People With Psychosis in Suicide-Specific Clinical Trials

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000628 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

pp. 233-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer Villa ◽

Blaire C. Ehret ◽

Colin A. Depp

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Sample Size ◽

Primary Endpoint ◽

Literature Search ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Systematic Investigation ◽

Cochrane Library

Abstract. Background: Psychosis is a significant, yet understudied, risk factor for suicide. There has yet to be a systematic investigation examining the rate and predictors of inclusion of psychotic disorders or symptoms in suicide-focused trials. Aim: Our aim was to conduct a systematic review of inclusion/exclusion of psychosis in studies with suicidal ideation or behavior as a primary endpoint, rate of inclusion across intervention type and other characteristics, and criteria used to exclude psychosis and accompanying rationale. Method: A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Cochrane Library, and PsycInfo to identify relevant articles published between 2000 and 2018. Statements regarding inclusion/exclusion were codified by authors. Results: Out of 122 studies selected, 75 (61.5%) excluded individuals with psychosis. This rate varied by intervention and sample size, but not by year of study or country of origin. Only 9% provided a rationale for psychosis exclusion. Limitations: Minimal reporting of participants' diagnosis in studies disallowed analysis of the rate of inclusion of psychosis in samples. Conclusion: Three out of five trials with suicide-related primary outcomes excluded psychosis; thus, people with psychosis are poorly represented in suicide-specific studies. This disparity could be remedied by either adapting protocols to include people with psychosis or developing new, tailored treatments.

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Recombinant Human Adenovirus-p53 Therapy for the Treatment of Oral Leukoplakia and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Medicina ◽

10.3390/medicina57050438 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (5) ◽

pp. 438

Author(s):

Jagadish Hosmani ◽

Shazia Mushtaq ◽

Shahabe Saquib Abullais ◽

Hussain Mohammed Almubarak ◽

Khalil Assiri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Oral Cancer ◽

Adverse Events ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Oral Leukoplakia ◽

Research Articles ◽

Original Research ◽

Therapeutic Effects ◽

The World

Background and Objectives: Oral cancer is the 6th most common cancer in the world and oral leukoplakia is an oral potentially malignant disorder that could develop into oral cancer. This systematic review focusses on randomized clinical trials for recombinant adenovirus p-53 (rAD-p53) therapy for the treatment of oral leukoplakia and cancer. Materials and Methods: We searched for research articles on various databases such as Pubmed/Medline, Embase, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infra-structure), Springerlink, cochrane and Web of sciences from 2003 to 2020. MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms were used for the search. Inclusion criteria included original research, randomized clinical trials and articles only in English language. Exclusion criteria were any articles that were not research articles, not randomized trials, non-human studies, etc. The articles were further graded on the Jadad scale. Results: 578 articles were assessed from various databases; only 3 articles were found to be appropriate for this review. Thus, meta-analysis was not performed because of heterogeneity and lack of data. In the three studies, whether rAD-p53 was used as a standalone therapy or with other therapies, there was a beneficial effect of the therapy. Furthermore, there were no serious adverse events and the only adverse events reported were fever, pain at the local injection site, flu-like symptoms and lowered WBC count. Conclusions: Thus, we can conclude that this therapy has a potential for beneficial therapeutic effects and further clinical trials with more patients need to be performed to get better understanding of the effect of rAD-p53 therapy, which probably will pave the way to its approval in other parts of the world.

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Access Chokepoints

Chokepoints ◽

10.1525/california/9780520291218.003.0004 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Natasha Tusikov

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Search Engines ◽

Domain Name ◽

State Laws ◽

Search Results ◽

Internet Firms ◽

Online Pharmacies ◽

Binding Agreement ◽

The U.S

This chapter explains how the transnational regime uses search engines (especially Google) and domain name registrars (specifically GoDaddy) to throttle access to infringing sites. It traces efforts by the U.S. and U.K. governments, along with rights holders, to pressure Google and GoDaddy into adopting the non-binding agreements. It then presents two case studies. The first discusses search engines’ regulation of search results linking to infringing sites and a non-binding agreement struck among search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft) at the behest of the U.K. government. The second case study examines GoDaddy’s efforts to disable so-called illegal online pharmacies that operate in violation of U.S. federal and state laws. The chapter concludes that Internet firms’ practice of using chokepoints to dissuade access to targeted websites is highly problematic as legitimate websites are mistakenly targeted and sanctioned. Automated enforcement programs exacerbate this problem as they significantly increase the scale and speed of rights holders’ enforcement efforts without a corresponding increase in oversight.

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The impact of patient-reported outcome (PRO) data from clinical trials: a systematic review and critical analysis

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes ◽

10.1186/s12955-019-1220-z ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Samantha Cruz Rivera ◽

Derek G. Kyte ◽

Olalekan Lee Aiyegbusi ◽

Anita L. Slade ◽

Christel McMullan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trial ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Case Studies ◽

Real World ◽

Clinical Trial Data ◽

Research Impact ◽

Trial Data ◽

Patient Reported ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are commonly collected in clinical trials and should provide impactful evidence on the effect of interventions on patient symptoms and quality of life. However, it is unclear how PRO impact is currently realised in practice. In addition, the different types of impact associated with PRO trial results, their barriers and facilitators, and appropriate impact metrics are not well defined. Therefore, our objectives were: i) to determine the range of potential impacts from PRO clinical trial data, ii) identify potential PRO impact metrics and iii) identify barriers/facilitators to maximising PRO impact; and iv) to examine real-world evidence of PRO trial data impact based on Research Excellence Framework (REF) impact case studies. Methods Two independent investigators searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL+, HMIC databases from inception until December 2018. Articles were eligible if they discussed research impact in the context of PRO clinical trial data. In addition, the REF 2014 database was systematically searched. REF impact case studies were included if they incorporated PRO data in a clinical trial. Results Thirty-nine publications of eleven thousand four hundred eighty screened met the inclusion criteria. Nine types of PRO trial impact were identified; the most frequent of which centred around PRO data informing clinical decision-making. The included publications identified several barriers and facilitators around PRO trial design, conduct, analysis and report that can hinder or promote the impact of PRO trial data. Sixty-nine out of two hundred nine screened REF 2014 case studies were included. 12 (17%) REF case studies led to demonstrable impact including changes to international guidelines; national guidelines; influencing cost-effectiveness analysis; and influencing drug approvals. Conclusions PRO trial data may potentially lead to a range of benefits for patients and society, which can be measured through appropriate impact metrics. However, in practice there is relatively limited evidence demonstrating directly attributable and indirect real world PRO-related research impact. In part, this is due to the wider challenges of measuring the impact of research and PRO-specific issues around design, conduct, analysis and reporting. Adherence to guidelines and multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential to maximise the use of PRO trial data, facilitate impact and minimise research waste. Trial registration Systematic Review registration PROSPERO CRD42017067799.

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Tool for filtering PubMed search results by sample size

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association ◽

10.1093/jamia/ocx155 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (7) ◽

pp. 774-779

Author(s):

Carlos Baladrón ◽

Alejandro Santos-Lozano ◽

Javier M Aguiar ◽

Alejandro Lucia ◽

Juan Martín-Hernández

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Sample Size ◽

Search Engine ◽

Sample Sizes ◽

Search Results ◽

Estimate Sample Size ◽

Search Tool ◽

Pubmed Search ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

Validation Tests

Abstract Objective The most used search engine for scientific literature, PubMed, provides tools to filter results by several fields. When searching for reports on clinical trials, sample size can be among the most important factors to consider. However, PubMed does not currently provide any means of filtering search results by sample size. Such a filtering tool would be useful in a variety of situations, including meta-analyses or state-of-the-art analyses to support experimental therapies. In this work, a tool was developed to filter articles identified by PubMed based on their reported sample sizes. Materials and Methods A search engine was designed to send queries to PubMed, retrieve results, and compute estimates of reported sample sizes using a combination of syntactical and machine learning methods. The sample size search tool is publicly available for download at http://ihealth.uemc.es. Its accuracy was assessed against a manually annotated database of 750 random clinical trials returned by PubMed. Results Validation tests show that the sample size search tool is able to accurately (1) estimate sample size for 70% of abstracts and (2) classify 85% of abstracts into sample size quartiles. Conclusions The proposed tool was validated as useful for advanced PubMed searches of clinical trials when the user is interested in identifying trials of a given sample size.

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Opioids in Post-stroke Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2020.587050 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Damiana Scuteri ◽

Elisa Mantovani ◽

Stefano Tamburin ◽

Giorgio Sandrini ◽

Maria Tiziana Corasaniti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Dose Response ◽

Analgesic Effect ◽

Literature Search ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Post Stroke ◽

Pain Syndromes

Background: Post-stroke pain is one of the most common sequelae of stroke, which stands among the leading causes of death and adult-acquired disability worldwide. The role and clinical efficacy of opioids in post-stroke pain syndromes is still debated.Objectives: Due to the important gap in knowledge on the management of post-stroke pain, this systematic review aimed at assessing the efficacy of opioids in post-stroke pain syndromes.Methods: A literature search was conducted on databases relevant for medical scientific literature, i.e. PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases from databases inception until August 31st, 2020 for clinical trials assessing the effects of opioids and opioid antagonists on pain reduction and pain related symptoms in patients with post-stroke pain syndromes. Studies assessing the effects of other medications (e.g., tricyclic antidepressant, pregabalin) or non - pharmacological management strategies (e.g., neurostimulation techniques) were excluded. The selected studies have been subjected to examination of the risk of bias.Results: The literature search retrieved 83,435 results. After duplicates removal, 34,285 articles were title and abstract screened. 25 full texts were assessed and 8 articles were identified to be eligible for inclusion in the qualitative summary and narrative analysis, of which three were placebo-controlled and two were dose-response. Among placebo-controlled studies, two evaluated the analgesic effect of morphine and one assessed the effects of the opioid antagonist naloxone on patients with central post-stroke pain. With regard to dose-response studies, both were on patients with central post-stroke pain, one assessing the efficacy of levorphanol, and the other on naloxone. Seven out of eight included studies showed an overall slight analgesic effect of opioids, with less consistent effects on other pain-related symptoms (e.g., mood, quality of life). The randomized controlled trials were subjected to meta-analysis and rating of the quality of evidence for the two outcomes considered according to GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) system. The overall results are inconclusive because of the small number of studies and of patients.Conclusions: The limited number of the included studies and their heterogeneity in terms of study design do not support the efficacy of opioids in post-stroke pain and in pain-related outcomes. Large double-blind randomized clinical trials with objective assessment of pain and related symptoms are needed to further investigate this topic.

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Eysenbach, Tuische and Diepgen’s Evaluation of Web Searching for Identifying Unpublished Studies for Systematic Reviews: An Innovative Study Which is Still Relevant Today

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice ◽

10.18438/b8f049 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 108

Author(s):

Simon Briscoe

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Search Engine ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Search Engines ◽

Web Search ◽

Web Searching ◽

Web Searches ◽

Web Search Engine ◽

Unpublished Studies

A Review of: Eysenbach, G., Tuische, J. & Diepgen, T.L. (2001). Evaluation of the usefulness of Internet searches to identify unpublished clinical trials for systematic reviews. Medical Informatics and the Internet in Medicine, 26(3), 203-218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14639230110075459 Objective – To consider whether web searching is a useful method for identifying unpublished studies for inclusion in systematic reviews. Design – Retrospective web searches using the AltaVista search engine were conducted to identify unpublished studies – specifically, clinical trials – for systematic reviews which did not use a web search engine. Setting – The Department of Clinical Social Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany. Subjects – n/a Methods – Pilot testing of 11 web search engines was carried out to determine which could handle complex search queries. Pre-specified search requirements included the ability to handle Boolean and proximity operators, and truncation searching. A total of seven Cochrane systematic reviews were randomly selected from the Cochrane Library Issue 2, 1998, and their bibliographic database search strategies were adapted for the web search engine, AltaVista. Each adaptation combined search terms for the intervention, problem, and study type in the systematic review. Hints to planned, ongoing, or unpublished studies retrieved by the search engine, which were not cited in the systematic reviews, were followed up by visiting websites and contacting authors for further details when required. The authors of the systematic reviews were then contacted and asked to comment on the potential relevance of the identified studies. Main Results – Hints to 14 unpublished and potentially relevant studies, corresponding to 4 of the 7 randomly selected Cochrane systematic reviews, were identified. Out of the 14 studies, 2 were considered irrelevant to the corresponding systematic review by the systematic review authors. The relevance of a further three studies could not be clearly ascertained. This left nine studies which were considered relevant to a systematic review. In addition to this main finding, the pilot study to identify suitable search engines found that AltaVista was the only search engine able to handle the complex searches required to search for unpublished studies. Conclusion –Web searches using a search engine have the potential to identify studies for systematic reviews. Web search engines have considerable limitations which impede the identification of studies.

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Public-private partnerships and collaboration in digital health: a scoping review and case study analysis of applications during the COVID-19 pandemic (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.36046 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nishali Kirit Patel ◽

Elinor Wahal ◽

Adriana Mancilla Galindo ◽

Alejandra Rodarte ◽

Tim Jesudason ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Case Studies ◽

Literature Search ◽

Digital Health ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Public Private Partnerships ◽

Search Results ◽

Stage Process

BACKGROUND The emergence of digital technologies over the past decade has presented a novel opportunity to address healthcare challenges associated with COVID-19 and accelerate progress towards achieving the health-related goals under the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have played a vital role in scaling up digital health solutions and disseminating curated scientific information in the face of the infodemic. However, several challenges remain around the effectiveness of PPP-related digital solutions and antagonistic viewpoints of engaging the private sector. We sought to evaluate the role of public-private partnerships in the digital public health space during COVID-19 and identify key lessons learned and challenges in the uptake of digital health solutions globally. OBJECTIVE Electronic and grey literature search results from PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar were screened by one reviewer through a two-stage process. We included all relevant systematic reviews, interventional, observational, and descriptive studies published in English published from January 2020 to June 2021. Two case study analyses on digital health chatbots, informed by expert opinion, were also performed to assess for the role of public-private partnerships in advancing digital public health solutions. METHODS Electronic and grey literature search results from PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar were screened by one reviewer through a two-stage process. We included all relevant systematic reviews, interventional, observational, and descriptive studies published in English published from January 2020 to June 2021. Two case study analyses on digital health chatbots, informed by expert opinion, were also performed to assess for the role of public-private partnerships in advancing digital public health solutions. RESULTS Forty-five articles met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analysis, the majority of which were secondary research. Results of the publications can be broadly categorized into three groups: (1) models and definitions of public-private partnerships used in the healthcare space; (2) purposes of and motivations of public-private partnerships in global public health; and (3) and facilitators, barriers, and challenges to date. CONCLUSIONS The literature review as well as the case studies analysis reveal that PPPs can represent a valid option for tackling global healthcare issues with a digital health approach. Further research is needed to complement the initial findings of the present paper, as well as to assess a wider pool of case studies and the different features that they might present.

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Broccoli and Helicobacter Pylori: A Systematic Review

Complementary Medicine Journal ◽

10.32598/cmja.10.1.440.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 2-11

Author(s):

Fatemeh Azizi-Soleiman ◽

◽

Maryam Zamanian ◽

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Helicobacter Pylori ◽

Sample Size ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Small Sample ◽

Animal Testing ◽

H Pylori ◽

Positive Effect

Objective: Pharmacological treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is based on the use of at least two antibiotics with a double dose of proton pump inhibitor which results in antibiotic resistance. Anti-helicobacterial activity of sulforaphane-rich broccoli has been evaluated in laboratory studies. This study aimed to systematically review the conducted randomized clinical trials that have examined the effect of broccoli on H. pylori in humans. Methods: This study is a systematic review of randomized clinical trials on the effect of broccoli on H. pylori. The search was conducted in PubMed, OVID, Web of Science, and Scopus databases using the keywords: Helicobacter pylori, broccoli sprouts, H. pylori, randomized clinical trials, and Brassica, without any time limits for studies conducted until 2019. After excluding duplicates, the titles and abstracts of remained articles were evaluated by two researchers and then the related ones were extracted. Next, their full-texts were examined to select the final articles for review. We included clinical trials and excluded those were in the laboratory or animal testing phases or their full-texts were unavailable. Results: Three studies that had met the inclusion criteria were considered for the review. Overall, neither in the articles that reviewed in the present study nor in the articles that did not enter the review process due to unavailability of their full-texts or having a very small sample size, no clear positive effect of broccoli on inhibiting H. pylori infection in humans had been reported. Conclusion: Due to the lack of optimal results from broccoli consumption for the control of H. pylori infection in humans, it is recommended that longer studies with sufficient sample size and appropriate dose of broccoli along with standard treatment be performed in the future.

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