Objective To review the clinical evidence of Pingxiao Capsule for tumor adjuvant treatment so as to provide some decision-making references for clinical practice. Methods We electronically searched CBM, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data and MEDLINE (from inception to Feb, 2013) to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized controlled trials (non-RCTs) about Pingxiao Capsule for tumor adjuvant treatment. Then, the included studies were summarized and evaluated according to the classification of diseases. Results 1 097 potential relevant articles were searched. We included 41 RCTs and 15 non-RCTs. The results showed that Pingxiao Capsule used as an adjuvant therapy in treating tumor improved the efficacy and reduced the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, and also improved the quality of survival. Conclusion Current evidence showed that the effectiveness and safety of Pingxiao Capsule combined with radiation or chemotherapy in the tumor treatment is superior to radiation monotherapy or chemotherapy monotherapy. But due to the limited quality of the included studies, the results needed to be further verified by high-quality studies.
The aggregate data drug information system (ADDIS) software is a non-programming software which is based on the Bayesian framework and using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for prior assessment and implementation. The operation is fairly easy for users. The consequent results and relevant plots could be output automatically by the software after users assess the consistency of model and convergence diagnostics. The major disadvantage of ADDIS is the more complicated data entry. This article introduces how to perform network meta-analysis using ADDIS software.
Objective To improve surgical results, the experience of surgical management of Ebstein anomaly in 36 cases is reported and reviewed. Methods Surgical procedures included tricuspid valve replacement (6 cases), Danielson’s operation (28 cases), Carpentier’s operation (2 cases), among them, there were 5 cases of ablation of right atrioventricular accessory pathway. Results Four patients died early after operation in the hospital, 3 from right heart failure (1 case of tricuspid valve replacement and 2 cas...
Multilevel models are applicable to both the quantitative data and categorical variables. We used the methods, including the multilevel models, analysis of covariance and CMH chi-square test, to analyse different types of data, to explore the application of multilevel models in the analysis of the multicenter clinical trial center effect. The results showed that the analysis of covariance is more sensitive to find the center effect for quantitative data, while multilevel models are more sensitive to categorical variables. It can be seen that results with different analytical methods for center effect are not the same, and the most appropriate method should be selected in accordance with the characteristics of data, the objective of research, and the applicable conditions of the various methods in practical use.