Objective To evaluate the short-term effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic versus conventional open left hepatectomy. Methods Databases including CENTRAL (Issue 1, 2012), MEDLINE/PubMed (1978 to 2012), EMbase (1966 to 2012), CBM (1978 to 2012), CNKI (1979 to 2012) and the Chinese Medical Association Figures Journal Systems (1990 to 2012) were searched to collect clinical trials on laparoscopic versus conventional open left hepatectomy. Relevant proceedings and references of the included studies were also retrieved manually. According to the inclusion criteria, two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed quality. Then meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan5.0 software. Results No randomized controlled trials were collected, and a total of 5 clinical concurrent controlled trials involving 319 patients were included finally. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the conventional open group, the laparoscopic group was longer in the operation time (WMD=40.89, 95%CI 29.39 to 55.38, Plt;0.000 01), and was lower in the intraoperative blood loss (WMD=−107.84, 95%CI −208.96 to −6.73, Plt;0.04); but there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of hospital stays (WMD=−3.78, 95%CI −9.60 to 2.04, P=0.20) or postoperative complications (WMD=0.69, 95%CI 0.37 to 1.29, P=0.25). Conclusion As a minimally invasive technique, laparoscopic left hepatectomy has advantages of small abdominal incision and less intraoperative blood loss, and it is helpful to improve the quality of life for patients. Due to the limitation of quantity and quality of the included studies, it is hard to estimate the impact of bias on the reliability of this conclusion. We advise to perform more high quality, large scale and multicenter studies with adequate follow-up in the future.
Objective To evaluate the effect of PNS on Idiopathic facial palsy. Methods A total of 86 cases of acute idiopathic facial paralysis were randomly divided into the treatment group (PNS group, 44 cases), and the control group (42 cases). The basis of the two groups included hormone therapy, B vitamins, anti-viral treatment, as well as acupuncture and physical therapy, both in the incidence of 7 days to give the treatment. House-Brackmann facial nerve function classification and evaluation were used to determine clinical efficacy; ENoG line was tested before and after treatment. Results Before H-B classification of facial nerve function, EnoG side of the latency and amplitude in the two groups were comparable. At 28 days after treatment, H-B scores for the treatment group and the control group were (2.33 ± 1.21) and (3.08 ± 1.35), respectively, and the two groups had significant differences (Plt;0.05); ENoG incubation period (2.46 ± 0.34) and amplitude (189 ± 67) of the treatment group were more than those of the control group; the incubation period (3.37 ± 0.49) and amplitude (131 ± 52) improved, and there were significant differences between the two groups (Plt;0.05). Comparison of efficacy of the two groups showed the total effective rate: 95.45% in the treatment group, 80.95% in the control group, and the efficacy of the treatment group was better than that of the control group (Plt;0.05). Conclusion Sanqi tongshu, B vitamins, anti-virus, such as the acupuncture and physical therapy for the treatment of acute idiopathic facial paralysis have significant effect.
Objective To establish a Chinese clinical controlled trials database of neurology. Methods We identified relevant studies by electronic searching of CBMdisc from 1978 to April 2002, and the Library of Evidence-Based Medicine (Chinese). We also searched manually 11 journals and 4 conference proceedings relevant to neurological diseases. The studies included in this database should be controlled studies relevant to treatment on neurological disease, randomized or only controlled without randomization. Results 3 641 studies were included in this database. Conclusions The Chinese neurological trials database was established. This database will provide Chinese evidence on treatments of various neurological diseases. Studies in this database will also be included in the Cochrane Library to facilitate systematic reviewers.
Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression in prevention of deep venous thrombosis after major orthopedic operation. Methods We searched MEDLINE (1966 to January 2008), The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2008), CBM (1996 to January 2008), CNKI (1998 to January 2008), VIP (1998 to January 2008), and retrieved clinical controlled trials (CCTs) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which IPC was used as an intervention to prevent DVT, and all the trials were published in English or Chinese. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed according to the standard of Cochrane systematic review. RevMan 4.2 software was used for meta-analysis. Results Seven RCTs and 1 CCT were included. Their methodological quality was poor. The results of Meta–analyses showed: (1) The incidence of DVT in the IPC group was lower than that in the control group (RR=0.20, 95%CI 0.11 to 0.35, Plt;0.000 01); (2) There was no difference in the incidence of DVT between the IPC group and the LMWH group (RR=0.70, 95%CI 0.28 to 1.74, P=0.44); (3) The incidence of DVT in the IPC plus LMWH group was lower than that in the LMWH-alone group (RR=0.23, 95%CI 0.10 to 0.52, P=0.000 4). Furthermore, the incidence of DVT in the IPC plus LMWH group was lower than that in the GCS plus LMWH group (Plt;0.000 1). No severe adverse reaction of IPC in DVT prevention was reported. Conclusion IPC shows an effective tendency in DVT prevention, but because of the low quality and the small sample of the included studies, this conclusion needs to be verified by protocols of more samples and high quality.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of posterior approach discectomy with and without fusion in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Methods We searched MEDLINE (1950 to June 2007), OVID (1950 to April 2007), PUBMED, the China Biological Medicine Database (1978 to June 2007) and Wanfang Database (1981 to February 2007). We also handsearched several relevant journals for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-randomized controlled trials (quasi-RCTs) comparing posterior approach discectomy with and without fusion in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. The quality of the included trials was assessed. The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2.8 software was used for statistical analysis. Results Nine eligible trials involving 1911 patients were included. The meta-analyses found no statistically significant differences between the two operative procedures in the incidence of postoperative leg pain [RR 0.94, 95%CI (0.69, 1.28)], the proportion of patients requiring re-operation [RR 0.77, 95% CI (0.57, 1.04)], the incidence of post-operative lumbar canal stenosis [RR 1.23, 95%CI (0.26, 5.86)], and the relapse rate at other intervertebral spaces [RR 1.05, 95%CI (0.49, 2.26)] (Pgt;0.05).There is statistically significant differences between the two group in the incidence of peri-operative complications [RR 1.46, 95%CI (1.06, 2.00)]. Discectomy plus fusion was superior to discectomy alone in incidence of postoperative back pain [RR 0.70, 95%CI (0.53, 0.94)], relapse rate at either intervertebral space [RR 0.30, 95%CI (0.18, 0.48)] and at the same intervertebral space [RR 0.12, 95%CI (0.04, 0.37)]. Conclusions Since all the included studies were controlled trials with a great potential for biases, high-quality, large-scale randomized controlled trials are required.
Objective To compare the effects of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) and domestic paroxetine in the treatment of minor depression. Methods A therapeutic technique model for the treatment of minor depression was established. Sixty-four patients with minor depression meeting DSM-IV criteria were divided into CBT and paroxetine groups with 32 patients respectively, and were treated for six weeks. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) was used to evaluate the clinical efficacy and relapse/recrudescence rate of the two groups. Side effects of paroxetine were also recorded. Results At the end of 2 weeks, no significant difference was noted in the reduction of the HAMD score between the two groups. At the end of 6 weeks, there was little difference in thHAMD score reduction between the two groups (F=8.3,P= 0). No significant difference was found in the curative effects between the two groups (u=316.5,P=0.06).In the paroxetine group, cure rate was 20.7%, significant improvement rate was 48.3%; In the CBT group, cure rate was 10.0%, significant improvement rate was 36.7%.The relapse/recrudescence rate after six in the paroxetine group was higher than in cognitive-behavior therapy group at 6 months’ follow-up (u=106.5,P=0.04).Conclusion The clinical efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy for minor depression seems to be similar to that of paroxetine. The established model of CBT can be used in clinical practice.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the effect of pre-treating the catheters with dexamethasone for preventing PICC-associated phlebitis. MethodsWe electronically searched PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2012), CNKI, CBM, WanFang Data and CQVIP for studies about pre-treating the catheters with dexamethasone to prevent PICC-associated phlebitis from inception to March 2013. Relevant studies including grey literature were also manually searched. Two reviewers independently screened studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using the software RevMan 5.0. ResultsA total of 13 studies involving 1 965 cases (1 025 cases in the dexamethasone group, and 940 cases in the control group) were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that pre-treating the catheters with dexamethasone could significantly decrease the incidence of PICC-associated phlebitis (RR=0.29, 95%CI=0.22 to 0.39, P < 0.000 1). However, no significant difference was found for the PICC-associated other complications, such as pipe blockage, bleeding, swelling of puncture site, allergy and atopic catheter. ConclusionPre-treating the catheters with dexamethasone soltion before inserting could reduce the incidence of PICC-associated phlebitis. The aforementioned conclusion needs to be further validated by more high-quality and large-scale randomized controlled trials.
ObjectiveFor better health interventions, blood pressure control and reducing risk of cardiovascular events, we explored the effects of health education by nurses on hypertension patients after discharging. MethodsHypertensive discharging-patients from the department of cardiology of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University were enrolled from January to October in 2011. They were divided into two groups, including a health education group and a control group. The patients in the health education group were given all-side care, health guidance, education lectures and telephone follow-up by nurses. The control group got no intervention. After one year follow-up, the information about situation of blood pressure control, new-onset cardiovascular events and changes of life habits were collected from the two groups. SPSS 19.0 was used to perform statistic analysis. ResultsA total of 300 discharged hypertensive cases were included, with 150 cases in each group. The systolic blood pressure of patients in the health education group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Both blood control rates and the habit of low salt intake in the health education group were also better than those of the control group (both P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in changes of smoking, drinking, physical exercise and new-onset cardiovascular events between the two groups. ConclusionHealth education by nurses could effectively improve the management of blood pressure in patients with hypertension.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of irinotecan as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (INAC) plus radical surgery (RS) for cervical cancer. MethodsWe searched databases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 10, 2014), CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data to collect clinical studies on INAC plus RS versus RS alone or other neoadjuvant chemotherapy drugs plus RS in the treatment of cervical cancer. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 6 studies (4 RCTs and 2 CCTs) involving 596 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the RS alone group, the INAC group was superior in reducing operation time (MD=-16.17, 95%CI -21.88 to -10.46, P<0.000 01), intraoperative blood loss (MD=-39.56, 95%CI -51.96 to -27.17, P<0.000 01), increasing 3-years OS (OR=0.29, 95%CI 0.15 to 0.57, P<0.000 3), reducing incidence of positive parametrical involvement (OR=0.27, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.60, P=0.001) and incidence of lymphovascular space invasion (OR=0.24, 95%CI 0.09 to 0.61, P=0.003). However, there were no significant differences in the incidence of lymph node metastasis (OR=0.55, 95%CI 0.29 to 1.03, P=0.06) and positive surgical margin (OR=0.33, 95%CI 0.03 to 3.86, P=0.38) between the two groups. Compared with the paclitaxel plus RS group, there were no significant differences for the INAC group in the effective rate (OR=1.58, 95%CI 0.20 to 12.32, P=0.66) and the incidence of more than grade Ⅲ adverse events (OR=2.27, 95%CI 0.62 to 8.27, P=0.21). ConclusionINAC is effective and tolerable in the treatment of cervical cancer. Due to the limitation of quantity and quality of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of plasma exchange (PE) versus routine medical therapy (RMT) for patients with chronic liver failure. MethodsWe electronically searched databases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library (Issue 7, 2014), CBM, CNKI, and VIP from inception to August 2014, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials (CCTs) of PE versus RMT for chronic liver failure patients. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.0 software. ResultsA total of 7 RCTs and 9 CCTs involving 1 632 patients (822 in the PE group and 810 in the RMT group) were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that:compared with the RMT group, the PE group had lower mortality rate (RCT:OR=0.24, 95%CI 0.13 to 0.43; CCT:OR=0.48, 95%CI 0.30 to 0.78) and higher total effective rate (RCT:OR=4.04, 95%CI 2.80 to 5.85; CCT:OR=3.45, 95%CI 2.11 to 5.64). Subgroup analysis based on the stage of liver failure showed that the PE group was superior to the RMT group in early- and intermediate-stage patients with liver failure in total effective rate (early stage:OR=4.78, 95%CI 1.87 to 12.23; intermediate stage:OR=4.43, 95%CI 1.77 to 11.08), but this difference was not found in advanced liver failure patients (OR=1.61, 95%CI 0.35 to 7.38). Seven studies reported 187 cases of adverse reactions (11.46%), and most of them were pruritus and urticaria. ConclusionCurrent evidence shows, compared with the routine medical therapy, the PE therapy could be effective to early- and intermediate-stage liver failure patients, but not be effective to advanced liver failure patients. In addition, patients who received the PE therapy have risks of adverse reactions which mainly are allergic reaction. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.