Objective To formulate an evidence-based treatment plan for a patient with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods The clinical problems were put forward after full evaluation of patient’s conditions, and then the evidence related to the diagnosis and treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma was collected from The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2010), PubMed (1980 to 2010), Embase (1990 to 2010) and Wanfang Data (1990 to 2010). All the collected evidence was critically assessed. Both patient preferences and physician clinical experience were also taken into consideration in the decision-making treatment. Results A total of 153 relevant literatures were detected, and 13 meta-analyses or systematic reviews, 23 RCTs and 4 practice guidelines were identified. A rational treatment plan was made upon a serious evaluation of the data and the opinion of the patient. After a 6-month follow-up, the plan proved to be optimal. Conclusion The individualized treatment plan according to evidence-based methods for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma can effectively improve the therapeutic efficacy and the life quality.
Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is closely associated with the occurrence of such common upper gastrointestinal diseases as chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. However, even with the currently most effective treatment regimens, approximately 10% to 20% of patients still fail to obtain eradication of the infection and remain HP positive. So the eradication of HP infection remains one of the major challenges in the medical field. This article aims to introduce the evidence for the choice of the second-line regimens after the failure of the first therapy. And the evidence includes the quadruple therapy proposed by the Maastricht III Consensus and the triple regimens with different antibiotics in all kinds of randomized clinical trials.
Objective To make an individualized treatment plan for one first-visit gastro-esophageal reflux disease patient via evidence-based medicine methods. Methods The condition of the patient was evaluated comprehensively, then clinical problems were put forward according to PICO principle, and high-quality evidence was collected from The Cochrane Library (1990 to 2010), PubMed (1990 to 2010), and EMbase (1990 to 2010). The treatment plan was designed based on the evaluation of evidence, doctor’s experience, and patient’s preferences. Results A total of 17 RCTs and 10 meta-analyses/ systematic reviews were included. The evidence showed that the therapeutic effect of PPI was better than that of H2RA, and meanwhile prokinetic drugs should be used. When PPI needed to be use for a long time, HP eradication operation was required for the combination of HP inflammation. Laparoscopic fundoplication surgery was a better choice if the operation was required. Based on the above evidence combined with the patient’s preferences, the combination of general treatment, esomeprazole and cisaPride were adopted to treat. Meanwhile, anti-HP medicine was used to control the HP inflammation caused by the long-term maintenance therapy. The gastro-esophageal reflux symptoms were remarkably relieved six months after the treatment. Conclusion PPI plus prokinetic drugs, combined with HP eradication of gastroesophageal reflux surgery, can improve the clinical outcomes and patient’s quality of life. However, long-term prognostic benefits need to be confirmed by further follow-up.
Objective To make an individualized treatment plan for a newly diagnosed Barrett esophagus patient by means of evidence-based medicine. Methods After the clinical problems were put forward, both the systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were collected from The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2009) and PubMed (1995 to 2010) and SCIE (1995 to 2010). The treatment protocol was made by combining the evidence and the preference of patient. Results A total of 21 RCTs and 6 systematic reviews (meta-analyses) were identified. A rational treatment plan was made upon a serious evaluation and patient’s preferences: improving the lifestyle and adopting the APC therapy combined with acid-suppressive drugs (Omeprazole, 40 mg, bid) for six weeks. Three months later, the endoscope reexamination showed the patient was much better. After another twelve-month follow-up, the plan proved to be optimal. Conclusion In accordance with the evidence-based methods, the rational treatment plan made for a diagnosed Barrett esophagus male can effectively relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
Objective To establish the overall diagnostic accuracy of the measurements of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for malignant ascites. Methods After a systematic review of current studies, sensitivity, specificity, and other measures of the value of ascites concentrations of VEGF in the diagnosis of malignant ascites were pooled by using random effects models. Qualified studies on evaluation of VEGF in diagnosis of malignant ascites in English and Chinese published from January 1990 to December 2009 were retrieved from The Cochrane Library, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMbase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases, WanFang Data, and VIP Information. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of each study with the tool of QUADAS. Statistical analyses were performed by employing Meta-Disc 1.4 software. Meta-analyses of the reported sensitivity and specificity of each study and Summary Receiver Operating Characteristic (SROC) curve were performed. Results Seven studies met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. After testing the heterogeneity of the included studies, a random effect model was selected to calculate the pool weighted sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence interval: the sensitivity was 0.81 (95%CI 0.75 to 0.85), the specificity was 0.90 (95%CI 0.86 to 0.94), the DOR was 50.45 (95%CI 28.37 to 89.73), and the AUC of SROC was 0.9507 (SE=0.013 0). The subgroups were analyzed to identify the sources of heterogeneity according to race and agent sources. There was homogeneity among the three studies with agents from Ramp;D company (χ2=0.05, P=0.9750; I2=0.0%), and the AUC of SROC were 0.9675 (SE=0.016 7). Conclusion VEGF has a highly accurate sensitivity and specificity with a b ROC curve, which makes it a new marker to differentiate malignant ascites from the benign.