ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of pediatric tuina in the treatment of children with acute diarrhea.MethodsCNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, CBM, PubMed and The Cochrane Library databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of children acute diarrhea with tuina from inception to November 20th, 2020. Two researchers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 15 RCTs involving 1 464 children were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with Western medicine, tuina for children with acute diarrhea could increase the cure rate (RR=1.43, 95%CI 1.26 to 1.63, P<0.001), shorten the time for the frequency of diarrhea to return to normal (MD=−0.86, 95%CI −1.05 to −0.66, P<0.001) and the time for stool traits to return to normal (MD=−1.07, 95%CI −1.15 to −0.99, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between tuina and Western medicine (RR=0.25, 95%CI 0.03 to 2.23, P=0.22).ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that tuina has a superior effect on treating children with acute diarrhea, the incidence of adverse reactions is not increased. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify above conclusions.
Umbrella review is a research method that comprehensively analyzes the systematic reviews and meta-analysis of a research question. In recent years, the research methods of umbrella review have been widely used, but the quality of umbrella review is uneven. Therefore, this paper focuses on the production methods and existing challenges of umbrella review, in order to provide references for domestic researchers to make umbrella review.
As an essential tool for clinical practice, the clinical practice guidelines have been continuously completed and the quality of the guidelines has been improved. However, there are still issues in updating the guidelines and recommendations. This article introduces the living guideline formulation method, through dynamic monitoring, timely inclusion of new evidence, and living update of recommendations, etc. to improve the timeliness of clinical guidelines. The article aims to provide methodological references for the timely transformation of evidence and the update of guidelines.
Scientific and rigorous study design could improve the reliability of results of the comparative diagnostic test accuracy studies. The design procedures of a comparative diagnostic test accuracy study included: constructing the clinical questions, identifying the appropriate gold standard, selecting the representative patient sample, calculating the sample size, blindly interpreting and comparing the results of diagnostic tests, and setting up the cut-off value. This paper introduced 5 categories of the designs of comparative diagnostic test accuracy studies: fully paired, partially paired with a random subset, partially paired with a nonrandom subset, unpaired randomized, and unpaired nonrandomized design.
High-quality randomized controlled trials are the best source of evidence to explain the relationship between health interventions and outcomes. However, in cases where they are insufficient, indirect, or inappropriate, researchers may need to include non-randomized studies of interventions to strengthen the evidence body and improve the certainty (quality) of evidence. The latest research from the GRADE working group provides a way for researchers to integrate randomized and non-randomized evidence. The present paper introduced the relevant methods to provide guidance for systematic reviewers, health technology assessors, and guideline developers.
Comparative diagnostic test accuracy study, a type of diagnostic accuracy test, aims to compare accuracy of two or more index tests in a study. The application of GRADE in comparative test accuracy differs from single test accuracy, mainly including the selection of appropriate comparative study designs, additional criteria for judging risk of bias, and the consequences of using comparative measures of test accuracy. The study focuses on basic principles and methods of GRADE approach in systematic reviews of comparative test accuracy to promote the understanding and application of the method by domestic scholars.
The comparative diagnostic test accuracy (CDTA) study is an important part of diagnostic test accuracy, which aims to compare the accuracy of two or more index tests in the same study. With the development of CDTA studies and the methodology of systematic reviews, the number of CDTA systematic reviews has grown year by year and has provided evidence to support clinical decision-making. Compared with systematic review of single diagnostic test accuracy, the CDTA systematic review has its own unique features, especially in data extraction, risk of bias, and statistical analysis. This paper introduced the steps and precautions for writing a CDTA systematic review to provide references for CDTA systematic reviewers.
ObjectiveTo develop a survey questionnaire on preferences and values regarding perineal injury prevention measures during pregnancy and conduct reliability and validity testing. MethodsCombining literature review, qualitative interviews, and expert consultations, we summarized key elements of perineal injury prevention during pregnancy and synthesized the best evidence. Through multiple discussions within the core working group, a survey questionnaire on preferences and values regarding perineal injury prevention measures during pregnancy was formulated. Using convenience sampling, pregnant women were recruited, and a pre-survey was conducted using the questionnaire. Pre-survey results were analyzed using item analysis and reliability and validity testing methods to validate and refine the questionnaire. ResultsThe questionnaire was compiled based on the theory of evidence-based decision-making. The initial version of the questionnaire was developed by combining systematic evaluation, network meta-analysis, and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire was modified and improved through expert consultation, group discussion, and pre-investigation, which ensured that the questionnaire had good reliability, validity, and practicability. The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.87, a split-half reliability was 0.71, and a content validity index was 0.97 of the survey questionnaire. ConclusionThe present version of the perineal injury preventive measures preference and values questionnaire has good reliability, validity, and practicability. It can serve as a valuable tool for investigating preferences and values related to perineal injury prevention during pregnancy.
Previous methods of grading evidence for systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy have generally focused on assessing the certainty (quality) of evidence at the level of diagnostic indicators. When the question is not limited to follow the diagnostic test accuracy results themselves, the grading results may be inaccurate due to the lack of consideration of the downstream effects of the test accuracy in specific settings. To address these challenges, the GRADE working group conducted a series of studies focused on updating methods to explore or simulate important downstream effects of diagnostic test accuracy outcomes within a contextual framework. This paper aimed to introduce advances in the contextual framework of the GRADE approach to rate the certainty of evidence from systematic reviews of single diagnostic test accuracy.
By comparing the diagnostic accuracy of two or more tests in the same study, the one with the higher diagnostic accuracy can be screened. Therefore, it is extremely important to conduct the comparative diagnostic test accuracy study. This paper introduced the concept of the comparative diagnostic test accuracy study, compared it with single diagnostic test accuracy study, and described its role, study design, statistical analysis, current status, and challenges.