Objective To compare maternal and obstetrical outcomes of water birth and land birth. Methods We searched PubMed, EMbase, SCI, The Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China Journal Full Text Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Full Text Database, conference proceedings, and references of the included studies to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing water birth and land birth. The methodological quality was evaluated and the data was extracted by two reviewers independently using a designed extraction form. The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.0 software was used to carry out meta-analyses. Results Eleven RCTs involving 3963 lying-in women were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the rate of episiotomy (OR=0.09, 95%CI 0.01 to -0.59) and estimated blood loss (MD= -36.02, 95% -55.24 to -16.79) in the immersion group were significantly lower than those in the non-immersion group. There were no significant differences between the two groups on the other sides of the study. Conclusion Water birth can reduce the rate of episiotomy and estimated blood loss during the duration of labor. And there is no more risk of maternal and neonatal infection. More high-quality randomized controlled trials are required.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of LiPA and phage-based assays in detecting rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Methods A fully recursive literature search was conducted in PUBMED, EMBASE, CBMWeb, CSJD and CJFD. QUADAS items were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Meta-disc software was used to handle data from the included studies. SEN, SPE and SROC were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of every individual diagnostic test. Results A total of 42 studies were included finally. (1) LiPA for detection of rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis: 7 studies took BACTEC 460 assay as the reference test, and meta-analysis showed that the summary SEN = 0.98, summary SPE = 0.98, SROC (AUC) = 0.9924; 6 studies chose proportion assay as the reference test, and meta-analysis showed that the summary SEN = 0.97, summary SPE = 1.00, SROC (AUC) = 0.9961; and 3 studies took both BACTEC 460 assay and proportion assay as the reference tests, and meta-analysis showed that the summary SEN = 0.92, summary SPE = 0.98, SROC (AUC) = 0.9842. (2)Seven studies detected the rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis using Phage amplification assays (Commercial), taking BACTEC 460 assay and proportion assay as the reference tests. Meta-analysis showed that the summary SEN = 0.95, summary SPE = 0.95, SROC (AUC) = 0.9842. (3) Seven studies detected the rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis using Phage amplification assays (in-house), taking BACTEC 460 assay, proportion assay and absolute concentration as the reference tests. Meta-analysis showed that the summary SEN = 0.98, summary SPE = 0.98, SROC (AUC) = 0.9949. (4)Seven studies detected the rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis using Luciferase reporter phage assays (In-house), taking BACTEC 460 assay, proportion assay and absolute concentration as the reference tests. Meta-analysis showed that the summary SEN = 0.98, summary SPE = 0.98, SROC (AUC) = 0.9788. Conclusion Current research confirms that Phage assay is a highly sensitive and specific test for the detection of rifampicin resistance in culture isolates and has a potential in improving the diagnostic accuracy of all diagnostic tests in detecting the rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. LiPA is also a highly sensitive and specific test for the detection of rifampicin resistance, but the sensitivity appears to relatively decrease when it was used directly on clinical specimens. The results mentioned above need to be further confirmed by more high-quality studies.
Objective To evaluate the methodological and reporting qualities of randomize controlled trials involving MTC (microwave tissue coagulation) therapy for cervical erosion. Methods Through computer and handsearch, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and/or quasi-randomized controlled trials (quasi-RCTs) were collected. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using quality assessment criteria of Cochrane systematic review guideline, and the reporting quality was assessed using the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) checklist.Results Eleven clinical controlled trials (CCTs) were included. Three were RCTs and eight were quasi-RCTs. The methodological and reporting qualitiy of the included studies was generally low (10 trials ranked Level C, and the maximum CONSORT score was only 17).Conclusions The quality of the CCTs involving microwave therapy for cervical erosion is generally low with a high risk of biases. And the reporting of these trials is also incomplete. Therefore, more randomized controlled trials of high quality are required to provide reliable evidence.