375,956 papers found

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort accompanied by altered bowel habits, often alongside psychological symptoms. Increasing evidence suggests that exercise interventions not only alleviate clinical symptoms but may…

Although several dozen studies on individualized instruction in dental education have been conducted over the past 30 years, little has been done to summarize quantitatively these studies. The present investigation used Glass' techniques of meta-analysis to integrate statistically findings from 34 comparative studies o…

BACKGROUND: For minimally-invasive surgery (MIS), there are numerous acceptable port-site closure techniques with no consensus on the method used. AIM: To identify optimal port site postoperative wound closure method following MIS with respect to complication rates and cosmetic outcome. METHODS: Network meta-analysis…

Systematic review and meta-analysis are possible as viable research techniques only through transparent reporting of primary research; thus, one might expect meta-analysts to demonstrate best practice in their reporting of results and have a high degree of transparency leading to reproducibility of their work. This ass…

Reocclusion of infarct-related coronary arteries within 2 weeks of thrombolytic therapy varies from 5% to 45% and neither clinical nor angiographic variables have been proved to be predictive of reocclusion. The goal of the present study was to evaluate whether aspirin could prevent coronary reocclusion and recurrent i…

Interpretation of the prognostic value of cranial ultrasound abnormalities in preterm infants has been hampered by the lack of a uniform approach to research, especially in the definition and classification of the abnormal appearances. Defining normality should be less controversial, but from a selected reading of the…

Estimates of the risks associated with the use of radiologic contrast agents frequently are based on a subjective review of some of the numerous articles that have been published on the subject. We have chosen instead to synthesize the existing evidence in an objective, quantitative way by statistically combining the d…

A meta-analysis was carried out of the data from two double-blind, multi-centre studies with identical methodology which compared the effectiveness of treatment of elderly patients with zuclopenthixol and with other antipsychotic drugs. In one study, patients were treated for 4 weeks with either zuclopenthixol or melpe…

The results are described of a meta-analysis of seven randomized trials that compared the clinical effects of the standard solution of WHO oral rehydration salts (ORS), containing 20 milligrams of glucose, and experimental ORS solutions, containing glycine, on 643 children with acute noncholera diarrhoea. The availabil…

Using a method of literature review known as meta-analysis, 81 articles were selected describing comparative research into possible differences between two or more of the following groups: nonsuicidals, suicide ideators, first-ever attempters, nonlethal repeaters, and suicides. Differential characteristics are describe…

BACKGROUND: Meta-analysis, described within evidence-based medicine, has become a frequent issue in recent medical literature. An exhaustive search of reported meta-analysis from any medical specialty is described. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Search of papers included in Medline or Embase between 1973-1998. A study of intra…

Multivariate meta-analysis was performed on 39 studies of ventricular size in schizophrenia which used the ventricle:brain ratio (VBR). The size of the VBR was dependent both upon the date when studies were carried out (more recent studies showing a reduction in the difference between schizophrenics and controls), and…

OBJECTIVES: To synthesize evidence on how acute and long-term (chronic) exercise interventions affect cerebral hemodynamics, with an emphasis on outcomes relevant to older adults, including mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv), and end-tidal CO₂ (PetCO₂).…

Because selection of studies for a literature review influences conclusions, inclusion criteria are of utmost importance. For a meta-analysis of studies testing effects of patient education on preventive behaviors, we present the framework and concepts used for setting inclusion criteria for primary studies. We also pr…

Much effort has been spent to improve survival after acute myocardial infarction. To investigate how effective this effort has been, a meta-analysis was performed of studies published between 1960 and 1987 concerning mortality after acute myocardial infarction. Thirty-six studies were analyzed. They were classified wit…

BackgroundOsteoarthritis (OA), a prevalent degenerative joint disease causing pain and disability, burdens global health. Acupotomy offers a minimally invasive alternative to surgery but faces limitations like variable efficacy. Combining acupotomy with oral pharmacotherapy (conventional or herbal medicine) may optimiz…

BACKGROUND: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a prevalent and severe chronic respiratory condition in preterm infants, with vitamin deficiency recognized as a contributing factor. Although vitamins A and D are known to play protective roles in lung development, the optimal supplementation doses for BPD prevention rem…