5,083,888 papers found

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Erythropoietin (Epo) is the primary growth factor for the red cell lineage but treatment with recombinant human Epo (rHuEpo) has been shown to increase platelet counts. In several animal species treatment with rHuEpo stimulated platelet production, but platelet counts tended to normalize after…

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for seizure in pregnant women, and in the general population with epilepsy. STUDY DESIGN: Umbrella review of clinical practice guidelines and systematic reviews on risk factors or prediction models for seizure occurrence in pregnant women with epilepsy, adults with epilepsy, or all…

BACKGROUND: Digital health interventions are increasingly being used as a supplement or replacement for face-to-face services as a part of predictive prevention. They may be offered to those who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease and need to improve their diet, increase physical activity, stop smoking, or reduc…

This article provides a historical overview of the hierarchy of evidence for surgical decision making and discusses key study designs in the hierarchy of evidence. This encompasses meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, and observational studies, including cohort and case-controlled studies, case series and case…

There is a tremendous amount of medical literature available to the clinician. The challenge is to identify information that is useful and relevant for the patient population of interest. This article provides an overview of important considerations when critically appraising a report, such as selection of the study po…

In February 1999, May 2000 and April 2002, three workshops were held in Cortina, Montecarlo and Versailles, respectively, to develop a consensus defining the diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly and its complications. The workshops were sponsored by the Pituitary Society and European Neuroendocrine Association. Invite…

Today, the busy clinician benefits from a philosophy of practice that brings together the best applicable evidence and the experiences of clinical work in an effort to provide the best care for individual patients. EBM provides a structured approach that recognizes the contributions of evidence and clinical experience.…

As a clinician, the selection of the best treatment options for a patient given her clinical diagnosis can be challenging. Textbooks and the knowledge base acquired during residency and fellowship training may be out of date. The following article outlines how to perform a literature search to survey the available trea…

Priapism is an important medical condition that requires immediate evaluation, and depending on etiology, may require emergency management. Based on the classification scheme offered by a recent consensus panel, priapism can be subdivided into ischemic and nonischemic types. The nonischemic type, usually the result of…

BACKGROUND: While systematic reviews should be of assistance in decision making, currently many reviews are unreliable, poorly reported or not clinically useful. It is therefore important that they are read critically. OBJECTIVES: The objective is to provide a logical way to appraise systematic reviews. Particular obj…

The development of practice guidelines is gaining popularity in both North America and Europe. This review article explores the different reasons behind guideline development, the methodologies used and the effects assessed so far. Experience since 1982 with a guideline development programme at CBO is discussed in more…

BACKGROUND: In the last years, overviews of systematic reviews, or umbrella reviews, have seen a dramatic increase in their use. An overview aims to provide a summary of the included reviews and will often examine research questions beyond those addressed in the systematic reviews being synthesised. The purpose of this…

• Open Science principles are vital for ensuring reproducibility, trust, and legacy. • Evidence synthesis is a vital means of summarizing research for decision-making. • Open Synthesis is the application of Open Science principles to evidence synthesis. • Open approaches to planning, conduct…

Vascular thoracic outlet syndrome is caused by compression of subclavian/axillary vessels during their passage from the thoracic cavity to the axilla. Early diagnosis and treatment is important to prevent debilitating outcomes of vascular thoracic outlet syndrome. Contrast-enhanced three-dimensional (3D) magnetic reson…

BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW: To understand research and develop skills in adopting research findings, clinicians must overcome a series of challenges. First is determining exactly what constitutes evidence-based care. The amount of often contradictory research findings and "expert" opinion that is available can be overwhel…

Although Joan and Edward are fictitious characters, it is very likely we have encountered or will encounter patients with similar health concerns and daily life issues. As the population ages and our lifestyles continue to promote the development of cardiovascular disease, there is an increasing need to focus on the be…

We systematically reviewed systematic reviews of surgical orthopaedic interventions published between 1996 and 2001 to document when and how nonrandomized studies were included. From more than 10,000 citations examined in various electronic databases, 58 orthopaedic systematic reviews were eligible for inclusion based…

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the impact of case management is contradictory. AIMS: To discuss two different systematic reviews (one conducted by the authors and one conducted through the Cochrane collaboration) that came to contradictory conclusions about the impact of case management in mental health services. METHOD: We…

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of the published systematic reviews with or without meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) that looked at the effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on tendinopathies and to summarize its effectiveness. METHODS: A search of Pub…

The effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) has been contradictory in previous meta-analyses. This umbrella review on published meta-analyses aimed to investigate the effect of MSCs and PRP on KOA. We systematically searched Scopus, PubMed, and Cochran…