381,585 papers found

INTRODUCTION: Desert dust concentrations raise concerns about adverse effects on human health. During the last decade, special attention has been given to mineral dust particles from desert dust and sand storms. However, evidence from previous reviews reported inconclusive results on their health effects and the biolog…

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic and progressive disease that represents an important public health challenge nowadays. Despite the growing number of studies assessing the rehabilitation outcome of Wuqinxi for COPD, their many variables and observations are often explored with a rel…

BACKGROUND: The global prevalence of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is estimated to be as high as 15% and a number of different non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments have been used to manage IBS in clinical practice, which poses great challenges for clinicians to make appropriate decisions. Hence, a system…

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis is to determine the effect of miniscalpel-needle/needle-knife in treatment of chronic pain symptoms. METHODS: The following electronic databases will be searched by 2 independent reviewers: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Springer, China National Knowle…

BACKGROUND: Although adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to reduce relapse and prolong survival after surgery, it is still unclear which adjuvant chemotherapy regimen will be favorable over the all adjuvant treatments evaluated for patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: PubMed, Embase (Ovid…

BACKGROUND: P-cadherin is a calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion glycoprotein. It has been implicated in invasiveness and metastasis. However, the clinical prognostic value of overexpression of P-cadherin in patients with breast cancer (BC) remains unsettled. METHODS: A systematic literature search will be performed i…

BACKGROUND: Advances in early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) has seen marked improvements in recent years. However, it is still the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although there are studies reporting the significance of miRNAs in stage II colorectal cancer, there is no known…

BACKGROUND: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has developed rapidly and a variety of feasible technical methods have been formed. VATS is the main way of lung cancer resection nowadays with minor surgical incision and less bleeding. Robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) is a revolution in surgical procedures…

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of women undergo breast augmentation at their reproductive age. The most existing evidence focuses on the impact of breast implant on the index women's health and breastfeeding after they give birth to a child. No previous systematic review has investigated the association between breas…

BACKGROUND: The widespread implementation of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) has broadened the reconstructive repertoire for alloplastic breast reconstruction. ADM's role in the context of postoperative radiation therapy remains unclear. The present review will evaluate whether ADM reduces complication rates in patients…

BACKGROUND: Essential hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide, as well as a leading risk factor for cardiocerebrovascular diseases. Zhengan Xifeng Decoction (ZGXFD) has been widely used to treat essential hypertension, but there is no systematic review by assessing efficacy and safety of ZGXFD…

BACKGROUND: Ventilator has been reported to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, its efficacy is still inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis study aims to evaluate its efficacy and safety for the treatment of patients with ARDS. METHODS: The electronic databases of Cochrane centr…

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidemia is one of the most common metabolic diseases worldwide, as well as a leading risk factor for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Banxia Baizhu Tianma decoction (BBTD) is widely used for the treatment of hyperlipidemia in China, however, systematic review and meta-analysis regarding its efficacy…

The use of individual patient data (IPD) in network meta-analysis (NMA) is becoming increasingly popular. However, as most studies do not report IPD, most NMAs are performed using aggregate data for at least some, if not all, of the studies. We investigate the benefits of including varying proportions of IPD studies in…

Economic analysts are increasingly likely to rely on systematic reviews and meta-analyses of health state utility values to inform the parameter inputs of decision-analytic modelling-based economic evaluations. Beyond the context of economic evaluation, evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of health state…

BACKGROUND: Conflict findings of the impact of inhalational anesthetics on postoperative cognitive function are reported. No systematic review has been performed to solve the problem. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of different inhalational anesthetics on postoperative cognitive function in a network met…

BACKGROUND: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most common joint replacement surgeries in the United States. Postoperative pain is still a major complication after TKA. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been commonly used in clinical practice for pain after TKA, but its effects and safety remain uncertain. This prot…

Meta-analysis is becoming increasingly popular in the field of ecology and environmental management. It increases the effective power of analyses relative to single studies, and allows researchers to investigate effect modifiers and sources of heterogeneity that could not be easily examined within single studies. Many…

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer is one of the worst malignant digestive neoplasms with poor treatment outcomes. Esophagectomy plays an important role and offers a potential curable chance to these patients. However, esophagectomy with radical lymphadenectomy is known as one of the most invasive digestive surgeries which…