382,332 papers found

Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials is considered to be the methodology that provides the most solid scientific basis for constructing clinical guidelines. It involves systematically collecting the results of similar studies that were conducted to verify similar medical hypotheses and combining these results…

In oncology, prognostic markers are clinical measures used to help elicit an individual patient's risk of a future outcome, such as recurrence of disease after primary treatment. They thus facilitate individual treatment choice and aid in patient counselling. Evidence-based results regarding prognostic markers are ther…

BACKGROUND: Elevated plasma total homocysteine is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the randomized trials of dietary supplementation with B-vitamins to lower homocysteine have not yet provided clear evidence of benefit on vascular risk. METHODS: Cumulative meta-analysis of all randomized trials asses…

Common methodologies used in systematic reviews do not allow adequate appraisal of complex interventions. The aim of the present study was to describe and critically appraise current methods of systematic reviews on complex interventions, using diabetes and hypertension patient education as examples. PubMed, the Cumula…

OBJECTIVES: This contribution provides a unifying concept for meta-analysis integrating the handling of unobserved heterogeneity, study covariates, publication bias and study quality. It is important to consider these issues simultaneously to avoid the occurrence of artifacts, and a method for doing so is suggested her…

The essential design and quality control aspects of dietary assessment, randomized controlled trials (RCT) in developing countries and their subsequent meta-analysis are reviewed. Dietary assessment protocols consist of three stages: measurement of food intakes using a method appropriate for the study objectives, calcu…

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The author performed this study to test a technique for validating the logit regression method for summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) meta-analysis, perform initial validation studies, and identify areas for further investigation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Monte Carlo simulation was…

In meta-analysis combining results from parallel and cross-over trials, there is a risk of bias originating from the carry-over effect in cross-over trials. When pooling treatment effects estimated from parallel trials and two-period two-treatment cross-over trials, meta-analytic estimators of treatment effect can be o…

When conducting a meta-analysis of clinical trials with binary outcomes, a normal approximation for the summary treatment effect measure in each trial is inappropriate in the common situation where some of the trials in the meta-analysis are small, or the observed risks are close to 0 or 1. This problem can be avoided…

BACKGROUND: There is debate concerning methods for calculating numbers needed to treat (NNT) from results of systematic reviews. METHODS: We investigate the susceptibility to bias for alternative methods for calculating NNTs through illustrative examples and mathematical theory. RESULTS: Two competing methods have be…

BACKGROUND: Many prospective studies have been reported on the associations of blood pressure and blood cholesterol with cardiovascular disease, but few have been large enough to provide reliable estimates of the nature of these associations in different circumstances or to characterize the associations with non-vascul…

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review methods for systematic review/meta-analysis in order to identify the different methodological and statistical methods that have been proposed. A summary of the main findings is presented here, with emphasis given to health services research topics. METHODS: A thorough systematic sea…

In a meta-analysis of clinical trials, an important issue is whether the treatment benefit varies according to the underlying risk of the patients in the different trials. The usual naive analyses employed to investigate this question use either the observed risk of events in the control groups, or the average risk in…

Neonatal jaundice is one of the most common problems leading to prolonged hospitalization of the newborn. Therefore, an effective low-risk, low-cost therapy reducing hospitalization is highly desirable. Plain dried agar, an extract of seaweed, is low cost and low risk; it can bind bilirubin in the gut, decreasing its e…

Tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents continue at historically high rates, and school-based interventions designed to deter students from smoking and drinking are increasingly being implemented. This study reports a meta-analysis of 47 smoking and 29 alcohol school-based intervention programs published after 1970.…

BACKGROUND: At present, there is no systematic evaluation on whether ultrasonic-guided acupotomy is more effective compared with anatomical guidance in knee osteoarthritis. We conducted a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis to provide a method for evaluating the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy by ult…

BACKGROUND: Pei Yuan Tong Nao (PYTN) capsules has been widely used for the treatment of cerebrovascular disease, including cerebral infarction. However, the mechanisms of action of PYTN capsule on cerebral infarction are ambiguous and unclear. We conducted a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate…

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis patients usually have sleep disturbance at varying degrees, which seriously affects the therapeutic efficacy and quality of life. Therefore, improving the sleep quality of hemodialysis patients is the key during treatment. Acupoint therapy can improve the sleep quality of patients. However, gui…

BACKGROUND: Symptoms of hand osteoarthritis result in activity limitations and lower quality of life. Hydroxychloroquine, which has been used successfully in the treatment of many autoimmune diseases, can suppress inflammation and might also be beneficial in hand osteoarthritis. METHODS: We plan to perform a systemati…

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis is an allergic disease of the nasal mucosa mediated by IgE after the body is exposed to allergens. Acupuncture of sphenoid ganglion is a new technique developed by Professor Li Xinwu in the 1860 s to treat allergic rhinitis the efficacy of acupuncture on the sphenopalatine ganglion…