386,649 papers found

The role of the addition of anti-androgen therapy to surgical or chemical castration in metastatic prostate cancer is still unclear. The impact on time to progression and mortality of this treatment modality is, however, likely to be moderate at most. Is this therapeutic approach of real benefit? A reliable answer to t…

A review of the literature dealing with the relationship between coffee consumption and coronary heart disease revealed that most of the studies did not find coffee consumption to be a risk factor. However, many studies are plagued with methodological difficulties which operate to minimize the probability of identifyin…

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer survivors frequently experience persistent fatigue, psychological distress, and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after treatment. Exercise is increasingly recognized as an effective nonpharmacologic intervention, but the comparative efficacy of different modalities remains un…

BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal disorder. Electrotherapy modalities such as high-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (HF-TENS), low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (LF-TENS), and interferential current (IFC) are commonly used, yet their com…

OBJECTIVE: Considering safety and effectiveness of oral antihypertensive agents when treating hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, no preference can be stated between the 3 agents currently available. Therefore, this systematic review and network meta-analysis aims to determine the effects of antenatal treatment with m…

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess how often randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in adult cardiac surgery found significant mortality benefits for newer interventions vs older ones, whether observed treatment effect estimates changed over time and whether RCTs and nonrandomized observational studies gave similar results.…

BackgroundVaricose vein surgery increases the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Although pharmacological thromboprophylaxis is commonly used postoperatively, its efficacy and optimal regimen remain unclear. This study systematically reviews the effectiveness and safety of various anticoagulant strategies.MethodsA c…

BackgroundAgitation in Alzheimer's disease significantly impacts patient outcomes and caregiver burden. Brexpiprazole has emerged as a promising treatment option, but optimal dosing remains unclear.ObjectiveTo evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety of different brexpiprazole doses in treating agitation associated…

BACKGROUND: Melasma is a prevalent, persistent hyperpigmentation disorder that negatively affects the psychological health of patients. However, the treatment outcome remains unsatisfactory due to the complexity of pathogenesis, recurrence characteristics, and relatively high morbidity. OBJECTIVES: To compare the perf…

Sixty-five studies that evaluated the efficacy of multidisciplinary treatments for chronic back pain were included in a meta-analysis. Within- and between-group effect sizes revealed that multidisciplinary treatments for chronic pain are superior to no treatment, waiting list, as well as single-discipline treatments su…

This paper demonstrates that Wald's meta-analysis is an unadjusted combination of unadjusted estimates. There are many differences among the design and implementation of the original studies combined here. One consequence of these differences is that studies of spousal smoking and lung cancer mortality conducted in the…

Because published outcome studies are the only available source of data about the morbidity among surviving very low birthweight infants (VLBW, less than 1500 g) a search was carried out of 1136 references in the English language. A total of 111 outcome studies were found that reported morbidity data in cohorts of VLBW…

Corticosteroids are frequently advocated for use in prevention of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), although their use is replete with controversy. The present study is a meta-analysis of the four well-controlled clinical studies conducted on this issue. The results indicated there is a statistically significant decrease i…

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is commonly employed to optimize the dosing of certain drugs, including digoxin, aminoglycosides, theophylline, and phenytoin. Studies were reviewed in order to (a) evaluate the effect of TDM on the occurrence of toxic drug reactions (TDRs) and (b) identify factors that may modify or i…

This article discusses recent evidence pointing to an infectious etiology of premature rupture of the membranes and preterm labor. We conclude that antepartum infection is strongly related to preterm labor, premature rupture of the membranes and perinatal morbidity and mortality.

A systematic review (SR) is the unbiased appraisal of systematically identified relevant studies. Implicit in its definition is a robust and scientifically valid process, and when performed as such, SR is an important clinical research tool and influence in health policy decision-making. This educational paper outlines…

BACKGROUND: With almost a million people dying by suicide worldwide each year, reducing the rate of suicidal behaviour is a priority in many countries. AIMS: To examine whether additional psychosocial interventions following an episode of self-harm reduce the likelihood of subsequent suicide. METHOD: We conducted a s…

Despite official support for the efficacy of cholesterol reduction, considerable controversy exists, and meta-analyses of this topic have produced conflicting results. The authors assessed the variability of meta-analyses, evaluating the cardiovascular value of cholesterol reduction while attempting to explain the vari…

Photoparoxysmal responses (PPRs) are generalized epileptiform abnormalities occurring during photic stimulation. Prolonged PPRs, which outlast the stimulus, can be distinguished from self-limited PPRs, which cease spontaneously or when the flashes stop. Reilly and Peters (1973) found a higher incidence of seizures in p…