392,419 papers found

Many meta-analyses use a random-effects model to account for heterogeneity among study results, beyond the variation associated with fixed effects. A random-effects regression approach for the synthesis of 2 x 2 tables allows the inclusion of covariates that may explain heterogeneity. A simulation study found that the…

A relationship between not smoking and ulcerative colitis has been examined in all English reports. This paper evaluates the ulcerative colitis/nonsmoking and the Crohn's disease/smoking association by meta-analysis and against causality criterion for chronic diseases. A review of the literature, meta-analysis of selec…

INTRODUCTION: Patients with lacunar ischaemic strokes are at risk of substantial long-term disability and cognitive impairment. However, uncertainty remains surrounding the use of intravenous thrombolysis or antithrombotic medications acutely in this subpopulation, as no trials have been dedicated to specifically study…

BACKGROUND: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is a cornerstone device-based treatment for patients with heart failure with ventricular dyssynchrony. However, approximately 30-40% of recipients fail to achieve clinical response. Despite extensive research, validated prediction tools grounded in high-level evidence…

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality due to chronic liver disease. There is an extensive body of evidence focusing on pharmacotherapy for MASLD. Reviews on the topic have been largely limited to the efficacy of select agents, subgro…

BACKGROUND: Component network meta-analysis (CNMA) decomposes the overall effect of a multicomponent intervention into the effects of its constituent components. It is important to quantify the contribution of each single studies (or comparisons) to the individual component effect obtained from the CNMA model. However,…

BACKGROUND: Azoospermia affects ~ 1% of men and represents a major cause of severe male infertility. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with surgically retrieved sperm from the testis or epididymis enables biological fatherhood in obstructive (OA) and non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) patients. Howev…

BACKGROUND: The nutritional risk index (NRI) and its modified version, the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), are simple formula-based tools reflecting nutritional and inflammatory status. While several studies have investigated their prognostic value in esophageal cancer (EC), results remain inconsistent, and no…

INTRODUCTION: Obesity disproportionately affects ethnic minority populations due to structural inequalities, such as limited access to healthy food, inadequate healthcare and systemic racism. Universal weight management programmes often fail to meet the unique needs of ethnic minority populations. These universal inter…

INTRODUCTION: Acute low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition with various non-surgical treatment options, yet no comprehensive network meta-analysis has systematically compared their relative efficacy for pain and disability. This study aims to fill that gap by synthesising available evidence on the efficacy of dif…

BACKGROUND: Phyllodes tumors are rare fibroepithelial breast lesions graded as benign, borderline, or malignant. Surgical resection with clear margins is the primary method of treatment. Consensus on margin width could prevent unnecessary large primary resections or reoperations, yet the optimal margins for different t…

This study explored the application of meta-analysis and convolutional neural network-natural language processing (CNN-NLP) technologies in classifying literature concerning radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. It aims to enhance both the efficiency and accuracy of literature reviews. By integrating statistical analy…

BACKGROUND: Involving the public in evidence synthesis research is challenging due to the highly analytic nature of the projects, so it is important that involvement processes are documented, reflected upon, and shared to devise best practices. There is a literature gap on the involvement of the public in individual pa…

BACKGROUND: Postintensive care syndrome (PICS) is common in critically ill adults who were treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). Although comparative analyses between types of non-pharmacological measures and usual care to prevent PICS have been performed, it remains unclear which of these potential treatments is t…