392,304 papers found

Fasciolosis, caused by trematodes of the genus Fasciola, is an emerging disease of humans. One of the highest levels of human fasciolosis hepatica is found amongst the indigenous Aymaran people of the Northern Bolivian Altiplano. A meta-analysis of epidemiological surveys from 38 communities in the region demonstrates…

The effect of two noniterative heterogeneity variance estimators on two test procedures for the overall treatment effect using the log odds ratio as the outcome measure is investigated. Using simulated significance levels, it is shown that in addition to being sensitive to changes in the magnitude of the heterogeneity…

A risk ratio or difference from a meta-analysis is as many as ten steps away from the unobservable causal risk ratios and differences in target populations. The steps are like lenses, filters, or other fallible components of the epidemiologist's "telescope" for observing populations. Each step is another domain where d…

The objective was to review the current status of meta-analysis, the process of combining the results of similar investigations, which was described in 1976. It has evolved rapidly, and thousands have already been published. Meta-analysis may be performed in a narrative form or in the preferred statistical format, whic…

This article considers the dominant role of trials involving thousands of patients--the mega-trials--in cardiovascular disease. Problems with large trials mean that alternative strategies must be developed to aid the introduction of new drugs. The limitations of meta-analysis, and of trials with combined and surrogate…

Results from external studies often play an important role in many aspects of a clinical trial. Their incorporation into the decision making process of a trial, however, is rarely conducted in a formal manner. This conference will address what formal role, if any, meta-analytic summaries of external results should have…

Effectiveness research aims to base medical decision making more on rigorous evidence than on intuition and anecdote. The methods used to generate new data include, in order of decreasing rigor, clinical trials, observational studies, claims data analysis, and anecdotal studies. The methods that synthesize existing dat…

A meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the overall effect as well as scope of pediatric pain management research. The findings of this meta-analysis as related to effect size and methodologic characteristics are reported elsewhere. In describing the scope, the authors found that the majority of pediatric pain manag…

INTRODUCTION: Breech presentation, occurring in approximately 3-5% of term pregnancies, is associated with increased risks of complications during vaginal delivery, including challenges in delivering the aftercoming head, umbilical cord prolapse, birth trauma and neonatal asphyxia. External cephalic version (ECV) is a…

INTRODUCTION: Frailty is a global health issue, particularly among older adults, and is strongly associated with adverse health outcomes. The intermediate stage of pre-frailty, which represents a transition from robust health to frailty, has garnered growing concern due to its potential reversibility. This systematic r…

The pursuit of conclusive evidence related to an unanswered foreground (decision-making) question has been the driving factor behind multiple ongoing and planned randomized controlled trials as well as meta-analyses. However, a fundamental challenge lies in establishing robust methods for ascertaining whether a collect…

Meta-analysis is commonly used to combine results from multiple clinical trials, but traditional meta-analysis methods do not refer explicitly to a population of individuals to whom the results apply and it is not clear how to use their results to assess a treatment's effect for a population of interest. We describe re…

Answering challenging questions in drug development sometimes requires pharmacokinetic (PK) data analysis across different studies, for example, to characterize PKs across diverse regions or populations, or to increase statistical power for subpopulations by combining smaller size trials. Given the growing interest in…

BACKGROUND: This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding (ACE), which is widely used in simple obese patients. METHODS: Nine electronic databases and 2 trial registries were searched from inception to September 2021 without language limitations. All randomized contro…

BACKGROUND: Chronic spinal pain is one of the most leading causes of disability among adults worldwide and is associated with significant health care use. The effect of acupuncture on chronic spinal pain seems controversial based on evidence-based perspective. Thus, we performed a protocol for systematic review and met…

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can trigger acute episodes of insomnia. Reports on the treatment of COVID-19-related insomnia are limited. Therefore, our study aims to perform a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis of the effects of traditional Chinese exercises (TCEs)…

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is spreading rapidly worldwide, and the population is generally susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, especially those with cancer. Hence, our study aims to design a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of the clinical characteristics and prognoses of lung cancer patients with COVID-19. METHODS…

INTRODUCTION: Several teaching methods have been used in clinical nursing teaching to increase quality and efficiency, but disagreements over their effects persist. This study will evaluate the effects of five teaching methods in clinical nursing on nursing students' knowledge, skill scores, learning satisfaction, and…