392,145 papers found

The field of evidence synthesis is growing rapidly, with a corresponding increase in the number of software tools and workflows to support the construction of systematic reviews, systematic maps, and meta-analyses. Despite much progress, however, a number of problems remain, including slow integration of new statistica…

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of the explicit mention of PRISMA, a statement designed to help authors report meta-analyses (MAs), on the reporting completeness of MAs. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Two investigators evaluated a random sample of 206 MAs indexed in PsycINFO in 2016; 100 explicitly mentioned PRI…

We show that epigenome- and transcriptome-wide association studies (EWAS and TWAS) are prone to significant inflation and bias of test statistics, an unrecognized phenomenon introducing spurious findings if left unaddressed. Neither GWAS-based methodology nor state-of-the-art confounder adjustment methods completely re…

Missing outcome data is a major threat in meta-analytical studies of schizophrenia. Most clinical trials in psychiatry report only continuous outcome measures and express the effect of an intervention as a difference of means. However, these results are difficult to interpret for clinicians. Converting continuous data…

BACKGROUND: Acute malnutrition, including severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), affects over 45 million children under five globally and remains a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. Despite therapeutic feeding programs using ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) and fo…

INTRODUCTION: Acupuncture is increasingly recognised as an effective treatment for chronic pain conditions, yet inter-individual variability in treatment response remains a major clinical challenge. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that baseline brain characteristics may serve as objective biomarkers for predicting…

BACKGROUND: Globally, endometrial cancer (EC) is among the most prevalent gynaecological cancers, with rising incidence driven by demographic and metabolic changes. Accurate early prognostic assessment is essential to guide personalized treatment and improve long-term outcomes. Traditional clinicopathological prognosti…

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of physical examination, foot imaging, and inflammatory marker tests for the diagnosis of diabetic foot osteomyelitis in adults. INTRODUCTION: Diabetic foot osteomyelitis is a serious complication of diabetic foot ulc…

BACKGROUND: Stepped wedge designs are a specific type of cluster randomised trial design that requires all clusters to start and end the study at the same time. Batched stepped wedge designs are a variant that allows clusters to commence the study in batches instead of all at once. Since different batches of clusters m…

INTRODUCTION: Perioperative use of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) has been linked to early postinduction hypotension requiring vasopressor use under general anesthesia, potentially leading to complications like acute renal injury, myocardial injury, or stroke. However, the relationsh…

INTRODUCTION: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Arterial stiffness, an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk, enables detection of early vascular alterations preceding major clinical outcomes, making it critical for COPD management.…

INTRODUCTION: Mental disorders affect nearly one billion people worldwide, posing major challenges to public health. While conventional treatments like psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are effective for many patients, they are often associated with adverse effects and high non-response rates, underscoring the need for…

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted within a large Cochrane living systematic review (SR) on psoriasis treatments with the aim to evaluate the inter-rater agreement of the Cochrane risk of bias tool 2 (RoB-2) tool, to compare its RoB judgments with the original RoB-1, and to explore the impact of changes in RoB judgme…

BACKGROUND: Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT)-a noninvasive therapeutic strategy-employs low-level red or near-infrared light to regulate cellular bioenergetics, reduce oxidative stress, and modulate inflammation. It has demonstrated therapeutic potential for several ophthalmic diseases, including age-related macular d…

INTRODUCTION: Individual participant data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) is regarded as the gold standard for evidence synthesis. However, diverse recommendations and guidance on its conduct exist, and there is no consensus-based tool for the critical appraisal of a completed IPD-MA. We aim to close this gap by systematically…

INTRODUCTION: With advances in medicine and the resultant increased ageing population, dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, has become a leading cause of death in individuals aged over 65 years in nursing homes. The unpredictable trajectory of the disease, marked by cognitive and functional decline, necessitates in…

INTRODUCTION: Millions of persons with chronic pain across North America and Europe use opioids. While the immunosuppressive properties of opioids are associated with risks of infections, these outcomes could be mitigated through careful patient selection and monitoring practices when appropriate. It is important to re…

BACKGROUND: Executive functions (EFs) and episodic memory are fundamental components of cognition that deteriorate with age and are crucial for independent living. While numerous reviews have explored the effect of exercise on these components in old age, these reviews screened and analyzed selected older adult populat…

BACKGROUND: Although protocol registration of systematic reviews/meta-analysis (SR/MA) is still not mandatory, it is highly recommended that authors publish their SR/MA protocols prior to submitting their manuscripts for publication as recommended by the Cochrane guidelines for conducting SR/MAs. our aim was to assess…