386,595 papers found

The value of antibiotic prophylaxis in abdominal hysterectomy was reviewed by meta-analysis. Two independent literature searches (1986-1988) yielded 150 relevant papers, however, only 17 (11.3%) papers met our inclusion criteria. The selected papers described prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled studies…

OBJECTIVES: Results of meta-analyses typically conclude that future large studies may be mandated. However, the predictive ability of these estimates is deficient. We explored meta-analytic prediction intervals as means for providing a clear and appropriate future treatment summary reflecting current estimates. STUDY…

Meta-analysis combines results from multiple longitudinal studies to describe life course variation by age and sex for quantity of drinking per typical occasion (20 studies) and frequency of drinking during one month (27 studies). There is cross-study heterogeneity for the Time 1 means of the drinking variables blockin…

Reviewers have consistently concluded that males perform better on mathematics tests than females do. To make a refined assessment of the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics performance, we performed a meta-analysis of 100 studies. They yielded 254 independent effect sizes, representing the testing of 3,175,…

Published intervention research to remediate problem behavior provides a major source of empirical evidence regarding standards of practice and the relative effectiveness of intervention strategies. A meta-analysis of the developmental disabilities literature for the years 1976 through 1987 was performed. Two measures…

Evidence for an independent role of increased physical activity in the primary prevention of coronary heart disease has grown in recent years. The authors apply the techniques of meta-analysis to data extracted from the published literature by Powell et al. (Ann Rev Public Health 1987;8:253-87), as well as more recent…

PURPOSE: Remote-access thyroidectomy techniques and minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) have been developed to optimize cosmetic outcomes and potentially improve recovery, particularly in the case of MIVAT, compared with the conventional transcervical approach (CTA). However, comparative evidence re…

Hussey (in press) recently conducted a detailed critical reanalysis of Vahey, Nicholson and Barnes-Holmes' (2015) meta-analysis. Its stated purpose was to (a) examine the extent to which Vahey et al.'s (2015) meta-analysis contains errors; and (b) to test how computationally reproducible it is by current standards of b…

INTRODUCTION: Different image-enhanced endoscopy (IEE) methods have shown promise in improving colorectal lesion detection, but direct comparisons remain limited. This network meta-analysis compared the detection and diagnostic performance of various IEE modalities for colorectal lesions. METHODS: We searched PubMed,…

We have conducted a meta-analysis of 12 placebo controlled trials to determine the efficacy of single drug therapy in Crohn's disease for both induction (seven trials) and maintenance (five trials) of remission. A total of 767 and 796 patients were studied, respectively. Various clinical criteria of success were analyz…

OBJECTIVES: Several trial-level surrogate methods have been proposed in the literature. However, often only 1 method is presented in practice. By plotting trial-level associations between surrogate and final outcomes with prediction intervals and by presenting results from cross-validation procedures, this research dem…

A recent meta-analysis published in Parasites & Vectors [17(1):444, 2024] re-evaluated the prevalence of feline hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. in Ctenocephalides felis. The authors compared prevalence studies using different PCR primers: those employing Jensen or Manvell primers reported high prevalence (~ 33%), whi…

Amblyopia, a disorder that impairs visual acuity, encompasses a spectrum of clinical interventions. The true efficacy of these treatments, however, remains elusive. Consequently, we elucidate the effectiveness of each intervention, providing critical insights into optimal therapeutic strategies. We systematically searc…

Combined data from nine double-blind placebo-controlled trials (total n = 813), showed a smoking quit rate with clonidine that was significantly greater than with placebo. Further analysis suggested a potentiating influence of individual behavior therapy, and it appeared that clonidine may be more helpful for female th…

A meta-analysis was undertaken to determine the effects of surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis on pain and disability. Seventy-four journal articles met inclusion criteria and were independently reviewed by two readers. On average, 64% of patients treated surgically for lumbar spinal stenosis were reported to have good-…

Meta-analysis is used to combine results of primary data from 12 longitudinal studies to examine the consistency of results with respect to the role of changes on the individual level in marital status and employment status on changes in consumption of alcohol per typical occasion. The analyses control for the effects…

PURPOSE: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a highly aggressive tumour with a near 100% disease specific mortality. Despite these issues, there exists a lack of a standardised treatment regimen. We present a systematic review and the first ever network meta-analysis discussing a wide range of treatment options, namely…

A literature search revealed 51 controlled clinical studies on the effectiveness of acupuncture in chronic pain. These studies were reviewed using a list of 18 predefined methodological criteria. A maximum of 100 points for study design could be earned in four main categories: (a) comparability of prognosis, (b) adequa…

This study used meta-analysis to examine cumulatively needle exchange program (NEP) change/comparison data from 47 studies between 1988 and 2001, based on data collected between 1986 and 1997. The research question posed was: Is NEP attendance associated with reductions in risky needle-related behaviors? Results indica…

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of endoscopic transpapillary gallbladder drainage (ETGBD), percutaneous gallbladder drainage (PTGBD), and endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) for treating acute cholecystitis in individuals with elevated surgical risk is not yet thoroughly evaluated. METHODS: The c…