Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database Research Articles

Efficacy and Safety of Electroacupuncture for Pain Control in Herpes Zoster: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction Herpes zoster is caused by the reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus, which leads to acute pain that may disturb routine activities and affect patients' quality of life. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been commonly used for treating herpetic pain in clinical treatment. However, no relevant studies have been performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EA for acute control in herpetic neuralgia patients. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to address the deficiencies of the current research. Methods Three English (PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) and four Chinese (China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature database (CBM), Wan-fang database, and the Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database (VIP)) were comprehensively searched from inception to 31 December 2021. Two independent reviewers evaluated the retrieved data based on the eligibility criteria in advance. In addition, the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Outcome indexes in this study included the visual analog scale, the time to cessation of pustules, the time to scabs, the time to rash healing, adverse reactions, and the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were also performed to evaluate the intervention effect specifically. In addition, publication bias was analyzed. Results Six randomized controlled trials (167 participants in the experimental groups and 174 participants in the control groups) were identified as reporting the application of EA for acute herpes zoster pain and were included in this study. The results from our meta-analysis revealed that EA was superior to control treatment according to visual analog scale, the time of rash healing, and the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia. However, in terms of the time to cessation of pustules, scabs, and adverse reactions, the results showed that EA compared with the control group showed no significant difference. In addition, subgroup analyses indicated that 2/100 Hz-EA has more significant effects on herpetic pain. Sensitivity analyses revealed that the results of EA for acute pain control and the rash healing time in herpetic neuralgia patients were stable. However, a publication bias was observed. Conclusion Our meta-analysis results showed that EA could offer certain advantages in treating acute pain in herpetic neuralgia patients. However, small sample sizes, heterogeneity in study design, and variable methodological quality weaken these inferences. In addition, weak evidence was found for the safety of EA.

COVID-19, hipertensión y enfermedad cardiovascular: una revisión narrativa

El SARS-CoV-2 ha provocado una pandemia emergente, que ha dominado el panorama de la salud pública. Al cuadro clínico característico de la COVID-19, se suman en determinados casos manifestaciones cardiovasculares, como lesión cardíaca aguda, insuficiencia cardíaca (IC), shock, arritmias, entre otras. El objetivo de la presente revisión es explorar el vínculo entre la COVID-19, la hipertensión y la enfermedad cardiovascular. Se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica utilizando las bases de datos PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database (CQVIP). En términos generales se ha descrito que el SARS-CoV-2 consigue penetrar en las células por medio de la enzima convertidora de angiotensina 2, un participante significativo en el sistema renina angiotensina aldosterona y la modulación del sistema cardiovascular. En efecto, el uso de fármacos inhibidores de la enzima convertidora de angiotensina y antagonistas de los receptores de angiotensina II podría ocasionar un aumento de ACE2 y facilitar la entrada del virus. Por ello, resulta fundamental identificar a las personas con mayor riesgo para instaurar un tratamiento adecuado.

Patients' Expectancies to Acupuncture: A Systematic Review.

Objective: This systematic review aimed to document and describe how and when to assess patients' expectancies to acupuncture and the relationship between patients' expectancies and clinical effects. Materials and Methods: Three English databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE, and four Chinese databases, including the Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Full-text Database, and Wanfang Database, were searched up to February 2020. Studies involving patients' expectancies to acupuncture were included. Based on the detailed situations of patients' expectancies, we made a standardized data extraction table that included the basic information of articles, study design details, and measurement of expectations. Based on the data, a descriptive analysis was performed, covering the characteristics of studies, measuring methods of expectations and the relationship between patients' expectancies and clinical effects. Methodology quality assessment was also performed by the risk of bias and the standards for reporting interventions in controlled trials of acupuncture. Results: There were 61 randomized controlled trials included in our analysis. The number of articles increased gradually over time and grew significantly after 2008. About half of trials focused on pain alleviation. Expectancies were measured before the treatment (N = 43), after the treatment (N = 3), and both before and after the treatment (N = 10), and five studies did not mention it. The measurement of expectancies used self-made questionnaires or scales (N = 27), the Acupuncture Expectations Scale (N = 6), and other scales (N = 11), while 17 studies did not describe what scale they used. The used questionnaires or scales mostly tried to ascertain the strength of confidence that acupuncture would help. Patients' expectancies and clinical effects were relevant in 19 studies, irrelevant in 21 studies, and were not mentioned in 21 studies. Conclusions: Patients' expectations to acupuncture have received increasing attention in recent years, but there is still no recognized measurement time and methods. It is critical to develop questions and answers regarding patients' expectations with better discrimination and reliability to accurately assess expectations and to explore the relationship between patients' expectations and acupuncture outcomes in future trials.

Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of Chinese Herbal Injection Combined With Trimetazidine for Viral Myocarditis: A Network Meta-Analysis.

Background: Viral myocarditis (VMC) is a common emergency of cardiovascular disease. Current treatment for VMC includes the prohibition of exercise plus supportive and symptomatic treatment, given the lack of specific antiviral therapeutic options and insufficient evidence for the use of novel immunosuppressive therapies. Trimetazidine, a drug used to improve myocardial energy metabolism, is frequently used for the treatment of viral myocarditis. In China, Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) are often used in combination with trimetazidine. Therefore, we evaluate the efficacy and safety of CHI combined with trimetazidine in the treatment of VMC through the method of network meta-analysis. Methods: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database (VIP), and China Biology Medicine Database (CBM) databases from inception to September 1, 2020, to identify eligible randomized controlled trials. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias among selected studies and the Stata 16.0 software was used to perform the network meta-analysis. Results: A total of 29 studies were included, representing data from 2,687 patients. The effectiveness rate, level of myocardial injury marker, and the adverse reaction rate were evaluated. Compared with conventional treatment or conventional treatment combined with trimetazidine, CHIs combined with trimetazidine appeared to have a better therapeutic effect, with higher effectiveness rate and better reduction of the levels of creatine kinase, creatine kinase-MB, and lactate dehydrogenase. Based on surface under the cumulative ranking, Shenmai injection combined with trimetazidine appeared to be superior in terms of effective rate, while Astragalus injection or Salviae miltiorrhizae and ligustrazine hydrochloride injection combined with trimetazidine appeared most effective in reducing myocardial injury markers. There was no significant difference in safety between the interventions. However, a lack of safety monitoring in some selected studies meant that the safety of some interventions could not be fully evaluated. Conclusion: CHIs combined with trimetazidine may have therapeutic value in the treatment of viral myocarditis, and Shenmai injection, Astragalus injection, and Salviae miltiorrhizae and ligustrazine hydrochloride injection may represent the most effective CHIs. Further clinical investigation is required to confirm these results.

Comorbidities' potential impacts on severe and non-severe patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:An ongoing outbreak of pneumonia associated with the severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that patients with comorbidities and novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection may have poor survival outcomes. However, the risk of these coexisting medical conditions in severe and non-severe cases has not been systematically reported.Purpose:The present study aimed to estimate the association of chronic comorbidities in severe and non-severe cases.Methods:A literature search was conducted using the databases PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database (CQVIP) from the inception dates to April 1, 2020, to identify cohort studies assessing comorbidity and risk of adverse outcome. Either a fixed- or random-effects model was used to calculate the overall combined risk estimates.Results:A total of 22 studies involving 3286 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were included in the analysis. Overall, compared with the patients with non-severe cases, the pooled odds ratios (ORs) of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory diseases in patients with severe cases were 2.79 (95% confidence intervals [95% CI]: 1.66–4.69), 1.64 (95% CI: 2.30–1.08), 1.79 (95% CI: 1.08–2.96), 3.92 (95% CI: 2.45–6.28), and 1.98 (95% CI: 1.26–3.12), respectively.Conclusions:This meta-analysis supports the finding that chronic comorbidities may contribute to severe outcome in patients with COVID-19. According to the findings of the present study, old age and 2 or more comorbidities are significantly impactful to COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalized patients in China.

Male sperm quality and risk of recurrent spontaneous abortion in Chinese couples: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective:To assess the association of conventional semen parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation with risk of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).Design:Systematic review and meta-analysis.Setting:Not applicable.Patient(s):Total 1,690 male partners of women with RSA, and 1,337 male partners of fertile control women.Intervention(s):Case-control or cohort studies were determined by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries, China Biology Medicine disc, Chinese Scientific Journals Fulltext Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database. RSA was defined as two or more previous pregnancy losses. The fertile women refer to the reproductive women who have had at least a normal pregnancy history and no history of abortion.Main Outcome Measure(s):This study included eight outcome measures: semen volume(ml), semen pH value, sperm density(106/ml), sperm viability (%), sperm progressive motility rate (%), normal sperm morphology rate (%), sperm deformity rate(%), sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) (%). The summary measures were reported as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI).Result(s):Finally, twenty-four studies were included for analysis. Overall, male partners of women with RSA had a significantly lower level of sperm density (SMD = -0.53, 95%CI: – 0.75 to –0.30), sperm viability (SMD = -1.03, 95%CI: – 1.52 to –0.54), sperm progressive motility rate (SMD = -0.76, 95%CI:-1.06 – -0.46), and normal sperm morphology rate (SMD = –0.56, 95%CI: – 0.99 to –0.12), and had a significantly higher rate of sperm deformity rate (SMD = 1.29, 95%CI: 0.60 – 1.97), and sperm DFI (SMD = 1.60, 95%CI: 1.04 to 2.17), when compared with the reference group. However, there were no statistically significant differences for semen volume (SMD = -0.03, 95%CI: -0.14 – 0.08) and semen pH value (SMD = –0.23, 95% CI: –0.50 to 0.05) among 2 groups.Conclusion(s):The results of this analysis support an association of sperm density, sperm viability, sperm progressive motility rate, normal sperm morphology rate, sperm deformity rate, as well as sperm DFI with RSA. However, given the significant heterogeneity between studies and the lack of more detailed data on the subjects, further large-scale prospective studies are needed.

Chinese herbal medicine for hypertension complicated with hyperlipidemia: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:Hypertension combined with hyperlipidemia (HTN-HLP), as a common clinical chronic disease combination, will increase the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, increase the occurrence of sudden death and other adverse events. At present, the commonly used therapeutic drugs are mainly combined with antihypertensive drugs and lipid-lowering drugs, which not only have poor compliance, but also have adverse reactions. Currently, traditional Chinese medicine, as a traditional medicine in China, has been applied in clinical practice for thousands of years and has rich clinical experience in treating HTN-HLP. However, there is no systematic evaluation of the efficacy, safety and improvement of patients’ quality of life. This systematic review and meta-analysis will assess studies of the effects and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for HTN-HLP patients.Methods:We will search PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science (ISI), China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database (VIP) and China Biological Medicine Database from the time when databases were established to 01, February 2021. After a series of screening, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) will be included related to CHM for HTN-HLP. Two researchers will assess the RCTs through the Cochrane bias risk assessment tool. And the evidence grade of the results will be evaluated by GRADEprofiler software.Results:This study will provide a reliable evidence for the efficiency of antihypertensive and reducing blood lipids of CHM for HTN-HLP.Conclusion:We will summarize the methods and provide sufficient evidence to confirm the efficacy and safety of CHM for HTN-HLP.INPLASY registration number:INPLASY2020110144.

Efficacy and safety of Shenqi Jiangtang Granules plus oral hypoglycemic agent in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 RCTs.

Objective:Shenqi Jiangtang Granules (SQJTG) has been widely used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). But whether there exists sufficient evidence on the efficacy of SQJTG in the treatment of T2DM is unclear. In order to assess the effects of SQJTG for T2DM, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were carried out.Methods:Eight databases, namely, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database, CBM, and Wanfang database were searched up to May 2020. According to the Cochrane standards, the selection of study, the extraction of data, the assessment of study quality, and the analyses of data were carried out strictly. Then a fixed or random effects model was applied to analyze the outcomes.Results:Fifteen studies (N = 1392) in total conformed the inclusion criteria to this meta-analysis. Two subgroups were identified, based on different dose of SQJTG: oral hypoglycemic agent (OHA) vs OHA plus SQJTG (1 g); OHA vs. OHA plus SQJTG (1.5–3 g). The pooled results showed that, in comparison with OHA, OHA plus SQJTG significantly reduced fasting plasma glucose in both 1 g subgroup and 1.5–3 g subgroup; 2-hour post-meal blood glucose was also greatly reduced in the SQJTG 1 g subgroup and the SQJTG 1.5–3 g subgroup. Compared with OHA, SQJTG 1 g subgroup significantly reduced levels of glycated hemoglobin A1c, as well as the SQJTG 1.5–3 g subgroup. Homeostasis model-insulin resistance index was also reduced in both SQJTG 1 g subgroup and SQJTG 1.5–3 g subgroup; SQJTG group can also significantly reduce the total adverse events especially in reducing the incidence of hypoglycemia.Conclusions:SQJTG is an effective and safe complementary treatment for T2DM patients. This meta-analysis provides an evidence for the treatment in patients with T2DM. While owing to the high heterogeneity and the trials’ small sample size, it's crucial to perform large-scale and strict designed studies.

Bloodletting at EX-HN6 as an adjunctive therapy to eye drops for stye: A meta-analysis.

Background:This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of bloodletting (BL) at ear-apex (EX-HN6) as an adjunctive therapy to eye drops for stye.Methods:This study systematically searched electronic databases from inception to March 1, 2020 in PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database, and WanFang Database. All potential randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effectiveness and safety of BL at EX-HN6 as an adjunctive therapy to eye drops for stye were included in this study. Study quality of all included studies was assessed by Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. RevMan 5.3 software was used for statistical analysis and meta-analysis performance.Results:A total of 11 RCTs, involving 1718 subjects, were included in this study. Results showed that BL at EX-HN6 as an adjunctive therapy to eye drops was superior to the eye drops alone in enhancing total effectiveness rate (risk ratio [RR] 1.21, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] [1.11, 1.32], I2 = 79%), and total cure rate (RR 1.28, 95% CIs [1.14, 1.43], I2 = 69%). After removing two studies, results of subgroup analysis still showed significant improvements in total effectiveness rate (RR 1.13, 95% CIs [1.08, 1.18], I2 = 0%), and total cure rate (RR 1.16, 95% CIs [1.08, 1.24], I2 = 0%). No data of adverse reactions was reported in primary trials, thus, this study did not analyze adverse reactions of BL at EX-HN6 as an adjunctive therapy to eye drops for stye.Conclusion:BL at EX-HN6 as an adjunctive therapy to eye drops may benefit stye. However, high-quality RCTs addressing on this issue is still needed to warrant the findings of this study.

Comparative efficacy of Chinese herbal injections combined with GP regimen chemotherapy for patients with advanced NSCLC: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background:Many research has indicated that some Chinese herb injections (CHIs) might be beneficial in combination with chemotherapy, however, with inconsistent results. Hence, the purpose of this network meta-analysis is to evaluate different CHIs plus cisplatin and gemcitabine (GP) with GP alone in terms of clinical efficacy and safety for treating patients with advanced NSCLC.Methods:A comprehensive systematic search of clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science (ISI), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database (VIP), Wanfang Database and China Biological Medicine Database (CBM) databases will be conducted to identify eligible studies up to the date of May 2020. The primary outcome measures objective response rate and adverse reactions (nausea and vomiting, leukopenia). The secondary outcome measures median survival time (MST), disease control rate, and quality of life. The methodological qualities, including the risk of bias, will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool, while confidence in the cumulative evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The network meta-analysis will be performed using WinBUGS 14 and Stata 15.1 software.Results:Based on the current evidence, the potential rank of the efficacy and safety of CHIs plus GP chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC will be assessed, and a prioritization regimen will be summarized.Conclusion:Evidence from this systematic review could be useful for patients, clinical practitioners, and guideline-makers to select an optimum proposal of CHIs plus GP for advanced NSCLC.Ethics and dissemination:It is not necessary for ethical approval because it is based on published studies. The protocol will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or presented at a topic-related conference.PROSPERO registration number:CRD42020167142

Risk of congenital heart defects in offspring exposed to maternal diabetes mellitus: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) and its specific phenotypes associated with maternaldiabetes mellitus (DM) including pregestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). PubMed, Embase, Medline, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Fulltext Database and China Biology Medicine disc were searched from the inception dates to 15 December 2018, to identify case-control or cohort studies assessing the association between maternal DM and risk of CHDs. The exposure of interest was maternal DM; the outcomes of interest were CHDs and its specific phenotypes. Either a fixed- or a random-effects model was used to calculate the overall combined risk estimates. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore potential heterogeneity moderators. Total 52 studies, which involved 259,917 patients with CHDs among 16,929,835 participants, were included for analysis. Overall, mothers with DM compared with those without DM had a significantly higher risk of CHDs in offspring [odds ratios (OR) = 2.71, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.28-3.23]. When data were restricted to different types of DM, a significantly increased risk of CHDs was observed among mothers with PGDM (OR = 3.18, 95% CI 2.77-3.65) and GDM (OR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.66-2.36). Our study suggested the risk of CHDs was significantly higher among mothers with PGDM than those with GDM. Additionally, this study suggested maternal DM was significantly associated with most phenotypes of CHDs; of these, double outlet of the right ventricle (OR = 10.89; 95% CI 8.77-13.53), atrioventricular septal defect (OR = 5.74; 95% CI 3.20-10.27) and truncus arteriosus (OR = 5.06; 95% CI 2.65-9.65) were identified as the first three of the most common phenotypes of CHDs associated with maternal DM. The maternal DM including PGDM and GDM are significantly associated with risk of CHDs and its most phenotypes. The PGDM seems to be more likely to cause CHDs in offspring than GDM. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms.

Elemene injection combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

Background:To evaluate the short-term efficacy, long-term efficacy, and adverse events (AEs) of elemene plus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in comparison with TACE alone for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, the Chinese Scientific Journal Full-text Database, Wanfang Data, CBM, and VIP were searched by 2 reviewers using the same search strategy for clinical studies on elemene plus TACE in the treatment of HCC. These articles were screened according to pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the qualities of the included studies were assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. The primary outcomes were the objective response rate (ORR), the 1-year survival rate and AEs. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 15.0 were used for the meta-analysis.Results:A total of 10 studies involving 543 patients (TACE + elemene = 277, TACE alone = 266) were included. The results showed that the ORR was significantly improved in the combined treatment group compared to the TACE alone group (odds ratio [OR] = 2.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.84–4.00, P < .05). TACE + elemene significantly increased the 1-year survival rate (OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.58–4.95, P < .05). We also found no significant difference in gastrointestinal reactions (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.57–1.64, P = .90), fever (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.37–1.71, P = .56), or bone marrow suppression (OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.44–1.22, P = .23) between the 2 groups.Conclusion:Based on current findings, TACE + elemene injection may improve the ORR and the 1-year survival rate for HCC patients compared to TACE alone. Arterial perfusion may be superior to intravenous guttae.

Clinical effect of glucocorticoids versus pentoxifylline in patients with severe alcoholic liver disease: A Meta-analysis

Objective To systematically review the clinical effect of glucocorticoids used alone or in combination with pentoxifylline in patients with severe alcoholic liver disease. Methods PubMed, Embase, Chinese Scientific Journal Full-Text Database, CBM, China Scientific Journal Database, and Chinese Medical Association Digital Journal Database were searched for related articles published up to November 2018, and related journals and collected papers from conferences were searched manually. The clinical effect of glucocorticoids versus placebo, glucocorticoids versus pentoxifylline, and glucocorticoids combined with glucocorticoids versus glucocorticoids alone was analyzed.The effect of glucocorticoids and pentoxifylline used alone or in combination on 28-day survival rate and hepatorenal syndrome in patients with severe alcoholic liver disease was assessed. Odds ratio ( OR) and 95% confidence interval ( CI) were used to evaluate outcome indicators. RevMan 5. 3 software was used for data analysis. Results A total of 22 studies were included, with 1956 patients in total. The glucocorticoid group had a significantly lower 28-day mortality rate than the control group ( 25. 12% vs 30. 67%, OR = 0. 71, 95% CI: 0. 55-0. 93, P = 0. 01) . Subgroup analysis showed that there was a significant difference in 28-day mortality rate between the glucocorticoid group and the pentoxifylline group ( OR = 0. 68, 95% CI: 0. 48-0. 97, P = 0. 03) , while there was no significant difference between the glucocorticoid + pentoxifylline group and the glucocorticoid group ( OR = 0. 92, 95% CI: 0. 66-1. 29, P = 0. 64) . Compared with the glucocorticoid group, the glucocorticoid + pentoxifylline group had a significantly lower incidence rate of hepatorenal syndrome ( 3. 94% vs8. 03%, OR = 0. 45, 95% CI: 0. 24-0. 83, P = 0. 01) . Funnel plots showed no publication bias. Conclusion Glucocorticoids combined with pentoxifylline can reduce the incidence rate of hepatorenal syndrome in patients with severe alcoholic liver disease.

Efficacy of Salvia miltiorrhiza injection combined with steroids in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background:This study was performed to systematically review the efficacy of Salvia miltiorrhiza injection combined with steroids in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis.Methods:We searched 9 databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Medline, EBSCO, Embase, The Cochrane Library, WanFang Data, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database (VIP). Randomized controlled trials were collected to study the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis by S miltiorrhiza injection combined with steroids. Each database was searched from inception to November 2018. RevMan 5.3 software was used for the meta-analysis.Results:In total, 13 randomized controlled trials involving 1190 patients were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared with conventional treatment, S miltiorrhiza injection combined with steroids could significantly increase the maximal mouth opening [mean difference (MD), 0.23; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.16–0.30; P <.0001], decrease the oral mucosal lesion area (MD, −1.35; 95% CI, −2.46 to −0.25; P = .02), improve the subjective symptom burning sensation (MD, −0.77; 95% CI, −1.38 to −0.16; P = .01), and reduce adverse drug reactions (risk ratio, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.14–0.49; P <.0001).Conclusions:The results of this meta-analysis from current evidence showed that compared with conventional treatment, S miltiorrhiza injection combined with steroid could significantly improve the maximal mouth opening and the subjective symptom burning sensation as well as decrease the oral mucosal lesion area without increasing adverse effects.

Efficacy of Danshen Class Injection in the Treatment of Acute Cerebral Infarction: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Introduction As a common chronic disease with high morbidity and recurrent rate, acute cerebral infarction (ACI) affects the life quality of patients and gives them heavy psychological burden. And Danshen class injections (DSCIs) are commonly adopted in treating ACI. So, this network meta-analysis (NMA) was designed to assess the clinical efficacy of eight kinds of DSCIs. MethodsA systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, the China Biomedical Literature Service System, the Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database, and Wanfang database from their inception to 16th Dec. 2017 aiming to collect related randomized controlled trials (RCTs). And then data were analyzed through Stata and WinBUGS software based on the Bayesian statistical model. The results were reported as odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) with 95% credible intervals (CIs). The consistency test between direct and indirect comparisons was also evaluated and inconsistency factor was presented to manifest the heterogeneity among them. Meanwhile, the surface under the cumulative ranking probabilities (SUCRA) was utilized to rank the treatments in different outcomes. Results Finally, 157 RCTs with 15570 patients were included. A total of eight types DSCIs were identified. Based on the results, Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate injection (STS) plus western medicine (WM) had better effect on the clinical effectiveness rate, neurological impairment, and activities of daily living function than others. Meanwhile, Danhong injection (DS) and Danshen Salvianolic Acids injection (DSSA) had excellent performance in perfecting hemorheological indexes. ConclusionsIn conclusion, STS plus WM may be the optimum treatment for ACI. The following therapies were DS plus WM and DSSA plus WM. Nevertheless, in terms of the limitations of the study, more large samples, multicenter, and double-blind RCTs are still needed for validating our findings.

Systematic review of Shenqi Fuzheng Injection combined with chemotherapy for treatment of breast cancer

Databases including China Biological Medicine database(CBM), Chinese scientific journals full-text database(VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure database(CNKI), WanFang Data, PubMed, and EMbase were searched from inception to March 2018 to collect the randomized controlled trials(RCTs) on Shenqi Fuzheng Injection combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer. All included studies were critically appraised by two independent reviewers by following the cochrane systematic review method and using Revman 5.3 software and State 12.0 for data analysis. After screening, 20 RCTs involving 2 095 patients were included in the study. Meta-analysis showed that as compared with control group of chemotherapy alone, Shenqi Fuzheng Injection combined with chemotherapy could improve the clinical curative efficiency, the KPS score, and immune function indexes such as total T cells, Th cells and Ts cells; inhibit the decline of white blood cells(WBC), platelets in blood system, T-lymphocyte subsets such as CD3~+, CD4~+, CD4~+/CD8~+, alleviate myelosuppression and reduce the incidence of side effects such as gastrointestinal adverse reaction, liver and kidney dysfunction and abnormal electrocardiogram. The results revealed that for clinical breast cancer patients, Shenqi Fuzheng Injection combined with chemotherapy could significantly improve its clinical efficacy and reduce adverse reactions. However, the conclusions still need to be verified by high-quality, multi-center, large-sample, prospective, randomized and double-blind clinical trials. In conclusion, this study has systemically evaluated the efficacy and safety of Shenqi Fuzheng Injection combined with chemotherapy in treatment of breast cancer and provided the reference of evidence-based medicine for safe and effective clinical application of medicines.

Reported prevalence of childhood maltreatment among Chinese college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of childhood maltreatment among college students in China by a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsA systematic search of relevant articles in Pubmed, Wanfang Data, Chinese Scientific Journals Fulltext Database (CQVIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc) was conducted on September 1, 2017. A random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence and sources of heterogeneity were explored using subgroup analyses.ResultsIn total, 32 studies were included in our review. The pooled prevalence of childhood maltreatment among college students was 64.7% (CI: 52.3%-75.6%). For childhood physical abuse(CPA), childhood emotional abuse(CEA), childhood sexual abuse(CSA), childhood physical neglect(CPN)and childhood emotional neglect (CEN), the pooled estimates were 17.4% (13.8%-21.3%), 36.7%(25.1%-49.1%), 15.7%(11.6%-20.2%), 54.9%(41.2%-68.1%) and 60.0% (45.0%-74.0%), respectively. Use of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) yielded a higher pooled estimate than any other measurement tools in the subgroup analyses of CPA, CEA, CSA, CPN and CEN. The Egger’s tests revealed no evidence of publication bias(P>0.05).ConclusionsChildhood maltreatment is common among college students in China. Prevention policies and programmes should be urgently developed to stop the occurrence of child maltreatment, and special attention should be paid to maltreated college students.

Clinical efficacy and safety of sodium cantharidinate plus chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials.

Sodium cantharidinate has been widely used in lung cancer treatment in China. To investigate whether sodium cantharidinate improves clinical effectiveness in non-small-cell lung cancer, we systematically re-evaluated all related studies. All studies of cantharidinate for non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) were selected from the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science (ISI), China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database (VIP), Wanfang, China Biological Medicine Database (CBM), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese clinical trial registry (Chi-CTR), WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) and US-clinical trials databases (established to September 2017). Their quality was evaluated using the Cochrane evaluation handbook of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (5.1.0). The data were extracted following PICO principles and synthesized through meta-analysis. We included 38 trials involving 2845 patients, but most trials had an unclear risk of bias. Sodium cantharidinate could increase the objective response rate (ORR) (1.52, (1.40-1.66]), disease control rate (DCR) (1.20, [1.16-1.25]) and quality of life (QOL) (1.76, [1.56-1.98]), but not the 1-year overall survival (OS) rate (1.16, [0.91-1.47]) and the 2-year OS rate (1.21, [0.51-2.91]). Subgroup analysis revealed that sodium cantharidinate and vitamin B6 at 0.5, 0.4 or 0.3 mg, and cantharidinate at 0.5 mg could all increase the ORR and DCR. Cantharidinate therapy had a lower risk of neutropenia (0.58, [0.50-0.67]), thrombocytopenia (0.57, [0.45-0.72]), gastrointestinal reaction (0.65, [0.52-0.82]) and nausea/vomiting (0.56, [0.41-0.76]) than that of chemotherapy alone. Sensitivity analysis showed that the results had good robustness. Current evidence reveals that sodium cantharidinate can improve tumour responses and QOL with a lower risk of haematotoxicity and gastrointestinal toxicity than chemotherapy alone in NSCLC. However, the evidence does not indicate that it can improve long-term survival rates.

Clinical efficacy and safety of CIK plus radiotherapy for lung cancer: A meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials

Cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) therapy is the most commonly used cellular immunotherapy. The CIK plus radiotherapy was clinically used in a wide range of treatment, but the efficacy of their combination against lung cancer is not clear yet. Therefore, we systematically evaluated all the related studies to reveal the combination's clinical efficacy and safety in lung cancer. We collected all the studies about CIK plus radiotherapy for lung cancer in Medline, Embase, Web of Science (ISI), China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database (VIP), Wanfang Database, China Biological Medicine Database (CBM) and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese clinical trial registry (Chi-CTR), WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) and US-clinical trials (March 2017). We evaluated their bias risk according to the Cochrane evaluation handbook of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), extracted all the data, and synthesized the data using meta analysis. We included 16 RCTs involving 1197 patients with lung cancer, and most trials had unclear risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed that CIK therapy could increase the objective response rate (ORR) (1.32, 1.21 to 1.44), the disease control rate (DCR) (1.13, 1.04 to 1.23), the 1-year overall survival (OS) rate (1.38, 1.16 to 1.63) and the 2-year OS rate (1.23, 1.11 to 1.35). DCs-CIK cells increased the 3-year OS rate (1.66, 1.20 to 2.29). DCs-CIK therapy could increase the CD3+T cells (2.27, 1.47 to 3.06), CD4+T cells (1.28, 0.74 to 1.81), NK cells (2.04, 0.74 to 3.33) and CD4+/CD8+ T cells ratio (1.20, 0.64 to 1.76) and decrease the CD8+T cells (-0.84, -1.60 to -0.08). CIK plus radiotherapy had lower risk of leukopenia (0.85, 0.76 to 0.95) and higher risk of fever (5.50, 2.71 to 11.17) than that of radiotherapy alone. Subgroup analysis showed that CIK plus radiotherapy, mainly three dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) could increase the ORR, DCR, 1- and 2- year OS rate in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and only DCR in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Compared with CIK plus pure radiotherapy, except for the ORR, DCR, 1-year OS rate, CIK plus chemoradiotherapy could still increase the 2-year OS rate. DCs-CIK could increase the ORR, DCR, 1- and 2-year OS rate, CIK cells could only increase the ORR and the 1-year OS rate. CIK plus radiotherapy can improve the clinical response, OS and PFS in lung cancer. It may have low risk of leukopenia and high risk of fever. CIK plus chemoradiotherapy, mainly 3D-CRT can improve the clinical response, OS and PFS in NSCLC. DCs-CIK cells can improve the 1-, 2- and 3-year OS rate, and the 1- and 2-year PFS rate, and CIK cells only improve the 1-year OS rate. DCs-CIK cells can repair the antitumor immunity.

Pregnancy-related complications and perinatal outcomes resulting from transfer of cryopreserved versus fresh embryos in vitro fertilization: a meta-analysis

To provide an updated comparison of pregnancy-related complications and adverse perinatal outcomes of pregnancies conceived after frozen embryo transfer (FET) versus fresh embryo transfer (fresh ET). Meta-analysis. University. Pregnancies resulting from FET versus fresh ET. Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Chinese databases, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang, and Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database were searched by two independent reviewers from January 1980 to September 2017. The results were expressed as risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Pregnancy-related complications and perinatal outcomes. Our search retrieved 1,397 articles, of which 31 studies were included. Pregnancies resulting from FET were associated with lower relative risks of placenta previa, placental abruption, low birth weight, very low birth weight, very preterm birth, small for gestational age, and perinatal mortality compared with fresh ET. Pregnancies occurring from FET were associated with increased risks of pregnancy-induced hypertension, postpartum hemorrhage, and large for gestational age compared with fresh ET. The risks of gestational diabetes mellitus, preterm premature rupture of the membranes, and preterm birth (PTB) showed no differences between the two groups. Our analysis demonstrated that FET results in lower risks of placenta previa, placental abruption, low birth weight, very low birth weight, very preterm birth, small for gestational age, and perinatal mortality than fresh ET, some differences that are attributed to the increased risks of pregnancy-induced hypertension, large for gestational age, and postpartum hemorrhage. Although cryotechnology keeps improving, for comprehensive consideration, individual approaches remain appropriate to balance the options of FET or fresh ET at present.