Comparison of search strategies in systematic reviews of adverse effects to other systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Golder, Su; Loke, Yoon K; Zorzela, Liliane

2014-06-01

Research indicates that the methods used to identify data for systematic reviews of adverse effects may need to differ from other systematic reviews. To compare search methods in systematic reviews of adverse effects with other reviews. The search methodologies in 849 systematic reviews of adverse effects were compared with other reviews. Poor reporting of search strategies is apparent in both systematic reviews of adverse effects and other types of systematic reviews. Systematic reviews of adverse effects are less likely to restrict their searches to MEDLINE or include only randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The use of other databases is largely dependent on the topic area and the year the review was conducted, with more databases searched in more recent reviews. Adverse effects search terms are used by 72% of reviews and despite recommendations only two reviews report using floating subheadings. The poor reporting of search strategies in systematic reviews is universal, as is the dominance of searching MEDLINE. However, reviews of adverse effects are more likely to include a range of study designs (not just RCTs) and search beyond MEDLINE. © 2014 Crown Copyright.

The quality of systematic reviews about interventions for refractive error can be improved: a review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo-Wilson, Evan; Ng, Sueko Matsumura; Chuck, Roy S; Li, Tianjing

2017-09-05

Systematic reviews should inform American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Preferred Practice Pattern® (PPP) guidelines. The quality of systematic reviews related to the forthcoming Preferred Practice Pattern® guideline (PPP) Refractive Errors & Refractive Surgery is unknown. We sought to identify reliable systematic reviews to assist the AAO Refractive Errors & Refractive Surgery PPP. Systematic reviews were eligible if they evaluated the effectiveness or safety of interventions included in the 2012 PPP Refractive Errors & Refractive Surgery. To identify potentially eligible systematic reviews, we searched the Cochrane Eyes and Vision United States Satellite database of systematic reviews. Two authors identified eligible reviews and abstracted information about the characteristics and quality of the reviews independently using the Systematic Review Data Repository. We classified systematic reviews as "reliable" when they (1) defined criteria for the selection of studies, (2) conducted comprehensive literature searches for eligible studies, (3) assessed the methodological quality (risk of bias) of the included studies, (4) used appropriate methods for meta-analyses (which we assessed only when meta-analyses were reported), (5) presented conclusions that were supported by the evidence provided in the review. We identified 124 systematic reviews related to refractive error; 39 met our eligibility criteria, of which we classified 11 to be reliable. Systematic reviews classified as unreliable did not define the criteria for selecting studies (5; 13%), did not assess methodological rigor (10; 26%), did not conduct comprehensive searches (17; 44%), or used inappropriate quantitative methods (3; 8%). The 11 reliable reviews were published between 2002 and 2016. They included 0 to 23 studies (median = 9) and analyzed 0 to 4696 participants (median = 666). Seven reliable reviews (64%) assessed surgical interventions. Most systematic reviews of interventions for

"Assessing the methodological quality of systematic reviews in radiation oncology: A systematic review".

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, Haroon; Muhammed, Taaha; Yu, Jennifer; Taguchi, Kelsi; Samargandi, Osama A; Howard, A Fuchsia; Lo, Andrea C; Olson, Robert; Goddard, Karen

2017-10-01

The objective of our study was to evaluate the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in Radiation Oncology. A systematic literature search was conducted for all eligible systematic reviews and meta-analyses in Radiation Oncology from 1966 to 2015. Methodological characteristics were abstracted from all works that satisfied the inclusion criteria and quality was assessed using the critical appraisal tool, AMSTAR. Regression analyses were performed to determine factors associated with a higher score of quality. Following exclusion based on a priori criteria, 410 studies (157 systematic reviews and 253 meta-analyses) satisfied the inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses were found to be of fair to good quality while systematic reviews were found to be of less than fair quality. Factors associated with higher scores of quality in the multivariable analysis were including primary studies consisting of randomized control trials, performing a meta-analysis, and applying a recommended guideline related to establishing a systematic review protocol and/or reporting. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses may introduce a high risk of bias if applied to inform decision-making based on AMSTAR. We recommend that decision-makers in Radiation Oncology scrutinize the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses prior to assessing their utility to inform evidence-based medicine and researchers adhere to methodological standards outlined in validated guidelines when embarking on a systematic review. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methodology in conducting a systematic review of systematic reviews of healthcare interventions

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Smith, Valerie

2011-02-03

Abstract Background Hundreds of studies of maternity care interventions have been published, too many for most people involved in providing maternity care to identify and consider when making decisions. It became apparent that systematic reviews of individual studies were required to appraise, summarise and bring together existing studies in a single place. However, decision makers are increasingly faced by a plethora of such reviews and these are likely to be of variable quality and scope, with more than one review of important topics. Systematic reviews (or overviews) of reviews are a logical and appropriate next step, allowing the findings of separate reviews to be compared and contrasted, providing clinical decision makers with the evidence they need. Methods The methods used to identify and appraise published and unpublished reviews systematically, drawing on our experiences and good practice in the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews are described. The process of identifying and appraising all published reviews allows researchers to describe the quality of this evidence base, summarise and compare the review\\'s conclusions and discuss the strength of these conclusions. Results Methodological challenges and possible solutions are described within the context of (i) sources, (ii) study selection, (iii) quality assessment (i.e. the extent of searching undertaken for the reviews, description of study selection and inclusion criteria, comparability of included studies, assessment of publication bias and assessment of heterogeneity), (iv) presentation of results, and (v) implications for practice and research. Conclusion Conducting a systematic review of reviews highlights the usefulness of bringing together a summary of reviews in one place, where there is more than one review on an important topic. The methods described here should help clinicians to review and appraise published reviews systematically, and aid evidence-based clinical decision-making.

Contemporary management of pyloric stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jobson, Matthew; Hall, Nigel J

2016-08-01

Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is a common surgical cause of vomiting in infants. Following appropriate fluid resuscitation, the mainstay of treatment is pyloromyotomy. This article reviews the aetiology and pathophysiology of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, its clinical presentation, the role of imaging, the preoperative and postoperative management, current surgical approaches and non-surgical treatment options. Contemporary postoperative feeding regimens, outcomes and complications are also discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Systematic Reviews in Sports Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

DiSilvestro, Kevin J; Tjoumakaris, Fotios P; Maltenfort, Mitchell G; Spindler, Kurt P; Freedman, Kevin B

2016-02-01

The number of systematic reviews published in the orthopaedic literature has increased, and these reviews can help guide clinical decision making. However, the quality of these reviews can affect the reader's ability to use the data to arrive at accurate conclusions and make clinical decisions. To evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the sports medicine literature to determine whether such reviews should be used to guide treatment decisions. The hypothesis was that many systematic reviews in the orthopaedic sports medicine literature may not follow the appropriate reporting guidelines or methodological criteria recommended for systematic reviews. Systematic review. All clinical sports medicine systematic reviews and meta-analyses from 2009 to 2013 published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM), The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), Arthroscopy, Sports Health, and Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (KSSTA) were reviewed and evaluated for level of evidence according to the guidelines from the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, for reporting quality according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, and for methodological quality according to the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool. Analysis was performed by year and journal of publication, and the levels of evidence included in the systematic reviews were also analyzed. A total of 200 systematic reviews and meta-analyses were identified over the study period. Of these, 53% included evidence levels 4 and 5 in their analyses, with just 32% including evidence levels 1 and 2 only. There were significant differences in the proportion of articles with high levels of evidence (P Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in orthopaedics sports medicine literature relied on evidence levels 4 and 5 in 53% of studies over the 5-year study period. Overall, PRISMA and

A case of William's syndrome associated peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Kyung Hwa; Hwang, Mi Soo; Kim, Sun Yong; Chang, Jae Chun; Park, Bok Hwan

1988-01-01

William's syndrome, in order to more completely delineate the total spectrum of the disorder, indicates that 'infantile hypercalcemia', 'peculiar facies' and 'supravalvular aortic stenosis.' In has other many vascular anomalies, such as peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis, coronary arterial stenosis, celiac arterial stenosis, and renal aterial stenosis. Only 32% of the patients have evidence of supravalvular aortic stenosis. And it is very rare disease entity that has been reported rarely in Korea. Recently authors experienced a case that was questioned William's syndrome with peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis, clinically and preliminary radiologically and this case was confirmed by operation. Here we report a case of William's syndrome with peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis and reviewed literatures

Spinal stenosis with paraparesis in albright hereditary osteodystrophy. Case report and review of the literature.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lindert, E.J. van; Bartels, R.H.M.A.; Noordam, C.

2008-01-01

We describe thoracic spinal stenosis with progressive myelopathy in association with Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) in a 12-year-old child with delayed diagnosis and review the relevant literature in order to identify the pathophysiological mechanism. The child was successfully treated by

An overview of systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Kathy A; Weeks, Susan Mace

2014-12-01

Systematic review is an invaluable tool for the practicing clinician. A well-designed systematic review represents the latest and most complete information available on a particular topic or intervention. This article highlights the key elements of systematic review, what it is and is not, and provides an overview of several reputable organizations supporting the methodological development and conduct of systematic review. Important aspects for evaluating the quality of a systematic review are also included. Copyright © 2014 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, E

2002-01-01

Homeopathy remains one of the most controversial subjects in therapeutics. This article is an attempt to clarify its effectiveness based on recent systematic reviews. Electronic databases were searched for systematic reviews/meta-analysis on the subject. Seventeen articles fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Six of them related to re-analyses of one landmark meta-analysis. Collectively they implied that the overall positive result of this meta-analysis is not supported by a critical analysis of the data. Eleven independent systematic reviews were located. Collectively they failed to provide strong evidence in favour of homeopathy. In particular, there was no condition which responds convincingly better to homeopathic treatment than to placebo or other control interventions. Similarly, there was no homeopathic remedy that was demonstrated to yield clinical effects that are convincingly different from placebo. It is concluded that the best clinical evidence for homeopathy available to date does not warrant positive recommendations for its use in clinical practice. PMID:12492603

Subclavian steal syndrome without subclavian stenosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matt Cwinn, MD

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Subclavian steal syndrome (SSS has been well described in the setting of subclavian stenosis. We describe an unusual case of SSS caused by a high-flow arteriovenous dialysis fistula in the absence of subclavian stenosis, provide a review of the literature, and propose that arteriovenous fistula-induced SSS is an underdiagnosed cause of syncope in this population of patients.

Biodegradable stents for the treatment of refractory or recurrent benign esophageal stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Imaz-Iglesia, Iñaki; García-Pérez, Sonia; Nachtnebel, Anna; Martín-Águeda, Belén; Sánchez-Piedra, Carlos; Karadayi, Bilgehan; Demirbaş, Ali Rıza

2016-06-01

Esophageal stents are used for the treatment of refractory and recurrent dyphagias. In 2007, esophageal biodegradable stents (EBS) were authorised as an alternative to existing metal and plastic stents in Europe. The advantages claimed for EBS are fewer complications concerning tissue ingrowth, stent migration and stent removal. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EBS compared to fully-covered self-expanding metal stents, self-expanding plastic stents, and esophageal dilation for the treatment of refractory or recurrent benign esophageal stenosis. Three comparative studies (one randomized controlled trial and two cohort studies) were assessed. The studies used different inclusion criteria, had a very small (sample) size and the quality of the evidence was very low. Expert commentary: The current evidence is insufficient to determine the relative efficacy or safety of esophageal biodegradable stents. The results of this systematic review should be updated once new evidence is available.

Systematic review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bager, Palle; Chauhan, Usha; Greveson, Kay

2017-01-01

of evidence is needed and the aim of this article was to systematically review the evidence of IBD advice lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A broad systematic literature search was performed to identify relevant studies addressing the effect of advice lines. The process of selection of the retrieved studies...... was undertaken in two phases. In phase one, all abstracts were review by two independent reviewers. In phase two, the full text of all included studies were independently reviewed by two reviewers. The included studies underwent quality assessment and data synthesis. RESULTS: Ten published studies and 10...... congress abstracts were included in the review. The studies were heterogeneous both in scientific quality and in the focus of the study. No rigorous evidence was found to support that advice lines improve disease activity in IBD and correspondingly no studies reported worsening in disease activity. Advice...

Do evidence summaries increase policy-makers' use of evidence from systematic reviews: A systematic review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Petkovic, Jennifer; Welch, Vivian; Tugwell, Peter

2015-09-28

Systematic reviews are important for decision-makers. They offer many potential benefits but are often written in technical language, are too long, and do not contain contextual details which makes them hard to use for decision-making. There are many organizations that develop and disseminate derivative products, such as evidence summaries, from systematic reviews for different populations or subsets of decision-makers. This systematic review will assess the effectiveness of systematic review summaries on increasing policymakers' use of systematic review evidence and to identify the components or features of these summaries that are most effective. We will include studies of policy-makers at all levels as well as health-system managers. We will include studies examining any type of "evidence summary," "policy brief," or other products derived from systematic reviews that present evidence in a summarized form. The primary outcomes are the following: (1) use of systematic review summaries decision-making (e.g., self-reported use of the evidence in policy-making, decision-making) and (2) policy-maker understanding, knowledge, and/or beliefs (e.g., changes in knowledge scores about the topic included in the summary). We will conduct a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomized controlled trials (NRCTs), controlled before-after studies (CBA), and interrupted time series (ITS) studies. The results of this review will inform the development of future systematic review summaries to ensure that systematic review evidence is accessible to and used by policy-makers making health-related decisions.

Surgery or physical activity in the management of sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Matthew; Ferreira, Manuela L; Refshauge, Kathryn M; Hartvigsen, Jan; Silva, Isabela R C; Maher, Chris G; Koes, Bart W; Ferreira, Paulo H

2016-11-01

Previous reviews have compared surgical to non-surgical management of sciatica, but have overlooked the specific comparison between surgery and physical activity-based interventions. Systematic review using MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase and PEDro databases was conducted. Randomised controlled trials comparing surgery to physical activity, where patients were experiencing the three most common causes of sciatica-disc herniation, spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis. Two independent reviewers extracted pain and disability data (converted to a common 0-100 scale) and assessed methodological quality using the PEDro scale. The size of the effects was estimated for each outcome at three different time points, with a random effects model adopted and the GRADE approach used in summary conclusions. Twelve trials were included. In the short term, surgery provided better outcomes than physical activity for disc herniation: disability [WMD -9.00 (95 % CI -13.73, -4.27)], leg pain [WMD -16.01 (95 % CI -23.00, -9.02)] and back pain [WMD -12.44 (95 % CI -17.76, -7.09)]; for spondylolisthesis: disability [WMD -14.60 (95 % CI -17.12, -12.08)], leg pain [WMD -35.00 (95 % CI -39.66, -30.34)] and back pain [WMD -20.00 (95 % CI -24.66, -15.34)] and spinal stenosis: disability [WMD -11.39 (95 % CI -17.31, -5.46)], leg pain [WMD, -27.17 (95 % CI -35.87, -18.46)] and back pain [WMD -20.80 (95 % CI -25.15, -16.44)]. Long-term and greater than 2-year post-randomisation results favoured surgery for spondylolisthesis and stenosis, although the size of the effects reduced with time. For disc herniation, no significant effect was shown for leg and back pain comparing surgery to physical activity. There are indications that surgery is superior to physical activity-based interventions in reducing pain and disability for disc herniation at short-term follow-up only; but high-quality evidence in this field is lacking (GRADE). For spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis, surgery is superior to physical

Do cervical epidural injections provide long-term relief in neck and upper extremity pain? A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Manchikanti, Laxmaiah; Nampiaparampil, Devi E; Candido, Kenneth D; Bakshi, Sanjay; Grider, Jay S; Falco, Frank J E; Sehgal, Nalini; Hirsch, Joshua A

2015-01-01

The high prevalence of chronic persistent neck pain not only leads to disability but also has a significant economic, societal, and health impact. Among multiple modalities of treatments prescribed in the management of neck and upper extremity pain, surgical, interventional and conservative modalities have been described. Cervical epidural injections are also common modalities of treatments provided in managing neck and upper extremity pain. They are administered by either an interlaminar approach or transforaminal approach. To determine the long-term efficacy of cervical interlaminar and transforaminal epidural injections in the treatment of cervical disc herniation, spinal stenosis, discogenic pain without facet joint pain, and post surgery syndrome. The literature search was performed from 1966 to October 2014 utilizing data from PubMed, Cochrane Library, US National Guideline Clearinghouse, previous systematic reviews, and cross-references. The evidence was assessed based on best evidence synthesis with Level I to Level V. There were 7 manuscripts meeting inclusion criteria. Of these, 4 assessed the role of interlaminar epidural injections for managing disc herniation or radiculitis, and 3 assessed these injections for managing central spinal stenosis, discogenic pain without facet joint pain, and post surgery syndrome. There were 4 high quality manuscripts. A qualitative synthesis of evidence showed there is Level II evidence for each etiology category. The evidence is based on one relevant, high quality trial supporting the efficacy of cervical interlaminar epidural injections for each particular etiology. There were no randomized trials available assessing the efficacy of cervical transforaminal epidural injections. Paucity of available literature, specifically conditions other than disc herniation. This systematic review with qualitative best evidence synthesis shows Level II evidence for the efficacy of cervical interlaminar epidural injections with local

A low proportion of systematic reviews in physical therapy are registered: a survey of 150 published systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Crystian B; Elkins, Mark R; Lemes, Ítalo Ribeiro; de Oliveira Silva, Danilo; Briani, Ronaldo V; Monteiro, Henrique Luiz; Azevedo, Fábio Mícolis de; Pinto, Rafael Zambelli

Systematic reviews provide the best evidence about the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. Although systematic reviews are conducted with explicit and transparent methods, discrepancies might occur between the protocol and the publication. To estimate the proportion of systematic reviews of physical therapy interventions that are registered, the methodological quality of (un)registered systematic reviews and the prevalence of outcome reporting bias in registered systematic reviews. A random sample of 150 systematic reviews published in 2015 indexed on the PEDro database. We included systematic reviews written in English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. A checklist for assessing the methodological quality of systematic reviews tool was used. Relative risk was calculated to explore the association between meta-analysis results and the changes in the outcomes. Twenty-nine (19%) systematic reviews were registered. Funding and publication in a journal with an impact factor higher than 5.0 were associated with registration. Registered systematic reviews demonstrated significantly higher methodological quality (median=8) than unregistered systematic reviews (median=5). Nine (31%) registered systematic reviews demonstrated discrepancies between protocol and publication with no evidence that such discrepancies were applied to favor the statistical significance of the intervention (RR=1.16; 95% CI: 0.63-2.12). A low proportion of systematic reviews in the physical therapy field are registered. The registered systematic reviews showed high methodological quality without evidence of outcome reporting bias. Further strategies should be implemented to encourage registration. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Stroke prevention-surgical and interventional approaches to carotid stenosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar Rajamani

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Extra cranial carotid artery stenosis is an important cause of stroke, which often needs treatment with carotid revascularization. To prevent stroke recurrence, carotid endarterectomy (CEA has been well-established for several decades for symptomatic high and moderate grade stenosis. Carotid stenting is a less invasive alternative to CEA and several recent trials have compared the efficacy of the 2 procedures in patients with carotid stenosis. Carotid artery stenting has emerged as a potential mode of therapy for high surgical risk patients with symptomatic high-grade stenosis. This review focuses on the current data available that will enable the clinician to decide optimal treatment strategies for patients with carotid stenosis.

Interventions to Reduce Adult Nursing Turnover: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Halter, Mary; Pelone, Ferruccio; Boiko, Olga; Beighton, Carole; Harris, Ruth; Gale, Julia; Gourlay, Stephen; Drennan, Vari

2017-01-01

Nurse turnover is an issue of concern in health care systems internationally. Understanding which interventions are effective to reduce turnover rates is important to managers and health care organisations. Despite a plethora of reviews of such interventions, strength of evidence is hard to determine. We aimed to review literature on interventions to reduce turnover in nurses working in the adult health care services in developed economies. We conducted an overview (systematic review of systematic reviews) using the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, CINAHL plus and SCOPUS and forward searching. We included reviews published between 1990 and January 2015 in English. We carried out parallel blinded selection, extraction of data and assessment of bias, using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews. We carried out a narrative synthesis. Despite the large body of published reviews, only seven reviews met the inclusion criteria. These provide moderate quality review evidence, albeit from poorly controlled primary studies. They provide evidence of effect of a small number of interventions which decrease turnover or increase retention of nurses, these being preceptorship of new graduates and leadership for group cohesion. We highlight that a large body of reviews does not equate with a large body of high quality evidence. Agreement as to the measures and terminology to be used together with well-designed, funded primary research to provide robust evidence for nurse and human resource managers to base their nurse retention strategies on is urgently required.

A Systematic Review of Outcomes Following Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty and Stenting in the Treatment of Transplant Renal Artery Stenosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ngo, A. T.; Markar, S. R.; de Lijster, M. S.; Duncan, N.; Taube, D.; Hamady, M. S.

2015-01-01

To evaluate outcomes following treatment of transplant renal artery stenosis by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stent insertion. A literature search was performed using Pubmed, MEDLINE, Embase, Wiley Interscience and the Cochrane Library databases. Outcome measures were glomerular

How to write a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Joshua D; Quatman, Carmen E; Manring, M M; Siston, Robert A; Flanigan, David C

2014-11-01

The role of evidence-based medicine in sports medicine and orthopaedic surgery is rapidly growing. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are also proliferating in the medical literature. To provide the outline necessary for a practitioner to properly understand and/or conduct a systematic review for publication in a sports medicine journal. Review. The steps of a successful systematic review include the following: identification of an unanswered answerable question; explicit definitions of the investigation's participant(s), intervention(s), comparison(s), and outcome(s); utilization of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines and PROSPERO registration; thorough systematic data extraction; and appropriate grading of the evidence and strength of the recommendations. An outline to understand and conduct a systematic review is provided, and the difference between meta-analyses and systematic reviews is described. The steps necessary to perform a systematic review are fully explained, including the study purpose, search methodology, data extraction, reporting of results, identification of bias, and reporting of the study's main findings. Systematic reviews or meta-analyses critically appraise and formally synthesize the best existing evidence to provide a statement of conclusion that answers specific clinical questions. Readers and reviewers, however, must recognize that the quality and strength of recommendations in a review are only as strong as the quality of studies that it analyzes. Thus, great care must be used in the interpretation of bias and extrapolation of the review's findings to translation to clinical practice. Without advanced education on the topic, the reader may follow the steps discussed herein to perform a systematic review. © 2013 The Author(s).

Spinal stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beale, S.; Pathria, M.N.; Ross, J.S.; Masaryk, T.J.; Modic, M.T.

1988-01-01

The authors studied 50 patients who had spinal stenosis by means of MR imaging. All patients had undergone myelography and CT. Thirty patients underwent surgery. MR imaging included T1-weighted spin echo sequences with repetition time = 600 msec, echo time = 20 (600/20) sagittal and axial sections 4 mm thick with 2 mm gap. T2-weighted 2,000/60 axial images were obtained on 14 patients. Examinations were retrospectively evaluated for central stenosis, lateral recess narrowing, and foraminal encroachment. Measurements of sagittal, interpedicular, interfacet, and recess dimensions were made at L3-5. On MR images, 20 patients had single-level and 30 had multiple-level stenosis. There was excellent agreement between modalities with central canal stenosis, but a discrepancy in six patients with bony foraminal stenosis. MR imaging was an accurate method for assessment of lumbar stenosis, but CT appears marginally better for detection of bony foraminal stenosis in certain cases

Assessment of extracranial ICA stenosis with color ultrasound and CEMRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Wenyuan; Liu Jianmin; Xu Yi; Hong Bo; Huang Qinghai; Zhang Long; Zhou Xiaoping

2003-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the color ultrasound and CEMRA in assessment of extracranial ICA stenosis. Methods: The preoperation assessment of color ultrasound and CEMRA were reviewed in 93 cases who underwent interventional treatment for severe extracranial ICA stenosis. Results: Ultrasonic examination could reveal the nature and severity of the stenosis, while CEMRA could explore full length of carotid artery and find tandem stenosis. They both possessed a trend for overestimating the stenosis and could hardly show plaque ulceration. Conclusions: Up to the moment, neither color ultrasound nor CEMRA can substitute DSA. A combination of DSA, color ultrasound, and CEMRA could provide details of the stenotic ICA drawing an appropriate operation plan

Cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening and treatment methods: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Azar, Farbod Ebadifard; Azami-Aghdash, Saber; Pournaghi-Azar, Fatemeh; Mazdaki, Alireza; Rezapour, Aziz; Ebrahimi, Parvin; Yousefzadeh, Negar

2017-06-19

Due to extensive literature in the field of lung cancer and their heterogeneous results, the aim of this study was to systematically review of systematic reviews studies which reviewed the cost-effectiveness of various lung cancer screening and treatment methods. In this systematic review of systematic reviews study, required data were collected searching the following key words which selected from Mesh: "lung cancer", "lung oncology", "lung Carcinoma", "lung neoplasm", "lung tumors", "cost- effectiveness", "systematic review" and "Meta-analysis". The following databases were searched: PubMed, Cochrane Library electronic databases, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Two reviewers (RA and A-AS) evaluated the articles according to the checklist of "assessment of multiple systematic reviews" (AMSTAR) tool. Overall, information of 110 papers was discussed in eight systematic reviews. Authors focused on cost-effectiveness of lung cancer treatments in five systematic reviews. Targeted therapy options (bevacizumab, Erlotinib and Crizotinib) show an acceptable cost-effectiveness. Results of three studies failed to show cost-effectiveness of screening methods. None of the studies had used the meta-analysis method. The Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) tool and Drummond checklist were mostly used in assessing the quality of articles. Most perspective was related to the Payer (64 times) and the lowest was related to Social (11times). Most cases referred to Incremental analysis (82%) and also the lowest point of referral was related to Discounting (in 49% of the cases). The average quality score of included studies was calculated 9.2% from 11. Targeted therapy can be an option for the treatment of lung cancer. Evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of computerized tomographic colonography (CTC) in lung cancer screening is recommended. The perspective of the community should be more taken into consideration in studies of cost-effectiveness. Paying more attention to the topic of

Improving the uptake of systematic reviews: a systematic review of intervention effectiveness and relevance.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Wallace, John

2014-01-01

Little is known about the barriers, facilitators and interventions that impact on systematic review uptake. The objective of this study was to identify how uptake of systematic reviews can be improved.

A case of William's syndrome associated peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Kyung Hwa; Hwang, Mi Soo; Kim, Sun Yong; Chang, Jae Chun; Park, Bok Hwan [College of Medicine, Yeungam University, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

1988-06-15

William's syndrome, in order to more completely delineate the total spectrum of the disorder, indicates that 'infantile hypercalcemia', 'peculiar facies' and 'supravalvular aortic stenosis.' In has other many vascular anomalies, such as peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis, coronary arterial stenosis, celiac arterial stenosis, and renal aterial stenosis. Only 32% of the patients have evidence of supravalvular aortic stenosis. And it is very rare disease entity that has been reported rarely in Korea. Recently authors experienced a case that was questioned William's syndrome with peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis, clinically and preliminary radiologically and this case was confirmed by operation. Here we report a case of William's syndrome with peripheral pulmonary arterial stenosis and reviewed literatures.

What do we know about preventing school violence? A systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, Soraya; Lawrence, Cayleigh; Ward, Catherine L

2017-03-01

Many children across the world are exposed to school violence, which undermines their right to education and adversely affects their development. Studies of interventions for school violence suggest that it can be prevented. However, this evidence base is challenging to navigate. We completed a systematic review of interventions to reduce four types of school violence: (a) peer violence; (b) corporal punishment; (c) student-on-teacher violence and (d) teacher-on-student violence. Reviewers independently searched databases and journals. Included studies were published between 2005 and 2015; in English; considered school-based interventions for children and measured violence as an outcome. Many systematic reviews were found, thus we completed a systematic review of systematic reviews. Only systematic reviews on interventions for intimate partner violence (IPV) and peer aggression were found. These reviews were generally of moderate quality. Research on both types of violence was largely completed in North America. Only a handful of programmes demonstrate promise in preventing IPV. Cognitive behavioral, social-emotional and peer mentoring/mediation programmes showed promise in reducing the levels of perpetration of peer aggression. Further research needs to determine the long-term effects of interventions, potential moderators and mediators of program effects, program effects across different contexts and key intervention components.

Effectiveness of Pilates exercise in treating people with chronic low back pain: a systematic review of systematic reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wells Cherie

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Systematic reviews provide clinical practice recommendations that are based on evaluation of primary evidence. When systematic reviews with the same aims have different conclusions, it is difficult to ascertain which review reported the most credible and robust findings. Methods This study examined five systematic reviews that have investigated the effectiveness of Pilates exercise in people with chronic low back pain. A four-stage process was used to interpret findings of the reviews. This process included comparison of research questions, included primary studies, and the level and quality of evidence of systematic reviews. Two independent reviewers assessed the level of evidence and the methodological quality of systematic reviews, using the National Health and Medical Research Council hierarchy of evidence, and the Revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews respectively. Any disagreements were resolved by a third researcher. Results A high level of consensus was achieved between the reviewers. Conflicting findings were reported by the five systematic reviews regarding the effectiveness of Pilates in reducing pain and disability in people with chronic low back pain. Authors of the systematic reviews included primary studies that did not match their questions in relation to treatment or population characteristics. A total of ten primary studies were identified across five systematic reviews. Only two of the primary studies were included in all of the reviews due to different inclusion criteria relating to publication date and status, definition of Pilates, and methodological quality. The level of evidence of reviews was low due to the methodological design of the primary studies. The methodological quality of reviews varied. Those which conducted a meta-analysis obtained higher scores. Conclusion There is inconclusive evidence that Pilates is effective in reducing pain and disability in people with chronic low back

Effectiveness of Pilates exercise in treating people with chronic low back pain: a systematic review of systematic reviews

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Systematic reviews provide clinical practice recommendations that are based on evaluation of primary evidence. When systematic reviews with the same aims have different conclusions, it is difficult to ascertain which review reported the most credible and robust findings. Methods This study examined five systematic reviews that have investigated the effectiveness of Pilates exercise in people with chronic low back pain. A four-stage process was used to interpret findings of the reviews. This process included comparison of research questions, included primary studies, and the level and quality of evidence of systematic reviews. Two independent reviewers assessed the level of evidence and the methodological quality of systematic reviews, using the National Health and Medical Research Council hierarchy of evidence, and the Revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews respectively. Any disagreements were resolved by a third researcher. Results A high level of consensus was achieved between the reviewers. Conflicting findings were reported by the five systematic reviews regarding the effectiveness of Pilates in reducing pain and disability in people with chronic low back pain. Authors of the systematic reviews included primary studies that did not match their questions in relation to treatment or population characteristics. A total of ten primary studies were identified across five systematic reviews. Only two of the primary studies were included in all of the reviews due to different inclusion criteria relating to publication date and status, definition of Pilates, and methodological quality. The level of evidence of reviews was low due to the methodological design of the primary studies. The methodological quality of reviews varied. Those which conducted a meta-analysis obtained higher scores. Conclusion There is inconclusive evidence that Pilates is effective in reducing pain and disability in people with chronic low back pain. This is due to the small

Effectiveness of Pilates exercise in treating people with chronic low back pain: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Cherie; Kolt, Gregory S; Marshall, Paul; Hill, Bridget; Bialocerkowski, Andrea

2013-01-19

Systematic reviews provide clinical practice recommendations that are based on evaluation of primary evidence. When systematic reviews with the same aims have different conclusions, it is difficult to ascertain which review reported the most credible and robust findings. This study examined five systematic reviews that have investigated the effectiveness of Pilates exercise in people with chronic low back pain. A four-stage process was used to interpret findings of the reviews. This process included comparison of research questions, included primary studies, and the level and quality of evidence of systematic reviews. Two independent reviewers assessed the level of evidence and the methodological quality of systematic reviews, using the National Health and Medical Research Council hierarchy of evidence, and the Revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews respectively. Any disagreements were resolved by a third researcher. A high level of consensus was achieved between the reviewers. Conflicting findings were reported by the five systematic reviews regarding the effectiveness of Pilates in reducing pain and disability in people with chronic low back pain. Authors of the systematic reviews included primary studies that did not match their questions in relation to treatment or population characteristics. A total of ten primary studies were identified across five systematic reviews. Only two of the primary studies were included in all of the reviews due to different inclusion criteria relating to publication date and status, definition of Pilates, and methodological quality. The level of evidence of reviews was low due to the methodological design of the primary studies. The methodological quality of reviews varied. Those which conducted a meta-analysis obtained higher scores. There is inconclusive evidence that Pilates is effective in reducing pain and disability in people with chronic low back pain. This is due to the small number and poor methodological

Methodology in conducting a systematic review of systematic reviews of healthcare interventions.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Smith, Valerie

2011-02-01

Hundreds of studies of maternity care interventions have been published, too many for most people involved in providing maternity care to identify and consider when making decisions. It became apparent that systematic reviews of individual studies were required to appraise, summarise and bring together existing studies in a single place. However, decision makers are increasingly faced by a plethora of such reviews and these are likely to be of variable quality and scope, with more than one review of important topics. Systematic reviews (or overviews) of reviews are a logical and appropriate next step, allowing the findings of separate reviews to be compared and contrasted, providing clinical decision makers with the evidence they need.

Stakeholder involvement in systematic reviews: a protocol for a systematic review of methods, outcomes and effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollock, Alex; Campbell, Pauline; Struthers, Caroline; Synnot, Anneliese; Nunn, Jack; Hill, Sophie; Goodare, Heather; Watts, Chris; Morley, Richard

2017-01-01

Researchers are expected to actively involve stakeholders (including patients, the public, health professionals, and others) in their research. Although researchers increasingly recognise that this is good practice, there is limited practical guidance about how to involve stakeholders. Systematic reviews are a research method in which international literature is brought together, using carefully designed and rigorous methods to answer a specified question about healthcare. We want to investigate how researchers have involved stakeholders in systematic reviews, and how involvement has potentially affected the quality and impact of reviews. We plan to bring this information together by searching and reviewing the literature for reports of stakeholder involvement in systematic reviews. This paper describes in detail the methods that we plan to use to do this. After carrying out comprehensive searches for literature, we will: 1. Provide an overview of identified reports, describing key information such as types of stakeholders involved, and how. 2. Pick out reports of involvement which include detailed descriptions of how researchers involved people in a systematic review and summarise the methods they used. We will consider who was involved, how people were recruited, and how the involvement was organised and managed. 3. Bring together any reports which have explored the effect, or impact, of involving stakeholders in a systematic review. We will assess the quality of these reports, and summarise their findings. Once completed, our review will be used to produce training resources aimed at helping researchers to improve ways of involving stakeholders in systematic reviews. Background There is an expectation for stakeholders (including patients, the public, health professionals, and others) to be involved in research. Researchers are increasingly recognising that it is good practice to involve stakeholders in systematic reviews. There is currently a lack of evidence

Severe ipsilateral carotid stenosis and middle cerebral artery disease in lacunar ischaemic stroke: innocent bystanders?

Science.gov (United States)

Mead, G E; Lewis, S C; Wardlaw, J M; Dennis, M S; Warlow, C P

2002-03-01

Lacunar infarcts are thought to be mostly due to intracranial small vessel disease. Therefore, when a stroke patient with a relevant lacunar infarct does have severe ipsilateral internal carotid artery (ICA) or middle cerebral artery (MCA) disease, it is unclear whether the arterial disease is causative or coincidental. If causative, we would expect ICA/MCA disease to be more severe on the symptomatic side than on the asymptomatic side. Therefore, our aim was to compare the severity of ipsilateral with contralateral ICA and MCA disease in patients with lacunar ischaemic stroke. We studied 259 inpatients and outpatients with a recent lacunar ischaemic stroke and no other prior stroke. We used carotid Duplex ultrasound and transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound to identify ICA and MCA disease, and compared our results with previously published data. In our study, there was no difference between the severity of ipsilateral and contralateral ICA stenosis within individuals (median difference 0%, Wilcoxon paired data p=0.24, comparing severity of ipsilateral and contralateral stenosis). The overall prevalence of severe ipsilateral stenosis was 5%, and the prevalence of severe contralateral stenosis was 4% (OR 1.6, 95% CI 0.6, 4.8). There was no difference in the prevalence of ipsilateral and contralateral MCA disease. A systematic review of the other available studies strengthened this conclusion. Carotid stenosis in patients with a lacunar ischaemic stroke may be coincidental. Further studies are required to elucidate the causes of lacunar stroke, and to evaluate the role of carotid endarterectomy.

Validation of subclavian duplex velocity criteria to grade severity of subclavian artery stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mousa, Albeir Y; Morkous, Ramez; Broce, Mike; Yacoub, Michael; Sticco, Andrew; Viradia, Ravi; Bates, Mark C; AbuRahma, Ali F

2017-06-01

Validation of subclavian duplex ultrasound velocity criteria (SDUS VC) to grade the severity of subclavian artery stenosis has not been established or systematically studied. Currently, there is a paucity of published literature and lack of practitioner consensus for how subclavian duplex velocity findings should be interpreted in patients with subclavian artery stenosis. The objective of the present study was to validate SDUS measurements using subclavian conventional or computed tomography angiogram (subclavian angiogram [SA])-derived measurements. Secondary objectives included measuring the correlation between SDUS peak systolic velocities and SA measurements, and to determine the optimal cutoff value for predicting significant stenosis (>70%). This is a retrospective review of all patients with suspected subclavian artery stenosis and a convenience sample of carotid artery patients who underwent SDUS and SA from May 1999 to July 2013. SA reference vessel and intralesion minimal lumen diameters were measured and compared with SDUS velocities obtained within 3 months of the imaging study. Percent stenosis was calculated using the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial method for detecting stenosis in a sufficiently large cohort. Receiver operating characteristic curves was generated for SDUS VC to predict >70% stenosis. Velocity cutoff points were determined with equal weighting of sensitivity and specificity. We examined 268 arteries for 177 patients. The majority of the arteries were for female patients (52.5%) with a mean age of 66.7 ± 11.1 years. Twenty-three arteries had retrograde vertebral artery flow and excluded from further analysis. For the remaining 245 arteries, the average peak systolic velocity was 212.6 ± 110.7 cm/s, with a range of 45-626 cm/s. Average stenosis was 25.8% ± 28.2%, with a range of 0% to 100%. Following receiver operating characteristic analysis, we found a cutoff value of >240 cm/s to be most predictive

Usefulness of systematic review search strategies in finding child health systematic reviews in MEDLINE

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boluyt, Nicole; Tjosvold, Lisa; Lefebvre, Carol; Klassen, Terry P.; Offringa, Martin

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine the sensitivity and precision of existing search strategies for retrieving child health systematic reviews in MEDLINE using PubMed. DESIGN: Filter (diagnostic) accuracy study. We identified existing search strategies for systematic reviews, combined them with a filter that

Factors contributing to chronic ankle instability: a protocol for a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Cassandra; Schabrun, Siobhan; Romero, Rick; Bialocerkowski, Andrea; Marshall, Paul

2016-06-07

Ankle sprains are a significant clinical problem. Researchers have identified a multitude of factors contributing to the presence of recurrent ankle sprains including deficits in balance, postural control, kinematics, muscle activity, strength, range of motion, ligament laxity and bone/joint characteristics. Unfortunately, the literature examining the presence of these factors in chronic ankle instability (CAI) is conflicting. As a result, researchers have attempted to integrate this evidence using systematic reviews to reach conclusions; however, readers are now faced with an increasing number of systematic review findings that are also conflicting. The overall aim of this review is to critically appraise the methodological quality of previous systematic reviews and pool this evidence to identify contributing factors to CAI. A systematic review will be conducted on systematic reviews that investigate the presence of various deficits identified in CAI. Databases will be searched using pre-determined search terms. Reviews will then be assessed for inclusion based on the set eligibility criteria. Two independent reviewers will assess the articles for inclusion before evaluating the methodological quality and presence of bias of the included studies; any disagreements will be resolved by discussion between reviewers to reach consensus or by a third reviewer. Data concerning the specific research question, search strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria, population, method and outcomes will be extracted. Findings will be analysed with respect to the methodological quality of the included reviews. It is expected that this review will clarify the cause of contradicting findings in the literature and facilitate future research directions. PROSPERO CRD42016032592 .

Intracranial cerebral artery stenosis with associated coronary artery and extracranial carotid artery stenosis in Turkish patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alkan, Ozlem [Department of Radiology, Baskent University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara (Turkey)], E-mail: yalinozlem@hotmail.com; Kizilkilic, Osman; Yildirim, Tulin [Department of Radiology, Baskent University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara (Turkey); Atalay, Hakan [Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Baskent University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara (Turkey)

2009-09-15

Purpose: Although it has been demonstrated that there is a high prevalence of extracranial carotid artery stenosis (ECAS) in patients with severe coronary artery disease, intracranial cerebral artery stenosis (ICAS) is rarely mentioned. We evaluated the prevalence of ICAS in patients with ECAS having elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery to determine the relations between ICAS, ECAS and atherosclerotic risk factors. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the digital subtraction angiography findings of 183 patients with ECAS {>=} 50% preparing for CABG surgery. The analyses focused on the intracranial or extracranial location and degree of the stenosis. The degree of extracranial stenoses were categorized as normal, <50%, 50-69%, 70-89%, and 90-99% stenosis and occluded. The degree of intracranial stenosis was classified as normal or {<=}25%, 25-49%, and {>=}50% stenosis and occluded. Traditional atherosclerotic risk factors were recorded. Results: ECAS < 70% in 42 patients and ECAS {>=} 70% in 141 patients. ICAS was found in 51 patients and ICAS {>=} 50% in 30 patients. Regarding risk factors, we found hypertension in 135 patients, diabetes mellitus in 91 patients, hyperlipidemia in 84 patients, and smoking in 81 patients. No risk factor was significant predictors of intracranial atherosclerosis. The severity of ICAS was not significantly associated with that of the ECAS. Conclusions: We found ICAS in 27.8% of the patients with ECAS > 50% on digital subtraction angiography preparing for CABG. Therefore a complete evaluation of the neck vessels with magnetic resonance or catheter angiography seems to be indicated as well as intracranial circulation for the risk assessment of CABG.

Health literacy in type 2 diabetes patients: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Caruso, Rosario; Magon, Arianna; Baroni, Irene; Dellafiore, Federica; Arrigoni, Cristina; Pittella, Francesco; Ausili, Davide

2018-01-01

Aim To summarize, critically review, and interpret the evidence related to the systematic reviews on health literacy (HL) amongst type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods The methodology for this study consisted of a systematic review of systematic reviews, using the PRISMA statement and flowchart to select studies, and searching on PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane. The search covered the period between January 2006 and June 2016. Results From the 115 identified record by the queries, only six systematic reviews were included, following a quality evaluation using AMSTAR. The included systematic reviews content was analyzed by the independent work of two authors, using a narrative synthesis approach. The findings of this study (i.e., main themes) are areas of consensus and gaps in knowledge. Areas of consensus are HL definition, HL measurement tools, and the relationship between T2DM patient knowledge (or literacy) and his/her HL. The gaps in knowledge were the assessment of the relations between HL and health outcomes and self-efficacy, the gender differences, the effectiveness of interventions to improve HL, the cost-effectiveness study of interventions to improve HL, and the understanding of the influence of organizational environment on HL. Conclusion This review provides a current state of knowledge to address clinical practice and research proposals. HL could be useful to personalize patients' follow-up and it should be routinely assessed in its three dimensions (i.e. functional, interactive and critical) to enhance patients' ability to cope with clinical recommendations. Future research should be mainly aimed to test the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions to improve HL amongst T2DM patients.

Can Communicating Personalised Disease Risk Promote Healthy Behaviour Change? A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

French, David P; Cameron, Elaine; Benton, Jack S; Deaton, Christi; Harvie, Michelle

2017-10-01

The assessment and communication of disease risk that is personalised to the individual is widespread in healthcare contexts. Despite several systematic reviews of RCTs, it is unclear under what circumstances that personalised risk estimates promotes change in four key health-related behaviours: smoking, physical activity, diet and alcohol consumption. The present research aims to systematically identify, evaluate and synthesise the findings of existing systematic reviews. This systematic review of systematic reviews followed published guidance. A search of four databases and two-stage screening procedure with good reliability identified nine eligible systematic reviews. The nine reviews each included between three and 15 primary studies, containing 36 unique studies. Methods of personalising risk feedback included imaging/visual feedback, genetic testing, and numerical estimation from risk algorithms. The reviews were generally high quality. For a broad range of methods of estimating and communicating risk, the reviews found no evidence that risk information had strong or consistent effects on health-related behaviours. The most promising effects came from interventions using visual or imaging techniques and with smoking cessation and dietary behaviour as outcomes, but with inconsistent results. Few interventions explicitly used theory, few targeted self-efficacy or response efficacy, and a limited range of Behaviour Change Techniques were used. Presenting risk information on its own, even when highly personalised, does not produce strong effects on health-related behaviours or changes which are sustained. Future research in this area should build on the existing knowledge base about increasing the effects of risk communication on behaviour.

Early rectal stenosis following stapled rectal mucosectomy for hemorrhoids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schuster Anja

2004-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Within the last years, stapled rectal mucosectomy (SRM has become a widely accepted procedure for second and third degree hemorrhoids. One of the delayed complications is a stenosis of the lower rectum. In order to evaluate the specific problem of rectal stenosis following SRM we reviewed our data with special respect to potential predictive factors or stenotic events. Methods A retrospective analysis of 419 consecutive patients, which underwent SRM from December 1998 to August 2003 was performed. Only patients with at least one follow-up check were evaluated, thus the analysis includes 289 patients with a mean follow-up of 281 days (±18 days. For statistic analysis the groups with and without stenosis were evaluated using the Chi-Square Test, using the Kaplan-Meier statistic the actuarial incidence for rectal stenosis was plotted. Results Rectal stenosis was observed in 9 patients (3.1%, eight of these stenoses were detected within the first 100 days after surgery; the median time to stenosis was 95 days. Only one patient had a rectal stenosis after more than one year. 8 of the 9 patients had no obstructive symptoms, however the remaining patients complained of obstructive defecation and underwent surgery for transanal strictureplasty with electrocautery. A statistical analysis revealed that patients with stenosis had significantly more often prior treatment for hemorrhoids (p Conclusion Rectal stenosis is an uncommon event after SRM. Early stenosis will occur within the first three months after surgery. The majority of the stenoses are without clinical relevance. Only one of nine patients had to undergo surgery for a relevant stenosis. The predictive factor for stenosis in the patient-characteristics is previous interventions for hemorrhoids, severe postoperative pain might also predict rectal stenosis.

Optimizing literature search in systematic reviews

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Thomas; Lund, Hans; Juhl, Carsten Bogh

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: When conducting systematic reviews, it is essential to perform a comprehensive literature search to identify all published studies relevant to the specific research question. The Cochrane Collaborations Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR) guidelines...... of musculoskeletal disorders. METHODS: Data sources were systematic reviews published by the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Review Group, including at least five RCTs, reporting a search history, searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and adding reference- and hand-searching. Additional databases were deemed eligible...... if they indexed RCTs, were in English and used in more than three of the systematic reviews. Relative recall was calculated as the number of studies identified by the literature search divided by the number of eligible studies i.e. included studies in the individual systematic reviews. Finally, cumulative median...

The Emergence of Systematic Review in Toxicology.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Martin L; Betts, Kellyn; Beck, Nancy B; Cogliano, Vincent; Dickersin, Kay; Fitzpatrick, Suzanne; Freeman, James; Gray, George; Hartung, Thomas; McPartland, Jennifer; Rooney, Andrew A; Scherer, Roberta W; Verloo, Didier; Hoffmann, Sebastian

2016-07-01

The Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration hosted a workshop on "The Emergence of Systematic Review and Related Evidence-based Approaches in Toxicology," on November 21, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. The workshop featured speakers from agencies and organizations applying systematic review approaches to questions in toxicology, speakers with experience in conducting systematic reviews in medicine and healthcare, and stakeholders in industry, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Based on the workshop presentations and discussion, here we address the state of systematic review methods in toxicology, historical antecedents in both medicine and toxicology, challenges to the translation of systematic review from medicine to toxicology, and thoughts on the way forward. We conclude with a recommendation that as various agencies and organizations adapt systematic review methods, they continue to work together to ensure that there is a harmonized process for how the basic elements of systematic review methods are applied in toxicology. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology.

A systematic review of systematic reviews on interventions for caregivers of people with chronic conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Corry, Margarita; While, Alison; Neenan, Kathleen; Smith, Valerie

2015-04-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to support caregivers of people with selected chronic conditions. Informal caregivers provide millions of care hours each week contributing to significant healthcare savings. Despite much research evaluating a range of interventions for caregivers, their impact remains unclear. A systematic review of systematic reviews of interventions to support caregivers of people with selected chronic conditions. The electronic databases of PubMed, CINAHL, British Nursing Index, PsycINFO, Social Science Index (January 1990-May 2014) and The Cochrane Library (Issue 6, June 2014), were searched using Medical Subject Heading and index term combinations of the keywords caregiver, systematic review, intervention and named chronic conditions. Papers were included if they reported a systematic review of interventions for caregivers of people with chronic conditions. The methodological quality of the included reviews was independently assessed by two reviewers using R-AMSTAR. Data were independently extracted by two reviewers using a pre-designed data extraction form. Narrative synthesis of review findings was used to present the results. Eight systematic reviews were included. There was evidence that education and support programme interventions improved caregiver quality of life. Information-giving interventions improved caregiver knowledge for stroke caregivers. Education, support and information-giving interventions warrant further investigation across caregiver groups. A large-scale funded programme for caregiver research is required to ensure that studies are of high quality to inform service development across settings. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Integration of existing systematic reviews into new reviews: identification of guidance needs

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background An exponential increase in the number of systematic reviews published, and constrained resources for new reviews, means that there is an urgent need for guidance on explicitly and transparently integrating existing reviews into new systematic reviews. The objectives of this paper are: 1) to identify areas where existing guidance may be adopted or adapted, and 2) to suggest areas for future guidance development. Methods We searched documents and websites from healthcare focused systematic review organizations to identify and, where available, to summarize relevant guidance on the use of existing systematic reviews. We conducted informational interviews with members of Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) to gather experiences in integrating existing systematic reviews, including common issues and challenges, as well as potential solutions. Results There was consensus among systematic review organizations and the EPCs about some aspects of incorporating existing systematic reviews into new reviews. Current guidance may be used in assessing the relevance of prior reviews and in scanning references of prior reviews to identify studies for a new review. However, areas of challenge remain. Areas in need of guidance include how to synthesize, grade the strength of, and present bodies of evidence composed of primary studies and existing systematic reviews. For instance, empiric evidence is needed regarding how to quality check data abstraction and when and how to use study-level risk of bias assessments from prior reviews. Conclusions There remain areas of uncertainty for how to integrate existing systematic reviews into new reviews. Methods research and consensus processes among systematic review organizations are needed to develop guidance to address these challenges. PMID:24956937

Systematic review of reviews of risk factors for intracranial aneurysms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarke, Mike

2008-01-01

Systematic reviews of systematic reviews identify good quality reviews of earlier studies of medical conditions. This article describes a systematic review of systematic reviews performed to investigate factors that might influence the risk of rupture of an intracranial aneurysm. It exemplifies the technique of this type of research and reports the finding of a specific study. The annual incidence of subarachnoid haemorrhage resulting from the rupture of intracranial aneurysms is estimated to be nine per 100,000. A large proportion of people who have this bleed, will die or remain dependent on the care of others for some time. Reliable knowledge about the risks of subarachnoid haemorrhage in different populations will help in planning, screening and prevention strategies and in predicting the prognosis of individual patients. If the necessary data were available in the identified reviews, an estimate for the numerical relationship between a particular characteristic and the risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage was included in this report. The identification of eligible systematic reviews relied mainly on the two major bibliographic databases of the biomedical literature: PubMed and EMBASE. These were searched in 2006, using specially designed search strategies. Approximately 2,000 records were retrieved and each of these was checked carefully against the eligibility criteria for this systematic review. These criteria required that the report be a systematic review of studies assessing the risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage in patients known to have an unruptured intracranial aneurysm or of studies that had investigated the characteristics of people who experienced a subarachnoid haemorrhage without previously being known to have an unruptured aneurysm. Reports which included more than one systematic review were eligible and each of these reviews was potentially eligible. The quality of each systematic review was assessed. In this review, 16 separate reports were

The difficulties of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Westgate, Martin J; Lindenmayer, David B

2017-10-01

The need for robust evidence to support conservation actions has driven the adoption of systematic approaches to research synthesis in ecology. However, applying systematic review to complex or open questions remains challenging, and this task is becoming more difficult as the quantity of scientific literature increases. We drew on the science of linguistics for guidance as to why the process of identifying and sorting information during systematic review remains so labor intensive, and to provide potential solutions. Several linguistic properties of peer-reviewed corpora-including nonrandom selection of review topics, small-world properties of semantic networks, and spatiotemporal variation in word meaning-greatly increase the effort needed to complete the systematic review process. Conversely, the resolution of these semantic complexities is a common motivation for narrative reviews, but this process is rarely enacted with the rigor applied during linguistic analysis. Therefore, linguistics provides a unifying framework for understanding some key challenges of systematic review and highlights 2 useful directions for future research. First, in cases where semantic complexity generates barriers to synthesis, ecologists should consider drawing on existing methods-such as natural language processing or the construction of research thesauri and ontologies-that provide tools for mapping and resolving that complexity. These tools could help individual researchers classify research material in a more robust manner and provide valuable guidance for future researchers on that topic. Second, a linguistic perspective highlights that scientific writing is a rich resource worthy of detailed study, an observation that can sometimes be lost during the search for data during systematic review or meta-analysis. For example, mapping semantic networks can reveal redundancy and complementarity among scientific concepts, leading to new insights and research questions. Consequently

Systematic reviews in context: highlighting systematic reviews relevant to Africa in the Pan African Medical Journal.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiysonge, Charles Shey; Kamadjeu, Raoul; Tsague, Landry

2016-01-01

Health research serves to answer questions concerning health and to accumulate facts (evidence) required to guide healthcare policy and practice. However, research designs vary and different types of healthcare questions are best answered by different study designs. For example, qualitative studies are best suited for answering questions about experiences and meaning; cross-sectional studies for questions concerning prevalence; cohort studies for questions regarding incidence and prognosis; and randomised controlled trials for questions on prevention and treatment. In each case, one study would rarely yield sufficient evidence on which to reliably base a healthcare decision. An unbiased and transparent summary of all existing studies on a given question (i.e. a systematic review) tells a better story than any one of the included studies taken separately. A systematic review enables producers and users of research to gauge what a new study has contributed to knowledge by setting the study's findings in the context of all previous studies investigating the same question. It is therefore inappropriate to initiate a new study without first conducting a systematic review to find out what can be learnt from existing studies. There is nothing new in taking account of earlier studies in either the design or interpretation of new studies. For example, in the 18th century James Lind conducted a clinical trial followed by a systematic review of contemporary treatments for scurvy; which showed fruits to be an effective treatment for the disease. However, surveys of the peer-reviewed literature continue to provide empirical evidence that systematic reviews are seldom used in the design and interpretation of the findings of new studies. Such indifference to systematic reviews as a research function is unethical, unscientific, and uneconomical. Without systematic reviews, limited resources are very likely to be squandered on ill-conceived research and policies. In order to

Statins for aortic valve stenosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Thiago

Full Text Available ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Aortic valve stenosis is the most common type of valvular heart disease in the USA and Europe. Aortic valve stenosis is considered similar to atherosclerotic disease. Some studies have evaluated statins for aortic valve stenosis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of statins in aortic valve stenosis. METHODS: Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS - IBECS, Web of Science and CINAHL Plus. These databases were searched from their inception to 24 November 2015. We also searched trials in registers for ongoing trials. We used no language restrictions. Selection criteria: Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs comparing statins alone or in association with other systemic drugs to reduce cholesterol levels versus placebo or usual care. Data collection and analysis: Primary outcomes were severity of aortic valve stenosis (evaluated by echocardiographic criteria: mean pressure gradient, valve area and aortic jet velocity, freedom from valve replacement and death from cardiovascular cause. Secondary outcomes were hospitalization for any reason, overall mortality, adverse events and patient quality of life. Two review authors independently selected trials for inclusion, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. The GRADE methodology was employed to assess the quality of result findings and the GRADE profiler (GRADEPRO was used to import data from Review Manager 5.3 to create a 'Summary of findings' table. MAIN RESULTS: We included four RCTs with 2360 participants comparing statins (1185 participants with placebo (1175 participants. We found low-quality evidence for our primary outcome of severity of aortic valve stenosis, evaluated by mean pressure gradient (mean difference (MD -0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI -1.88 to 0.80; participants = 1935; studies = 2, valve area (MD -0.07, 95% CI -0.28 to 0.14; participants = 127; studies = 2

Statins for aortic valve stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiago, Luciana; Tsuji, Selma Rumiko; Nyong, Jonathan; Puga, Maria Eduarda Dos Santos; Góis, Aécio Flávio Teixeira de; Macedo, Cristiane Rufino; Valente, Orsine; Atallah, Álvaro Nagib

2016-01-01

Aortic valve stenosis is the most common type of valvular heart disease in the USA and Europe. Aortic valve stenosis is considered similar to atherosclerotic disease. Some studies have evaluated statins for aortic valve stenosis. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of statins in aortic valve stenosis. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS - IBECS, Web of Science and CINAHL Plus. These databases were searched from their inception to 24 November 2015. We also searched trials in registers for ongoing trials. We used no language restrictions.Selection criteria: Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) comparing statins alone or in association with other systemic drugs to reduce cholesterol levels versus placebo or usual care. Data collection and analysis: Primary outcomes were severity of aortic valve stenosis (evaluated by echocardiographic criteria: mean pressure gradient, valve area and aortic jet velocity), freedom from valve replacement and death from cardiovascular cause. Secondary outcomes were hospitalization for any reason, overall mortality, adverse events and patient quality of life.Two review authors independently selected trials for inclusion, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. The GRADE methodology was employed to assess the quality of result findings and the GRADE profiler (GRADEPRO) was used to import data from Review Manager 5.3 to create a 'Summary of findings' table. We included four RCTs with 2360 participants comparing statins (1185 participants) with placebo (1175 participants). We found low-quality evidence for our primary outcome of severity of aortic valve stenosis, evaluated by mean pressure gradient (mean difference (MD) -0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.88 to 0.80; participants = 1935; studies = 2), valve area (MD -0.07, 95% CI -0.28 to 0.14; participants = 127; studies = 2), and aortic jet velocity (MD -0.06, 95% CI -0.26 to 0

Radiation-Induced Carotid Artery Stenosis: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

OpenAIRE

Xu, Jiaping; Cao, Yongjun

2014-01-01

In recent decades, with the improvement of radiotherapy (RT) technology and comprehensive treatment, the survival rate of head and neck malignancies has gained remarkable progress. Vascular injury and subsequent carotid stenosis following RT, as the backbone of treatment, have received increasing attention. Many investigations have demonstrated that radiation can result in the increase in carotid intima-media thickness, carotid stenosis and consequently lead to a higher risk of cerebrovascula...

Assessing harmful effects in systematic Reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woolacott Nerys F

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Balanced decisions about health care interventions require reliable evidence on harms as well as benefits. Most systematic reviews focus on efficacy and randomised trials, for which the methodology is well established. Methods to systematically review harmful effects are less well developed and there are few sources of guidance for researchers. We present our own recent experience of conducting systematic reviews of harmful effects and make suggestions for future practice and further research. Methods We described and compared the methods used in three systematic reviews. Our evaluation focused on the review question, study designs and quality assessment. Results One review question focused on providing information on specific harmful effects to furnish an economic model, the other two addressed much broader questions. All three reviews included randomised and observational data, although each defined the inclusion criteria differently. Standard methods were used to assess study quality. Various practical problems were encountered in applying the study design inclusion criteria and assessing quality, mainly because of poor study design, inadequate reporting and the limitations of existing tools. All three reviews generated a large volume of work that did not yield much useful information for health care decision makers. The key areas for improvement we identified were focusing the review question and developing methods for quality assessment of studies of harmful effects. Conclusions Systematic reviews of harmful effects are more likely to yield information pertinent to clinical decision-making if they address a focused question. This will enable clear decisions to be made about the type of research to include in the review. The methodology for assessing the quality of harmful effects data in systematic reviews requires further development.

Systematic reviews in bioethics: types, challenges, and value.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Rosalind

2014-02-01

There has recently been interest in applying the techniques of systematic review to bioethics literature. In this paper, I identify the three models of systematic review proposed to date in bioethics: systematic reviews of empirical bioethics research, systematic reviews of normative bioethics literature, and systematic reviews of reasons. I argue that all three types yield information useful to scholarship in bioethics, yet they also face significant challenges particularly in relation to terminology and time. Drawing on my recent experience conducting a systematic review, I suggest that complete comprehensiveness may not always be an appropriate goal of a literature review in bioethics, depending on the research question. In some cases, all the relevant ideas may be captured without capturing all the relevant literature. I conclude that systematic reviews in bioethics have an important role to play alongside the traditional broadbrush approach to reviewing literature in bioethics.

Recommendations for reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of diagnostic test accuracy: a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McGrath, Trevor A.; Alabousi, Mostafa; Skidmore, Becky; Korevaar, Daniël A.; Bossuyt, Patrick M. M.; Moher, David; Thombs, Brett; McInnes, Matthew D. F.

2017-01-01

This study is to perform a systematic review of existing guidance on quality of reporting and methodology for systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) in order to compile a list of potential items that might be included in a reporting guideline for such reviews: Preferred Reporting Items

Using Multiple Types of Studies in Systematic Reviews of Health Care Interventions – A Systematic Review

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Peinemann, Frank; Tushabe, Doreen Allen; Kleijnen, Jos

2013-01-01

Background A systematic review may evaluate different aspects of a health care intervention. To accommodate the evaluation of various research questions, the inclusion of more than one study design may be necessary. One aim of this study is to find and describe articles on methodological issues concerning the incorporation of multiple types of study designs in systematic reviews on health care interventions. Another aim is to evaluate methods studies that have assessed whether reported effects differ by study types. Methods and Findings We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Methodology Register on 31 March 2012 and identified 42 articles that reported on the integration of single or multiple study designs in systematic reviews. We summarized the contents of the articles qualitatively and assessed theoretical and empirical evidence. We found that many examples of reviews incorporating multiple types of studies exist and that every study design can serve a specific purpose. The clinical questions of a systematic review determine the types of design that are necessary or sufficient to provide the best possible answers. In a second independent search, we identified 49 studies, 31 systematic reviews and 18 trials that compared the effect sizes between randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials, which were statistically different in 35%, and not different in 53%. Twelve percent of studies reported both, different and non-different effect sizes. Conclusions Different study designs addressing the same question yielded varying results, with differences in about half of all examples. The risk of presenting uncertain results without knowing for sure the direction and magnitude of the effect holds true for both nonrandomized and randomized controlled trials. The integration of multiple study designs in systematic reviews is required if patients should be informed on the many facets of patient relevant issues of health care

Twelve recommendations for integrating existing systematic reviews into new reviews: EPC guidance.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Karen A; Chou, Roger; Berkman, Nancy D; Newberry, Sydne J; Fu, Rongwei; Hartling, Lisa; Dryden, Donna; Butler, Mary; Foisy, Michelle; Anderson, Johanna; Motu'apuaka, Makalapua; Relevo, Rose; Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Chang, Stephanie

2016-02-01

As time and cost constraints in the conduct of systematic reviews increase, the need to consider the use of existing systematic reviews also increases. We developed guidance on the integration of systematic reviews into new reviews. A workgroup of methodologists from Evidence-based Practice Centers developed consensus-based recommendations. Discussions were informed by a literature scan and by interviews with organizations that conduct systematic reviews. Twelve recommendations were developed addressing selecting reviews, assessing risk of bias, qualitative and quantitative synthesis, and summarizing and assessing body of evidence. We provide preliminary guidance for an efficient and unbiased approach to integrating existing systematic reviews with primary studies in a new review. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gastric-tube versus whole-stomach esophagectomy for esophageal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenxiong Zhang

Full Text Available To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing the gastric-tube vs. whole-stomach for esophageal cancer in order to determine the optimal surgical technique of esophagectomy.A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Clinical trials that compared the gastric-tube versus whole-stomach for esophageal cancer were selected. The clinical endpoints included anastomotic leakage, anastomotic stenosis, reflux esophagitis, pneumonia, delayed gastric emptying, and thoracic stomach syndrome.A total of 6 articles (1571 patients were included. Compared to the whole-stomach approach, the gastric-tube approach was associated with a lower incidence of reflux esophagitis (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.16 to 0.81, p = 0.01 and thoracic stomach syndrome (95% CI: 0.17 to 0.55, p < 0.0001. The rates of anastomotic leakage, anastomotic stenosis, pneumonia, and delayed gastric emptying did not significantly differ between the two groups.The gastric-tube esophagectomy is superior to the whole-stomach approach, as it is associated with a lower incidence of postoperative reflux esophagitis and thoracic stomach syndrome. Our findings must be validated in large-scale randomized controlled trials.

Using text mining for study identification in systematic reviews: a systematic review of current approaches.

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O'Mara-Eves, Alison; Thomas, James; McNaught, John; Miwa, Makoto; Ananiadou, Sophia

2015-01-14

The large and growing number of published studies, and their increasing rate of publication, makes the task of identifying relevant studies in an unbiased way for inclusion in systematic reviews both complex and time consuming. Text mining has been offered as a potential solution: through automating some of the screening process, reviewer time can be saved. The evidence base around the use of text mining for screening has not yet been pulled together systematically; this systematic review fills that research gap. Focusing mainly on non-technical issues, the review aims to increase awareness of the potential of these technologies and promote further collaborative research between the computer science and systematic review communities. Five research questions led our review: what is the state of the evidence base; how has workload reduction been evaluated; what are the purposes of semi-automation and how effective are they; how have key contextual problems of applying text mining to the systematic review field been addressed; and what challenges to implementation have emerged? We answered these questions using standard systematic review methods: systematic and exhaustive searching, quality-assured data extraction and a narrative synthesis to synthesise findings. The evidence base is active and diverse; there is almost no replication between studies or collaboration between research teams and, whilst it is difficult to establish any overall conclusions about best approaches, it is clear that efficiencies and reductions in workload are potentially achievable. On the whole, most suggested that a saving in workload of between 30% and 70% might be possible, though sometimes the saving in workload is accompanied by the loss of 5% of relevant studies (i.e. a 95% recall). Using text mining to prioritise the order in which items are screened should be considered safe and ready for use in 'live' reviews. The use of text mining as a 'second screener' may also be used cautiously

Making literature reviews more reliable through application of lessons from systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Haddaway, N R; Woodcock, P; Macura, B; Collins, A

2015-12-01

Review articles can provide valuable summaries of the ever-increasing volume of primary research in conservation biology. Where findings may influence important resource-allocation decisions in policy or practice, there is a need for a high degree of reliability when reviewing evidence. However, traditional literature reviews are susceptible to a number of biases during the identification, selection, and synthesis of included studies (e.g., publication bias, selection bias, and vote counting). Systematic reviews, pioneered in medicine and translated into conservation in 2006, address these issues through a strict methodology that aims to maximize transparency, objectivity, and repeatability. Systematic reviews will always be the gold standard for reliable synthesis of evidence. However, traditional literature reviews remain popular and will continue to be valuable where systematic reviews are not feasible. Where traditional reviews are used, lessons can be taken from systematic reviews and applied to traditional reviews in order to increase their reliability. Certain key aspects of systematic review methods that can be used in a context-specific manner in traditional reviews include focusing on mitigating bias; increasing transparency, consistency, and objectivity, and critically appraising the evidence and avoiding vote counting. In situations where conducting a full systematic review is not feasible, the proposed approach to reviewing evidence in a more systematic way can substantially improve the reliability of review findings, providing a time- and resource-efficient means of maximizing the value of traditional reviews. These methods are aimed particularly at those conducting literature reviews where systematic review is not feasible, for example, for graduate students, single reviewers, or small organizations. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

Roles for librarians in systematic reviews: a scoping review

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Angela J.; Eldredge, Jonathan D.

2018-01-01

Objective What roles do librarians and information professionals play in conducting systematic reviews? Librarians are increasingly called upon to be involved in systematic reviews, but no study has considered all the roles librarians can perform. This inventory of existing and emerging roles aids in defining librarians’ systematic reviews services. Methods For this scoping review, the authors conducted controlled vocabulary and text-word searches in the PubMed; Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts; and CINAHL databases. We separately searched for articles published in the Journal of the European Association for Health Information and Libraries, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, the Journal of the Canadian Heath Libraries Association, and Hypothesis. We also text-word searched Medical Library Association annual meeting poster and paper abstracts. Results We identified 18 different roles filled by librarians and other information professionals in conducting systematic reviews from 310 different articles, book chapters, and presented papers and posters. Some roles were well known such as searching, source selection, and teaching. Other less documented roles included planning, question formulation, and peer review. We summarize these different roles and provide an accompanying bibliography of references for in-depth descriptions of these roles. Conclusion Librarians play central roles in systematic review teams, including roles that go beyond searching. This scoping review should encourage librarians who are fulfilling roles that are not captured here to document their roles in journal articles and poster and paper presentations. PMID:29339933

Using text mining for study identification in systematic reviews: a systematic review of current approaches

OpenAIRE

O?Mara-Eves, Alison; Thomas, James; McNaught, John; Miwa, Makoto; Ananiadou, Sophia

2015-01-01

Background The large and growing number of published studies, and their increasing rate of publication, makes the task of identifying relevant studies in an unbiased way for inclusion in systematic reviews both complex and time consuming. Text mining has been offered as a potential solution: through automating some of the screening process, reviewer time can be saved. The evidence base around the use of text mining for screening has not yet been pulled together systematically; this systematic...

A systematic review of the quality of conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in paediatric surgery.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Stephen Cullis

Full Text Available Our objective was to evaluate quality of conduct and reporting of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses in paediatric surgery. We also aimed to identify characteristics predictive of review quality.Systematic reviews summarise evidence by combining sources, but are potentially prone to bias. To counter this, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA was published to aid in reporting. Similarly, the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR measurement tool was designed to appraise methodology. The paediatric surgical literature has seen an increasing number of reviews over the past decade, but quality has not been evaluated.Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we performed a systematic review with a priori design to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses of interventions in paediatric surgery. From 01/2010 to 06/2016, we searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Web of Science, Google Scholar, reference lists and journals. Two reviewers independently selected studies and extracted data. We assessed conduct and reporting using AMSTAR and PRISMA. Scores were calculated as the sum of reported items. We also extracted author, journal and article characteristics, and used them in exploratory analysis to determine which variables predict quality.112 articles fulfilled eligibility criteria (53 systematic reviews; 59 meta-analyses. Overall, 68% AMSTAR and 56.8% PRISMA items were reported adequately. Poorest scores were identified with regards a priori design, inclusion of structured summaries, including the grey literature, citing excluded articles and evaluating bias. 13 reviews were pre-registered and 6 in PRISMA-endorsing journals. The following predicted quality in univariate analysis:, word count, Cochrane review, journal h-index, impact factor, journal endorses PRISMA, PRISMA adherence suggested in author guidance, article mentions PRISMA

Percutaneous balloon dilation of pulmonary stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hua Yangde; Huang Ming; Li Jinkang; Qian Jinqing; Chen Xiuyu; Yang Siyuan

2003-01-01

Objective: Review our experience of balloon dilation of valvular pulmonary stenosis in 32 cases. Methods: Totally 32 cases of pulmonary stenosis admitted from 1995-2001 with age of 1.5-13 yrs mean 6.8. Diagnosis was made by clinical manifestations, EKG, ECHO and angiocardiography. Results: Before dilation, the mean systolic pressure of right ventricle was (93.5 ± 28.5) mmHg, after the procedure it reduced to (42 ± 9.0) mmHg. The pressure gradient between right ventricle and pulmonary artery before dilation was (76 ± 30) mmHg and become (24.5 ± 8.5) mmHg after dilation. The gradient pressure after dilation was less than 25 mmHg in 90.6% cases. A case of Noonan syndrome showed no response to balloon dilation and died during valvulectomy from accompanying left ventricular cardiomyopathy. Conclusions: Balloon dilation of valvular pulmonary stenosis is effective and safe. The selection of proper diameter of pulmonary valvular rings and sized of the balloon are the major factors

Systematic Review Methodology in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bearman, Margaret; Smith, Calvin D.; Carbone, Angela; Slade, Susan; Baik, Chi; Hughes-Warrington, Marnie; Neumann, David L.

2012-01-01

Systematic review methodology can be distinguished from narrative reviews of the literature through its emphasis on transparent, structured and comprehensive approaches to searching the literature and its requirement for formal synthesis of research findings. There appears to be relatively little use of the systematic review methodology within the…

Methodological quality of systematic reviews addressing femoroacetabular impingement.

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalczuk, Marcin; Adamich, John; Simunovic, Nicole; Farrokhyar, Forough; Ayeni, Olufemi R

2015-09-01

As the body of literature on femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) continues to grow, clinicians turn to systematic reviews to remain current with the best available evidence. The quality of systematic reviews in the FAI literature is currently unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the quality of the reporting of systematic reviews addressing FAI over the last 11 years (2003-2014) and to identify the specific methodological shortcomings and strengths. A search of the electronic databases, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PubMed, was performed to identify relevant systematic reviews. Methodological quality was assessed by two reviewers using the revised assessment of multiple systematic reviews (R-AMSTAR) scoring tool. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) was used to determine agreement between reviewers on R-AMSTAR quality scores. A total of 22 systematic reviews were assessed for methodological quality. The mean consensus R-AMSTAR score across all studies was 26.7 out of 40.0, indicating fair methodological quality. An ICC of 0.931, 95 % CI 0.843-0.971 indicated excellent agreement between reviewers during the scoring process. The systematic reviews addressing FAI are generally of fair methodological quality. Use of tools such as the R-AMSTAR score or PRISMA guidelines while designing future systematic reviews can assist in eliminating methodological shortcomings identified in this review. These shortcomings need to be kept in mind by clinicians when applying the current literature to their patient populations and making treatment decisions. Systematic reviews of highest methodological quality should be used by clinicians when possible to answer clinical questions.

Radiologic spectrum of rectal stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, T.; Hayashi, N.; Ishii, Y.; Hayakawa, K.; Nishimura, K.

2000-01-01

Rectal stenosis is a common condition caused by a wide variety of diseases, including both intrinsic and extrinsic disorders, as well as both malignant and benign pathologies. Barium enema, CT, and MRI are the primary modalities for the evaluation of the disease, and careful observation of the characteristic radiologic features usually leads to correct diagnosis. However, some of the lesions looks very similar and are difficult to differentiate from each other. The purpose of this study is to review the literature on diseases that cause rectal stenosis, to clarify the characteristics of radiologic features, and to suggest the limitations in differential diagnosis. Deliberate analysis of these imaging features and correlation with clinical manifestations can facilitate a more specific diagnosis. (orig.)

Radiologic spectrum of rectal stenosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, T.; Hayashi, N.; Ishii, Y. [Department of Radiology, Fukui Medical University School of Medicine, Matsuoka-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui (Japan); Hayakawa, K.; Nishimura, K. [Department of Radiology, Kyoto City Hospital, Mibu, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto (Japan)

2000-08-01

Rectal stenosis is a common condition caused by a wide variety of diseases, including both intrinsic and extrinsic disorders, as well as both malignant and benign pathologies. Barium enema, CT, and MRI are the primary modalities for the evaluation of the disease, and careful observation of the characteristic radiologic features usually leads to correct diagnosis. However, some of the lesions looks very similar and are difficult to differentiate from each other. The purpose of this study is to review the literature on diseases that cause rectal stenosis, to clarify the characteristics of radiologic features, and to suggest the limitations in differential diagnosis. Deliberate analysis of these imaging features and correlation with clinical manifestations can facilitate a more specific diagnosis. (orig.)

Child maltreatment prevention: a systematic review of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikton, Christopher; Butchart, Alexander

2009-05-01

To synthesize recent evidence from systematic and comprehensive reviews on the effectiveness of universal and selective child maltreatment prevention interventions, evaluate the methodological quality of the reviews and outcome evaluation studies they are based on, and map the geographical distribution of the evidence. A systematic review of reviews was conducted. The quality of the systematic reviews was evaluated with a tool for the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR), and the quality of the outcome evaluations was assessed using indicators of internal validity and of the construct validity of outcome measures. The review focused on seven main types of interventions: home visiting, parent education, child sex abuse prevention, abusive head trauma prevention, multi-component interventions, media-based interventions, and support and mutual aid groups. Four of the seven - home-visiting, parent education, abusive head trauma prevention and multi-component interventions - show promise in preventing actual child maltreatment. Three of them - home visiting, parent education and child sexual abuse prevention - appear effective in reducing risk factors for child maltreatment, although these conclusions are tentative due to the methodological shortcomings of the reviews and outcome evaluation studies they draw on. An analysis of the geographical distribution of the evidence shows that outcome evaluations of child maltreatment prevention interventions are exceedingly rare in low- and middle-income countries and make up only 0.6% of the total evidence base. Evidence for the effectiveness of four of the seven main types of interventions for preventing child maltreatment is promising, although it is weakened by methodological problems and paucity of outcome evaluations from low- and middle-income countries.

Reporting and Handling Missing Outcome Data in Mental Health: A Systematic Review of Cochrane Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Spineli, Loukia M.; Pandis, Nikolaos; Salanti, Georgia

2015-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to provide empirical evidence about the reporting of methodology to address missing outcome data and the acknowledgement of their impact in Cochrane systematic reviews in the mental health field. Methods: Systematic reviews published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews after January 1, 2009 by…

Alkaptonuria-associated aortic stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lok, Zoe S Y; Goldstein, Jacob; Smith, Julian A

2013-07-01

Alkaptonuria is an autosomal recessive disorder of tyrosine metabolism, which results in accumulation of unmetabolized homogentisic acid and its oxidized product in various tissues, including the heart. Cardiovascular involvement is a rare but serious complication of the disease. We present two patients who have undergone successful aortic valve replacement for alkaptonuria-associated aortic stenosis along with a review of the literature. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Systematic review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lødrup, Anders Bergh; Reimer, Christina; Bytzer, Peter

2013-01-01

in getting off acid-suppressive medication and partly explain the increase in long-term use of PPI. A number of studies addressing this issue have been published recently. The authors aimed to systematically review the existing evidence of clinically relevant symptoms caused by acid rebound following PPI...

A Critical Review of Search Strategies Used in Recent Systematic Reviews Published in Selected Prosthodontic and Implant-Related Journals: Are Systematic Reviews Actually Systematic?

Science.gov (United States)

Layton, Danielle

The aim of this study was to outline how search strategies can be systematic, to examine how the searches in recent systematic reviews in prosthodontic and implant-related journals were structured, and to determine whether the search strategies used in those articles were systematic. A total of 103 articles published as systematic reviews and indexed in Medline between January 2013 and May 2016 were identified from eight prosthodontic and implant journals and reviewed. The search strategies were considered systematic when they met the following criteria: (1) more than one electronic database was searched, (2) more than one searcher was clearly involved, (3) both text words and indexing terms were clearly included in the search strategy, (4) a hand search of selected journals or reference lists was undertaken, (5) gray research was specifically sought, and (6) the articles were published in English and at least one other language. The data were tallied and qualitatively assessed. The majority of articles reported on implants (54%), followed by tooth-supported fixed prosthodontics (13%). A total of 23 different electronic resources were consulted, including Medline (by 100% of articles), the Cochrane Library (52%), and Embase (37%). The majority consulted more than one electronic resource (71%), clearly included more than one searcher (73%), and employed a hand search of either selected journals or reference lists (86%). Less than half used both text words and indexing terms to identify articles (42%), while 15% actively sought gray research. Articles published in languages other than English were considered in 63 reviews, but only 14 had no language restrictions. Of the 103 articles, 5 completed search strategies that met all 6 criteria, and a further 12 met 5 criteria. Two articles did not fulfill any of the criteria. More than 95% of recent prosthodontic and implant review articles published in the selected journals failed to use search strategies that were

Renal artery stenosis after radiotherapy for Ewing's sarcoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tacconi, S.; Bieri, S.

2008-01-01

Background: the fact that therapeutic irradiation can induce significant stenosis in the arteries of the head, neck, and chest, as welt as in the aorta and the iliac arteries, is familiar in daily practice and well documented in the literature. By contrast, radiation-induced renal artery stenosis seems to be a less widely known complication. Patients and methods: the sudden onset of medically refractory arterial hypertension and coma in a 27-year-old man is reported, who had been treated at age 20 with chemotherapy and radiotherapy for Ewing's sarcoma in the lumbar region. This treatment had been performed at the hospital of Sion, Switzerland in 2001. Also, the relevant literature from 1965 to 2007 is reviewed to underscore various aspects of this problem and to demonstrate the clinical relevance of renal artery stenosis as a potential long-term sequela of radiotherapy. Conclusion: radiation-induced renal artery stenosis has only rarely been described in the literature, but arterial hypertension due to radiation-induced renal artery stenosis is a serious long-term sequela that can appear at a latency of up to 20 years after treatment. The paucity of reports presumably reflects the lesser frequency of radiotherapy for retroperitoneal tumors as compared to head-and-neck cancers, as well as lower awareness of the problem due to diagnostic bias in the era before CT and MRI were in routine use: at that time, carotid artery stenosis was easy to diagnose by ultrasonography, while radiation-induced renal artery stenosis, whose real incidence may well be higher, probably often went undetected. Thus, when a patient with a history of abdominal or retroperitoneal radiotherapy unexpectedly develops intractable hypertension, radiation-induced renal artery stenosis must be included in the differential diagnosis. (orig.)

Using systematic review in occupational safety and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, John; Piacentino, John; MacMahon, Kathleen; Schulte, Paul

2017-11-01

Evaluation of scientific evidence is critical in developing recommendations to reduce risk. Healthcare was the first scientific field to employ a systematic review approach for synthesizing research findings to support evidence-based decision-making and it is still the largest producer and consumer of systematic reviews. Systematic reviews in the field of occupational safety and health are being conducted, but more widespread use and adoption would strengthen assessments. In 2016, NIOSH asked RAND to develop a framework for applying the traditional systematic review elements to the field of occupational safety and health. This paper describes how essential systematic review elements can be adapted for use in occupational systematic reviews to enhance their scientific quality, objectivity, transparency, reliability, utility, and acceptability. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Considering resistance in systematic reviews of antibiotic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Leibovici, Leonard; Soares-Weiser, Karla; Paul, Mical; Goldberg, Elad; Herxheimer, Andrew; Garner, Paul

2003-10-01

Microorganisms resistant to antibiotic drugs are a threat to the health and chances of survival of patients. Systematic reviews on antibiotic drugs that ignore the topic of resistance present readers with a skewed view, emphasizing short-term efficacy or effectiveness while ignoring long-term consequences. To examine whether systematic reviews of antibiotic treatment consider resistance; if not, to find out whether data on resistance were reported in the original trials; and based on that, to offer a framework for taking resistance into account in systematic reviews. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (the Cochrane Library, 2001, issue 2); and MEDLINE, 1996-2000. (i) Systematic reviews or meta-analyses of antimicrobial therapy, published during 1996-2000. (ii) Randomized, controlled trials abstracted in systematic reviews that addressed a topic highly relevant to antibiotic resistance. We examined each systematic review, and each article, to see whether the implications of resistance were discussed; and whether data on resistance were collected. Out of 111 systematic reviews, only 44 (40%) discussed resistance. Ten reviews (9%) planned or performed collection of data on the response of patients with susceptible or resistant isolates. In 22 systematic reviews (20%), collection of data on induction of resistance was planned or performed. The topic of 41 reviews was judged highly relevant to resistance, and these reviews extracted data from 337 articles, out of which we retrieved 279 articles (83%). In 201 (72%) articles, resistance was discussed or data pertaining to it were collected. Ninety-seven articles (35%) gave actual data on resistance of pathogens to the study drugs, 71 articles (25%) data on efficacy of antibiotic drugs in patients with susceptible and resistant pathogens, and 55 articles (20%) provided data on infection or colonization with resistant strains during treatment. Most systematic reviews on antibiotic treatment ignored the issue of

A primer on systematic reviews in toxicology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Sebastian; de Vries, Rob B M; Stephens, Martin L; Beck, Nancy B; Dirven, Hubert A A M; Fowle, John R; Goodman, Julie E; Hartung, Thomas; Kimber, Ian; Lalu, Manoj M; Thayer, Kristina; Whaley, Paul; Wikoff, Daniele; Tsaioun, Katya

2017-07-01

Systematic reviews, pioneered in the clinical field, provide a transparent, methodologically rigorous and reproducible means of summarizing the available evidence on a precisely framed research question. Having matured to a well-established approach in many research fields, systematic reviews are receiving increasing attention as a potential tool for answering toxicological questions. In the larger framework of evidence-based toxicology, the advantages and obstacles of, as well as the approaches for, adapting and adopting systematic reviews to toxicology are still being explored. To provide the toxicology community with a starting point for conducting or understanding systematic reviews, we herein summarized available guidance documents from various fields of application. We have elaborated on the systematic review process by breaking it down into ten steps, starting with planning the project, framing the question, and writing and publishing the protocol, and concluding with interpretation and reporting. In addition, we have identified the specific methodological challenges of toxicological questions and have summarized how these can be addressed. Ultimately, this primer is intended to stimulate scientific discussions of the identified issues to fuel the development of toxicology-specific methodology and to encourage the application of systematic review methodology to toxicological issues.

Methodological quality of systematic reviews on influenza vaccination.

Science.gov (United States)

Remschmidt, Cornelius; Wichmann, Ole; Harder, Thomas

2014-03-26

There is a growing body of evidence on the risks and benefits of influenza vaccination in various target groups. Systematic reviews are of particular importance for policy decisions. However, their methodological quality can vary considerably. To investigate the methodological quality of systematic reviews on influenza vaccination (efficacy, effectiveness, safety) and to identify influencing factors. A systematic literature search on systematic reviews on influenza vaccination was performed, using MEDLINE, EMBASE and three additional databases (1990-2013). Review characteristics were extracted and the methodological quality of the reviews was evaluated using the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) tool. U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square test, and multivariable linear regression analysis were used to assess the influence of review characteristics on AMSTAR-score. Fourty-six systematic reviews fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Average methodological quality was high (median AMSTAR-score: 8), but variability was large (AMSTAR range: 0-11). Quality did not differ significantly according to vaccination target group. Cochrane reviews had higher methodological quality than non-Cochrane reviews (p=0.001). Detailed analysis showed that this was due to better study selection and data extraction, inclusion of unpublished studies, and better reporting of study characteristics (all p<0.05). In the adjusted analysis, no other factor, including industry sponsorship or journal impact factor had an influence on AMSTAR score. Systematic reviews on influenza vaccination showed large differences regarding their methodological quality. Reviews conducted by the Cochrane collaboration were of higher quality than others. When using systematic reviews to guide the development of vaccination recommendations, the methodological quality of a review in addition to its content should be considered. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accuracy of Carotid Duplex Criteria in Diagnosis of Significant Carotid Stenosis in Asian Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Dharmasaroja, Pornpatr A; Uransilp, Nattaphol; Watcharakorn, Arvemas; Piyabhan, Pritsana

2018-03-01

Extracranial carotid stenosis can be diagnosed by velocity criteria of carotid duplex. Whether they are accurately applied to define severity of internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis in Asian patients needs to be proved. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of 2 carotid duplex velocity criteria in defining significant carotid stenosis. Carotid duplex studies and magnetic resonance angiography were reviewed. Criteria 1 was recommended by the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound; moderate stenosis (50%-69%): peak systolic velocity (PSV) 125-230 cm/s, diastolic velocity (DV) 40-100 cm/s; severe stenosis (>70%): PSV greater than 230 cm/s, DV greater than 100 cm/s. Criteria 2 used PSV greater than 140 cm/s, DV less than 110 cm/s to define moderate stenosis (50%-75%) and PSV greater than 140 cm/s, DV greater than 110 cm/s for severe stenosis (76%-95%). A total of 854 ICA segments were reviewed. There was moderate stenosis in 72 ICAs, severe stenosis in 50 ICAs, and occlusion in 78 ICAs. Criteria 2 had slightly lower sensitivity, whereas higher specificity and accuracy than criteria 1 were observed in detecting moderate stenosis (criteria 1: sensitivity 95%, specificity 83%, accuracy 84%; criteria 2: sensitivity 92%, specificity 92%, and accuracy 92%). However, in detection of severe ICA stenosis, no significant difference in sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy was found (criteria 1: sensitivity 82%, specificity 99.57%, accuracy 98%; criteria 2: sensitivity 86%, specificity 99.68%, and accuracy 99%). In the subgroup of moderate stenosis, the criteria using ICA PSV greater than 140 cm/s had higher specificity and accuracy than the criteria using ICA PSV 125-230 cm/s. However, there was no significant difference in detection of severe stenosis or occlusion of ICA. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

10 CFR 1045.43 - Systematic review for declassification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Systematic review for declassification. 1045.43 Section... Systematic review for declassification. (a) The Secretary shall ensure that RD documents, and the DoD shall... Classification (and with the DoD for FRD) to ensure the systematic review of RD and FRD documents. (c) Review of...

How can we improve the interpretation of systematic reviews?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Straus Sharon E

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract A study conducted by Lai and colleagues, published this week in BMC Medicine, suggests that more guidance might be required for interpreting systematic review (SR results. In the study by Lai and colleagues, positive (or favorable results were influential in changing participants' prior beliefs about the interventions presented in the systematic review. Other studies have examined the relationship between favorable systematic review results and the publication of systematic reviews. An international registry may decrease the number of unpublished systematic reviews and will hopefully decrease redundancy, increase transparency, and increase collaboration within the SR community. In addition, using guidance from the Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA: http://www.prisma-statement.org/ Statement and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE: http://www.gradeworkinggroup.org/ approach can also be used to improve the interpretation of systematic reviews. In this commentary, we highlight important methodological issues related to the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and also present our own guidance on interpreting systematic reviews. Please see Research article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/9/30/.

The scars of time: the disappearance of peptic ulcer-related pyloric stenosis through the 20th century.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, R; Royston, C; Bardhan, K D

2014-01-01

The changing pattern of haemorrhage and perforation from peptic ulcer disease is well documented but little is known about pyloric stenosis, the third complication of the disease. We reviewed records relating to definitive operations (with intent to cure) for peptic ulcer disease carried out in York, UK from 1929-1997. We categorised the patients as pyloric stenosis and no pyloric stenosis based on findings at operation and examined the change in total number of cases with pyloric stenosis and proportion of cases with pyloric stenosis, by year of operation and by decade of birth. To place our results in perspective, we reviewed world literature to examine rates of pyloric stenosis as a percentage of operative cases reported in other case series in the 20th century. 4178 patients were included in the analysis; 3697 without pyloric stenosis and 481 with pyloric stenosis (11.5%). Analysis by birth cohort showed that the proportion found to have pyloric stenosis at surgery fell from 17% in the first cohort (birth 1880-89) to only 2.9% in the last cohort (birth 1950-59; pulcer cases showing pyloric stenosis at operation. The reduction in pyloric stenosis over the last several decades is disproportionately greater than the change seen in peptic ulcer disease requiring surgery. Our findings suggest that this reduction in pyloric stenosis is largely the result of the changing natural history of the disease rather than due to the introduction of acid-suppressing medication.

Systematic reviews identify important methodological flaws in stroke rehabilitation therapy primary studies: review of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Santaguida, Pasqualina; Oremus, Mark; Walker, Kathryn; Wishart, Laurie R; Siegel, Karen Lohmann; Raina, Parminder

2012-04-01

A "review of reviews" was undertaken to assess methodological issues in studies evaluating nondrug rehabilitation interventions in stroke patients. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from January 2000 to January 2008 within the stroke rehabilitation setting. Electronic searches were supplemented by reviews of reference lists and citations identified by experts. Eligible studies were systematic reviews; excluded citations were narrative reviews or reviews of reviews. Review characteristics and criteria for assessing methodological quality of primary studies within them were extracted. The search yielded 949 English-language citations. We included a final set of 38 systematic reviews. Cochrane reviews, which have a standardized methodology, were generally of higher methodological quality than non-Cochrane reviews. Most systematic reviews used standardized quality assessment criteria for primary studies, but not all were comprehensive. Reviews showed that primary studies had problems with randomization, allocation concealment, and blinding. Baseline comparability, adverse events, and co-intervention or contamination were not consistently assessed. Blinding of patients and providers was often not feasible and was not evaluated as a source of bias. The eligible systematic reviews identified important methodological flaws in the evaluated primary studies, suggesting the need for improvement of research methods and reporting. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

12 CFR 403.6 - Systematic review for declassification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Systematic review for declassification. 403.6..., AND SAFEGUARDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION § 403.6 Systematic review for declassification... permanent retention will be subject to systematic declassification review by the Archivist in accordance...

32 CFR 2400.20 - Systematic review for declassification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Systematic review for declassification. 2400.20... SECURITY PROGRAM Declassification and Downgrading § 2400.20 Systematic review for declassification. (a) Permanent records. Systematic review is applicable only to those classified records, and presidential papers...

Rhombencephalosynapsis as a cause of aqueductal stenosis: an under-recognized association in hydrocephalic children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitehead, Matthew T.; Choudhri, Asim F.; Grimm, John; Nelson, Marvin D.

2014-01-01

Rhombencephalosynapsis is a rare genetic aberration characterized by variable vermian hypoplasia/aplasia in conjunction with united cerebellar hemispheres. Genetic defects in the isthmic organizer at the mesencephalic-metencephalic junction are presumably responsible for the associated aqueductal stenosis. We performed a retrospective review of 20 children with rhombencephalosynapsis to evaluate for and emphasize the association of aqueductal stenosis and hydrocephalus. We retrospectively reviewed the MR and CT images of 20 children (0-11 years old) with rhombencephalosynapsis encountered at two academic children's hospitals. Rhombencephalosynapsis spectrum severity was graded based on pre-existing literature. We analyzed examinations for ventriculomegaly and degree of aqueductal stenosis. The collicular distances were measured from the collicular apices. Imaging studies were also analyzed for malformations of cortical and cerebellar development. Thirteen of the 20 children (65%) with rhombencephalosynapsis presented with clinical or imaging evidence of hydrocephalus and aqueductal stenosis, principally involving the caudal cerebral aqueduct. All children with aqueductal stenosis had collicular fusion. All six children with complete rhombencephalosynapsis had aqueductal stenosis. The cerebral aqueduct varied from normal to stenotic in children with incomplete rhombencephalosynapsis. Corpus callosum dysgenesis was present in four children. Aqueductal stenosis in the setting of rhombencephalosynapsis is an under-recognized cause of noncommunicating hydrocephalus. Our findings support the hypothesis that a defect involving the common gene(s) responsible for the differentiation and development of both the roof plate and midline cerebellar primordium at the mesencephalon/first rhombomere junction may be responsible for the association of aqueductal stenosis and rhombencephalosynapsis. (orig.)

Efficacy of transoral intraluminal Wallstents for tracheal stenosis or tracheomalacia.

Science.gov (United States)

Casiano, R R; Numa, W A; Nurko, Y J

2000-10-01

The efficacy and safety of intraluminal Wallstent Endoprosthesis (Boston Scientific/ Medi-Tech, Quincy, MA) placement to restore airway patency in patients with tracheal stenosis or tracheomalacia are unknown. Retrospective review in setting of tertiary, referral, and academic center. A retrospective review of 13 consecutive patients over a 2-year period who underwent transoral resection of tracheal stenosis and immediate transoral Wallstent placement. One patient had tracheomalacia. All of the patients were considered at high risk for transcervical surgery or had failed prior traditional open procedures. The average patient age was 54.2 years, with nine male and four female patients. All had Cotton/Myer stenoses (grades II to IV) with moderate to severe degrees of inspiratory stridor. Four patients were tracheotomy dependent. The length of stenosis varied from 1 to 4 cm. One patient had a 10-cm segment of tracheomalacia. At the time of writing, none of the patients has had a problem with significant migration or extrusion and most of the patients have incorporated the stent well without any short-term obstructive granulation tissue. After a mean follow-up of 15 months (range, 4-24 mo). 10 of the 12 patients with stenosis (83%) have remained free of any inspiratory noise during breathing. The one patient with tracheomalacia also has remained free of symptoms. Transoral Wallstents appear to be safe and may be a reasonable alternative in the restoration of airway patency in select patients with tracheal stenosis or tracheomalacia.

Systematic review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Troels Dreier; Spindler, Karen-Lise Garm; Palshof, Jesper Andreas

2016-01-01

to earlier diagnosis and improved survival. Method: In this paper, we describe the incidence as well as characteristics associated with BM based on a systematic review of the current literature, following the PRISMA guidelines. Results: We show that the incidence of BM in CRC patients ranges from 0.6 to 3...

Methodology of a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Linares-Espinós, E; Hernández, V; Domínguez-Escrig, J L; Fernández-Pello, S; Hevia, V; Mayor, J; Padilla-Fernández, B; Ribal, M J

2018-05-03

The objective of evidence-based medicine is to employ the best scientific information available to apply to clinical practice. Understanding and interpreting the scientific evidence involves understanding the available levels of evidence, where systematic reviews and meta-analyses of clinical trials are at the top of the levels-of-evidence pyramid. The review process should be well developed and planned to reduce biases and eliminate irrelevant and low-quality studies. The steps for implementing a systematic review include (i) correctly formulating the clinical question to answer (PICO), (ii) developing a protocol (inclusion and exclusion criteria), (iii) performing a detailed and broad literature search and (iv) screening the abstracts of the studies identified in the search and subsequently of the selected complete texts (PRISMA). Once the studies have been selected, we need to (v) extract the necessary data into a form designed in the protocol to summarise the included studies, (vi) assess the biases of each study, identifying the quality of the available evidence, and (vii) develop tables and text that synthesise the evidence. A systematic review involves a critical and reproducible summary of the results of the available publications on a particular topic or clinical question. To improve scientific writing, the methodology is shown in a structured manner to implement a systematic review. Copyright © 2018 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Identifying Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Search Terminology: A Systematic Review of Health Systematic Reviews.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph G L Lee

Full Text Available Research on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT populations can provide important information to address existing health inequalities. Finding existing research in LGBT health can prove challenging due to the plethora of terminology used. We sought to describe existing search strategies and to identify more comprehensive LGBT search terminology. We iteratively created a search string to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses about LGBT health and implemented it in Embase, PubMed/MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases on May 28-29, 2015. We hand-searched the journal LGBT Health. Inclusion criteria were: systematic reviews and meta-analyses that addressed LGBT health, used systematic searching, and used independent coders for inclusion. The published search terminology in each record and search strings provided by authors on request were cross-referenced with our original search to identify additional terminology. Our search process identified 19 systematic reviews meeting inclusion criteria. The number of search terms used to identify LGBT-related records ranged from 1 to 31. From the included studies, we identified 46 new search terms related to LGBT health. We removed five search terms as inappropriate and added five search terms used in the field. The resulting search string included 82 terms. There is room to improve the quality of searching and reporting in LGBT health systematic reviews. Future work should attempt to enhance the positive predictive value of LGBT health searches. Our findings can assist LGBT health reviewers in capturing the diversity of LGBT terminology when searching.

A competency framework for librarians involved in systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Whitney A; Anderson, Patricia F; Ginier, Emily C; MacEachern, Mark P; Saylor, Kate M; Shipman, Barbara L; Smith, Judith E

2017-07-01

The project identified a set of core competencies for librarians who are involved in systematic reviews. A team of seven informationists with broad systematic review experience examined existing systematic review standards, conducted a literature search, and used their own expertise to identify core competencies and skills that are necessary to undertake various roles in systematic review projects. The team identified a total of six competencies for librarian involvement in systematic reviews: "Systematic review foundations," "Process management and communication," "Research methodology," "Comprehensive searching," "Data management," and "Reporting." Within each competency are the associated skills and knowledge pieces (indicators). Competence can be measured using an adaptation of Miller's Pyramid for Clinical Assessment, either through self-assessment or identification of formal assessment instruments. The Systematic Review Competencies Framework provides a standards-based, flexible way for librarians and organizations to identify areas of competence and areas in need of development to build capacity for systematic review integration. The framework can be used to identify or develop appropriate assessment tools and to target skill development opportunities.

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of aortic stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yetkin, Ertan; Waltenberger, Johannes

2009-06-12

Calcific aortic stenosis is the most common cause of aortic valve replacement in developed countries, and this condition increases in prevalence with advancing age. The fibrotic thickening and calcification are common eventual endpoint in both non-rheumatic calcific and rheumatic aortic stenoses. New observations in human aortic valves support the hypothesis that degenerative valvular aortic stenosis is the result of active bone formation in the aortic valve, which may be mediated through a process of osteoblast-like differentiation in these tissues. Additionally histopathologic evidence suggests that early lesions in aortic valves are not just a disease process secondary to aging, but an active cellular process that follows the classical "response to injury hypothesis" similar to the situation in atherosclerosis. Although there are similarities with the risk factor and as well as with the process of atherogenesis, not all the patients with coronary artery disease or atherosclerosis have calcific aortic stenosis. This review mainly focuses on the potential vascular and molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of aortic valve stenosis. Namely extracellular matrix remodeling, angiogenesis, inflammation, and eventually osteoblast-like differentiation resulting in bone formation have been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of calcific aortic stenosis. Several mediators related to underlying mechanisms, including growth factors especially transforming growth factor-beta1 and vascular endothelial growth factors, angiogenesis, cathepsin enzymes, adhesion molecules, bone regulatory proteins and matrix metalloproteinases have been demonstrated, however the target to be attacked is not defined yet.

Covered Balloon-Expanding Stents in Airway Stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Majid, Adnan; Kheir, Fayez; Chung, Jey; Alape, Daniel; Husta, Bryan; Oh, Scott; Folch, Erik

2017-04-01

The balloon-expanding stents are widely available but rarely described for use within the tracheobronchial tree. This report describes our experience with these stents in airway stenosis particularly as a lobar salvage therapy. This was a retrospective review of all records in which the balloon-expanding stents were used at a tertiary medical center. Ages, sex, location of stenosis, etiology of stenosis, stent size, duration of stent placement and associated interventions for airway stenosis were recorded. Patient's self-reported respiratory symptoms, dyspnea scale, and radiographic imaging at baseline and after stent placement were also reported. Twenty-one Atrium iCAST stents were inserted in 18 patients with malignant and benign airway disease. The median age was 69.5 years (interquartile range, 53.5 to 74). Most stents (n=20, 95%) were deployed in the lobar airways. There was a significant improvement in the modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale from median of 3 to 2 (Pstent placement was achieved in 15 patients (83%). No deaths were related to airway stenting complications. Adverse events related to stents included migration (n=2, 9.5%), granulation tissue formation (n=2, 9.5%) and mucus plugging (n=1, 4.8%). Lobar stenting with balloon-expanding metallic stents appears feasible, safe and improves symptoms as well as radiographic atelectasis in patients with lobar airway stenosis in this small case series. Larger studies are needed to confirm this observation and to address long-term safety.

Role of Montgomery T-tube stent for laryngotracheal stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Prasanna Kumar, Saravanam; Ravikumar, Arunachalam; Senthil, Kannan; Somu, Lakshman; Nazrin, Mohd Ismail

2014-04-01

To identify the indications, complications and outcome of patients of LTS managed with Montgomery T-tube stenting and review the current literature about the role of stenting in LTS. Retrospective chart reviews of 39 patients of laryngotracheal stenosis managed by T-tube stenting for temporary or definitive treatment during the period 2004-2011 were considered. The data on indications for stenting, type of stent, problems/complications of stenting, duration of stenting, additional intervention and outcome of management were collected, tabulated and analyzed. Of the 51 cases of laryngotracheal stenosis 39 patients were treated by Montgomery T-tube stenting. There was no mortality associated with the procedure or stenting. 82% of the patients were successfully decannulated. The problems and complications encountered were crusting within the tube in 44% and granulation at the subglottis in 33%. Two patients had complication due to T-tube itself: One patient developed tracheomalacia and the other had stenosis at both ends of the T-tube. Stenting still has a role in management of inoperable or in some deadlock situations where resection anastomosis is not feasible. It is easier to introduce the stent and to maintain it. Complications are minor and can be managed easily. It is safe for long term use. We emphasize that the treating surgeon needs to use prudence while treating stenosis using stents. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Systematic Summary of Systematic Reviews on the Topic of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Michael J.; Browning, William M.; Urband, Christopher E.; Kluczynski, Melissa A.; Bisson, Leslie J.

2016-01-01

Background: There has been a substantial increase in the amount of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Purpose: To quantify the number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published on the ACL in the past decade and to provide an overall summary of this literature. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A systematic review of all ACL-related systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between January 2004 and September 2014 was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Database. Narrative reviews and non-English articles were excluded. Results: A total of 1031 articles were found, of which 240 met the inclusion criteria. Included articles were summarized and divided into 17 topics: anatomy, epidemiology, prevention, associated injuries, diagnosis, operative versus nonoperative management, graft choice, surgical technique, fixation methods, computer-assisted surgery, platelet-rich plasma, rehabilitation, return to play, outcomes assessment, arthritis, complications, and miscellaneous. Conclusion: A summary of systematic reviews on the ACL can supply the surgeon with a single source for the most up-to-date synthesis of the literature. PMID:27047983

Reporting and methodologic quality of Cochrane Neonatal review group systematic reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al Faleh Khalid

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Cochrane Neonatal Review Group (CNRG has achieved a lot with limited resources in producing high quality systematic reviews to assist clinicians in evidence-based decision-making. A formal assessment of published CNRG systematic reviews has not been undertaken; we sought to provide a comprehensive assessment of the quality of systematic reviews (both methodologic and reporting quality published in CNRG. Methods We selected a random sample of published CNRG systematic reviews. Items of the QUOROM statement were utilized to assess quality of reporting, while items and total scores of the Oxman-Guyatt Overview Quality Assessment Questionnaire (OQAQ were used to assess methodologic quality. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed quality. A Student t-test was used to compare quality scores pre- and post-publication of the QUOROM statement. Results Sixty-one systematic reviews were assessed. Overall, the included reviews had good quality with minor flaws based on OQAQ total scores (mean, 4.5 [0.9]; 95% CI, 4.27–4.77. However, room for improvement was noted in some areas, such as the title, abstract reporting, a priori plan for heterogeneity assessment and how to handle heterogeneity in case it exists, and assessment of publication bias. In addition, reporting of agreement among reviewers, documentation of trials flow, and discussion of possible biases were addressed in the review process. Reviews published post the QUOROM statement had a significantly higher quality scores. Conclusion The systematic reviews published in the CNRG are generally of good quality with minor flaws. However, efforts should be made to improve the quality of reports. Readers must continue to assess the quality of published reports on an individual basis prior to implementing the recommendations.

Including non-public data and studies in systematic reviews and systematic maps.

Science.gov (United States)

Haddaway, Neal R; Collins, Alexandra M; Coughlin, Deborah; Kohl, Christian

2017-02-01

Systematic reviews and maps should be based on the best available evidence, and reviewers should make all reasonable efforts to source and include potentially relevant studies. However, reviewers may not be able to consider all existing evidence, since some data and studies may not be publicly available. Including non-public studies in reviews provides a valuable opportunity to increase systematic review/map comprehensiveness, potentially mitigating negative impacts of publication bias. Studies may be non-public for many reasons: some may still be in the process of being published (publication can take a long time); some may not be published due to author/publisher restrictions; publication bias may make it difficult to publish non-significant or negative results. Here, we consider what forms these non-public studies may take and the implications of including them in systematic reviews and maps. Reviewers should carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of including non-public studies, weighing risks of bias against benefits of increased comprehensiveness. As with all systematic reviews and maps, reviewers must be transparent about methods used to obtain data and avoid risks of bias in their synthesis. We make tentative suggestions for reviewers in situations where non-public data may be present in an evidence base. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative coronary CT angiography: absolute lumen sizing rather than %stenosis predicts hemodynamically relevant stenosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plank, Fabian [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck (Austria); Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Internal Medicine III - Cardiology, Innsbruck (Austria); Burghard, Philipp; Mayr, Agnes; Klauser, Andrea; Feuchtner, Gudrun [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck (Austria); Friedrich, Guy; Dichtl, Wolfgang [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Internal Medicine III - Cardiology, Innsbruck (Austria); Wolf, Florian [Vienna Medical University, Department of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, Vienna (Austria)

2016-11-15

To identify the most accurate quantitative coronary stenosis parameter by CTA for prediction of functional significant coronary stenosis resulting in coronary revascularization. 160 consecutive patients were prospectively examined with CTA. Proximal coronary stenosis was quantified by minimal lumen area (MLA) and minimal lumen diameter (MLD), %area and %diameter stenosis. Lesion length (LL) was measured. The reference standard was invasive coronary angiography (ICA) (>70 % stenosis, FFR <0.8). 210 coronary segments were included (59 % positive). MLA of ≤1.8 mm{sup 2} was identified as the optimal cut-off (c = 0.97, p < 0.001; 95 % CI 0.94-0.99) (sensitivity 90.9 %, specificity 89.3 %) for prediction of functional-relevant stenosis (for MLA >2.1 mm{sup 2} sensitivity was 100 %). The optimal cut-off for MLD was 1.2 mm (c = 0.92; p < 0.001; 95 % CI 0.88-95) (sensitivity 90.9, specificity 85.2) while %area and %diameter stenosis were less accurate (c = 0.89; 95 % CI 0.84-93, c = 0.87; 95 % CI 0.82-92, respectively, with thresholds at 73 % and 61 % stenosis). Accuracy for LL was c = 0.74 (95 % CI 0.67-81), and for LL/MLA and LL/MLD ratio c = 0.90 and c = 0.84. MLA ≤1.8 mm{sup 2} and MLD ≤1.2 mm are the most accurate cut-offs for prediction of haemodynamically significant stenosis by ICA, with a higher accuracy than relative % stenosis. (orig.)

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ehealth interventions in somatic diseases: A systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

N.J. Elbert (Niels); H. van Os-Medendorp (Harmieke); W. van Renselaar (Wilco); A.G. Ekeland (Anne G); L. van Hakkaart-van Roijen (Leona); H. Raat (Hein); T.E.C. Nijsten (Tamar); S.G.M.A. Pasmans (Suzanne)

2014-01-01

textabstractEHealth potentially enhances quality of care and may reduce health care costs. However, a review of systematic reviews published in 2010 concluded that high-quality evidence on the benefits of eHealth interventions was still lacking. Objective: We conducted a systematic review of

Conducting systematic reviews of economic evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomersall, Judith Streak; Jadotte, Yuri Tertilus; Xue, Yifan; Lockwood, Suzi; Riddle, Dru; Preda, Alin

2015-09-01

In 2012, a working group was established to review and enhance the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidance for conducting systematic review of evidence from economic evaluations addressing a question(s) about health intervention cost-effectiveness. The objective is to present the outcomes of the working group. The group conducted three activities to inform the new guidance: review of literature on the utility/futility of systematic reviews of economic evaluations and consideration of its implications for updating the existing methodology; assessment of the critical appraisal tool in the existing guidance against criteria that promotes validity in economic evaluation research and two other commonly used tools; and a workshop. The debate in the literature on the limitations/value of systematic review of economic evidence cautions that systematic reviews of economic evaluation evidence are unlikely to generate one size fits all answers to questions about the cost-effectiveness of interventions and their comparators. Informed by this finding, the working group adjusted the framing of the objectives definition in the existing JBI methodology. The shift is away from defining the objective as to determine one cost-effectiveness measure toward summarizing study estimates of cost-effectiveness and informed by consideration of the included study characteristics (patient, setting, intervention component, etc.), identifying conditions conducive to lowering costs and maximizing health benefits. The existing critical appraisal tool was included in the new guidance. The new guidance includes the recommendation that a tool designed specifically for the purpose of appraising model-based studies be used together with the generic appraisal tool for economic evaluations assessment to evaluate model-based evaluations. The guidance produced by the group offers reviewers guidance for each step of the systematic review process, which are the same steps followed in JBI reviews of other

Rhombencephalosynapsis as a cause of aqueductal stenosis: an under-recognized association in hydrocephalic children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitehead, Matthew T. [University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Department of Radiology, Memphis, TN (United States); Le Bonheur Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, Memphis, TN (United States); Le Bonheur Children' s Hospital, Le Bonheur Neuroscience Institute, Memphis, TN (United States); Children' s National Medical Center, Washington, DC (United States); Choudhri, Asim F. [University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Department of Radiology, Memphis, TN (United States); Le Bonheur Children' s Hospital, Le Bonheur Neuroscience Institute, Memphis, TN (United States); University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Memphis, TN (United States); Grimm, John; Nelson, Marvin D. [Children' s Hospital Los Angeles, Department of Radiology, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

2014-07-15

Rhombencephalosynapsis is a rare genetic aberration characterized by variable vermian hypoplasia/aplasia in conjunction with united cerebellar hemispheres. Genetic defects in the isthmic organizer at the mesencephalic-metencephalic junction are presumably responsible for the associated aqueductal stenosis. We performed a retrospective review of 20 children with rhombencephalosynapsis to evaluate for and emphasize the association of aqueductal stenosis and hydrocephalus. We retrospectively reviewed the MR and CT images of 20 children (0-11 years old) with rhombencephalosynapsis encountered at two academic children's hospitals. Rhombencephalosynapsis spectrum severity was graded based on pre-existing literature. We analyzed examinations for ventriculomegaly and degree of aqueductal stenosis. The collicular distances were measured from the collicular apices. Imaging studies were also analyzed for malformations of cortical and cerebellar development. Thirteen of the 20 children (65%) with rhombencephalosynapsis presented with clinical or imaging evidence of hydrocephalus and aqueductal stenosis, principally involving the caudal cerebral aqueduct. All children with aqueductal stenosis had collicular fusion. All six children with complete rhombencephalosynapsis had aqueductal stenosis. The cerebral aqueduct varied from normal to stenotic in children with incomplete rhombencephalosynapsis. Corpus callosum dysgenesis was present in four children. Aqueductal stenosis in the setting of rhombencephalosynapsis is an under-recognized cause of noncommunicating hydrocephalus. Our findings support the hypothesis that a defect involving the common gene(s) responsible for the differentiation and development of both the roof plate and midline cerebellar primordium at the mesencephalon/first rhombomere junction may be responsible for the association of aqueductal stenosis and rhombencephalosynapsis. (orig.)

Making evidence more wanted: a systematic review of facilitators to enhance the uptake of evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, John; Byrne, Charles; Clarke, Mike

2012-12-01

The increased uptake of evidence from systematic reviews is advocated because of their potential to improve the quality of decision making for patient care. Systematic reviews can do this by decreasing inappropriate clinical variation and quickly expediting the application of current, effective advances to everyday practice. However, research suggests that evidence from systematic reviews has not been widely adopted by health professionals. Little is known about the facilitators to uptake of research evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. To review the facilitators to the uptake by decision makers, of evidence from systematic, meta-analyses and the databases containing them. We searched 19 databases covering the full range of publication years, utilised three search engines and also personally contacted investigators. Grey literature and knowledge translation research was particularly sought. Reference lists of primary studies and related reviews were also searched. Studies were included if they reported on the views and perceptions of decision makers on the uptake of evidence from systematic reviews, meta-analyses and the databases associated with them. One investigator screened titles to identify candidate articles, and then two reviewers independently assessed the relevance of retrieved articles to exclude studies that did not meet the inclusion criteria. Quality of the included studies was also assessed. Using a pre-established taxonomy, two reviewers described the methods of included studies and extracted data that were summarised in tables and then analysed. Differences were resolved by consensus. Of articles initially identified, we selected unique published studies describing at least one facilitator to the uptake of evidence from systematic reviews. The 15 unique studies reported 10 surveys, three qualitative investigations and two mixed studies that addressed potential facilitators. Five studies were from Canada, four from the UK, three from

Lumbar spinal stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1985-01-01

Spinal stenosis, which has attracted increasing attention in recent years, represents an important group of clinical and radiologic entities. Recognition and ultimate surgical management of the many abnormalities found in this group require precise preoperative delineation of the morbid anatomy. Conventional axial tomography provided the first accurate picture of the sagittal dimension, but it was limited by poor contrast resolution. Computerized tomography and ultrasound have finally provided the means for accurate measurement of midsagittal diameter and surface area. It is now possible to provide a preoperative assessment of bony and soft-tissue canal compression and to guide surgical decompression by objective anatomic measurements. True spinal stenosis of the lumbar vertebral canal is a form of compression produced by the walls of the vertebral canal. It involves the whole of the vertebral canal by exerting compression at two of its opposite surfaces. There are two types of stenosis: (1) transport stenosis, wherein the clinical manifestations are due to impeded flow of fluid, which is dependent on the available cross-sectional area of the canal surface of the stenotic structure, and (2) compressive stenosis, which includes abnormal compression of opposing surfaces only. According to these definitions, indentation on the spinal canal by disc protrusion or localized tumor is not considered true spinal stenoses. In this chapter the authors discuss only those conditions that produce true canal stenosis

Gray literature: An important resource in systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Paez, Arsenio

2017-08-01

Systematic reviews aide the analysis and dissemination of evidence, using rigorous and transparent methods to generate empirically attained answers to focused research questions. Identifying all evidence relevant to the research questions is an essential component, and challenge, of systematic reviews. Gray literature, or evidence not published in commercial publications, can make important contributions to a systematic review. Gray literature can include academic papers, including theses and dissertations, research and committee reports, government reports, conference papers, and ongoing research, among others. It may provide data not found within commercially published literature, providing an important forum for disseminating studies with null or negative results that might not otherwise be disseminated. Gray literature may thusly reduce publication bias, increase reviews' comprehensiveness and timeliness, and foster a balanced picture of available evidence. Gray literature's diverse formats and audiences can present a significant challenge in a systematic search for evidence. However, the benefits of including gray literature may far outweigh the cost in time and resource needed to search for it, and it is important for it to be included in a systematic review or review of evidence. A carefully thought out gray literature search strategy may be an invaluable component of a systematic review. This narrative review provides guidance about the benefits of including gray literature in a systematic review, and sources for searching through gray literature. An illustrative example of a search for evidence within gray literature sources is presented to highlight the potential contributions of such a search to a systematic review. Benefits and challenges of gray literature search methods are discussed, and recommendations made. © 2017 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Grey literature: An important resource in systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Paez, Arsenio

2017-12-21

Systematic reviews aid the analysis and dissemination of evidence, using rigorous and transparent methods to generate empirically attained answers to focused research questions. Identifying all evidence relevant to the research questions is an essential component, and challenge, of systematic reviews. Grey literature, or evidence not published in commercial publications, can make important contributions to a systematic review. Grey literature can include academic papers, including theses and dissertations, research and committee reports, government reports, conference papers, and ongoing research, among others. It may provide data not found within commercially published literature, providing an important forum for disseminating studies with null or negative results that might not otherwise be disseminated. Grey literature may thusly reduce publication bias, increase reviews' comprehensiveness and timeliness and foster a balanced picture of available evidence. Grey literature's diverse formats and audiences can present a significant challenge in a systematic search for evidence. However, the benefits of including grey literature may far outweigh the cost in time and resource needed to search for it, and it is important for it to be included in a systematic review or review of evidence. A carefully thought out grey literature search strategy may be an invaluable component of a systematic review. This narrative review provides guidance about the benefits of including grey literature in a systematic review, and sources for searching through grey literature. An illustrative example of a search for evidence within grey literature sources is presented to highlight the potential contributions of such a search to a systematic review. Benefits and challenges of grey literature search methods are discussed, and recommendations made. © 2017 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

The left ventricle in aortic stenosis--imaging assessment and clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Călin, Andreea; Roşca, Monica; Beladan, Carmen Cristiana; Enache, Roxana; Mateescu, Anca Doina; Ginghină, Carmen; Popescu, Bogdan Alexandru

2015-04-29

Aortic stenosis has an increasing prevalence in the context of aging population. In these patients non-invasive imaging allows not only the grading of valve stenosis severity, but also the assessment of left ventricular function. These two goals play a key role in clinical decision-making. Although left ventricular ejection fraction is currently the only left ventricular function parameter that guides intervention, current imaging techniques are able to detect early changes in LV structure and function even in asymptomatic patients with significant aortic stenosis and preserved ejection fraction. Moreover, new imaging parameters emerged as predictors of disease progression in patients with aortic stenosis. Although proper standardization and confirmatory data from large prospective studies are needed, these novel parameters have the potential of becoming useful tools in guiding intervention in asymptomatic patients with aortic stenosis and stratify risk in symptomatic patients undergoing aortic valve replacement.This review focuses on the mechanisms of transition from compensatory left ventricular hypertrophy to left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure in aortic stenosis and the role of non-invasive imaging assessment of the left ventricular geometry and function in these patients.

Renal Branch Artery Stenosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Zarah; Thisted, Ebbe; Andersen, Ulrik Bjørn

2017-01-01

Renovascular hypertension is a common cause of pediatric hypertension. In the fraction of cases that are unrelated to syndromes such as neurofibromatosis, patients with a solitary stenosis on a branch of the renal artery are common and can be diagnostically challenging. Imaging techniques...... that perform well in the diagnosis of main renal artery stenosis may fall short when it comes to branch artery stenosis. We report 2 cases that illustrate these difficulties and show that a branch artery stenosis may be overlooked even by the gold standard method, renal angiography....

Efficacy and safety of etanercept in the treatment of sciatica: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Shangfei; Yang, Chenyuan; Zhang, Xiaofei; Wen, Shuzheng; Li, Yuankui

2017-10-01

Etanercept might be promising to alleviate sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation and spinal stenosis. However, the results remained controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of etanercept in patients with sciatica. PubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases were systematically searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and Controlled clinical trials (CCT) assessing the efficacy of etanercept on sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation and spinal stenosis were included. Two investigators independently searched articles, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. The primary outcome was leg pain scores. Meta-analysis was performed using random-effect model. Four RCTs and one CCT involving 184 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with placebo, etanercept could significantly reduce leg pain (Std. mean difference=-0.83; 95% CI=-1.59 to -0.06; P=0.03) and back pain (Std. mean difference=-1.89; 95% CI=-3.34 to -0.43; P=0.01). However, when comparing etanercept to steroids there was no significant difference in the relief of leg pain (Std. mean difference=-1.18; 95% CI=-3.21 to 0.84; P=0.25) and back pain (Std. mean difference=-0.29; 95% CI=-1.26 to 0.67; P=0.55). Etanercept showed no increase in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) compared with placebo (Std. mean difference=-0.83; 95% CI=-2.03 to 0.37; P=0.18) and steroids (Std. mean difference=-0.19; 95% CI=-1.15 to 0.77; P=0.70). Etanercept treatment was associated with a significantly reduced pain in leg and back compared to placebo and may possibly improve leg pain relief compared to steroids, but failed to improve ODI. Etanercept should be recommended for sciatica with caution because of heterogeneity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plaque Characteristics of Patients with Symptomatic Mild Carotid Artery Stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Takai, Hiroki; Uemura, Juniti; Yagita, Yoshiki; Ogawa, Yukari; Kinoshita, Keita; Hirai, Satoshi; Ishihara, Manabu; Hara, Keijirou; Toi, Hiroyuki; Matsubara, Shunji; Nishimura, Hirotake; Uno, Masaaki

2018-03-20

Carotid revascularization may be considered for severe stenosis, but its use for symptomatic mild stenosis (<50%) with vulnerable plaque or ulcer remains uncertain. The characteristics of patients with symptomatic mild stenosis who underwent revascularization are reviewed. The subjects of this study were 18 patients with symptomatic mild stenosis (<50%) on angiography from among 175 patients who underwent revascularization in our department. The plaques were evaluated by black-blood magnetic resonance imaging (BB-MRI) and ultrasonography (US) and classified into 2 types: type 1 (n = 15), a lesion with an ulcer or mobile plaque or thrombosis on angiography or US; and type 2 (n = 3), a lesion without any of the above. Fourteen patients underwent carotid endarterectomy (CEA), and 4 patients underwent carotid artery stenting. The stenosis on angiography was 27.2% ± 10.7 (5%-41%), and the area carotid artery stenosis rate on US was 69.8 ± 14.5% (44.5%-97%). The stenosis rate of these 2 methods was not at all correlated. In type 1 plaque that underwent CEA, 10 of 11 patients had vulnerable plaque by histopathology, and 1 patient had thrombus on the plaque by operative findings. In type 2 plaque that underwent CEA, all patients had vulnerable plaque by histopathology. During the follow-up period, none of the patients had restenosis or stroke. The findings of US and BB-MRI in patients with symptomatic mild stenosis (<50%) on angiography are important for determining treatment. If BB-MRI or US shows the findings of vulnerable plaque in mild stenosis, surgical treatment may be considered for these patients. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A mixed-methods approach to systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Alan; White, Heath; Bath-Hextall, Fiona; Salmond, Susan; Apostolo, Joao; Kirkpatrick, Pamela

2015-09-01

There are an increasing number of published single-method systematic reviews that focus on different types of evidence related to a particular topic. As policy makers and practitioners seek clear directions for decision-making from systematic reviews, it is likely that it will be increasingly difficult for them to identify 'what to do' if they are required to find and understand a plethora of syntheses related to a particular topic.Mixed-methods systematic reviews are designed to address this issue and have the potential to produce systematic reviews of direct relevance to policy makers and practitioners.On the basis of the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute International Mixed Methods Reviews Methodology Group in 2012, the Institute adopted a segregated approach to mixed-methods synthesis as described by Sandelowski et al., which consists of separate syntheses of each component method of the review. Joanna Briggs Institute's mixed-methods synthesis of the findings of the separate syntheses uses a Bayesian approach to translate the findings of the initial quantitative synthesis into qualitative themes and pooling these with the findings of the initial qualitative synthesis.

Eligibility criteria in systematic reviews published in prominent medical journals: a methodological review.

Science.gov (United States)

McCrae, Niall; Purssell, Edward

2015-12-01

Clear and logical eligibility criteria are fundamental to the design and conduct of a systematic review. This methodological review examined the quality of reporting and application of eligibility criteria in systematic reviews published in three leading medical journals. All systematic reviews in the BMJ, JAMA and The Lancet in the years 2013 and 2014 were extracted. These were assessed using a refined version of a checklist previously designed by the authors. A total of 113 papers were eligible, of which 65 were in BMJ, 17 in The Lancet and 31 in JAMA. Although a generally high level of reporting was found, eligibility criteria were often problematic. In 67% of papers, eligibility was specified after the search sources or terms. Unjustified time restrictions were used in 21% of reviews, and unpublished or unspecified data in 27%. Inconsistency between journals was apparent in the requirements for systematic reviews. The quality of reviews in these leading medical journals was high; however, there were issues that reduce the clarity and replicability of the review process. As well as providing a useful checklist, this methodological review informs the continued development of standards for systematic reviews. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Laryngotracheal Stenosis: Risk Factors for Tracheostomy Dependence and Dilation Interval

Science.gov (United States)

Gadkaree, Shekhar K; Pandian, Vinciya; Best, Simon; Motz, Kevin M; Allen, Clint; Kim, Young; Akst, Lee; Hillel, Alexander T

2017-02-01

Objective Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a fibrotic process that narrows the upper airway and has a significant impact on breathing and phonation. Iatrogenic injury from endotracheal and/or tracheostomy tubes is the most common etiology. This study investigates differences in LTS etiologies as they relate to tracheostomy dependence and dilation interval. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Single-center tertiary care facility. Subjects and Methods Review of adult patients with LTS was performed between 2004 and 2015. The association of patient demographics, comorbidities, disease etiology, and treatment modalities with patient outcomes was assessed. Multiple logistic regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier analysis were performed to determine factors associated with tracheostomy dependence and time to second procedure, respectively. Results A total of 262 patients met inclusion criteria. Iatrogenic patients presented with greater stenosis ( P = .023), greater length of stenosis ( P = .004), and stenosis farther from the vocal folds ( P tracheostomy dependence. Nonsmokers, patients without tracheostomy, and idiopathic LTS patients had a significantly longer time to second dilation procedure. Conclusion Iatrogenic LTS presents with a greater disease burden and higher risk of tracheostomy dependence when compared with other etiologies of LTS. Comorbid conditions promoting microvascular injury-including smoking, COPD, and diabetes-were prevalent in the iatrogenic cohort. Changes in hospital practice patterns to promote earlier tracheostomy in high-risk patients could reduce the incidence of LTS.

Changes in Tracheostomy- and Intubation-Related Tracheal Stenosis: Implications for Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Samuel S; Khalpey, Zain; Hsu, Charles; Little, Alex G

2017-09-01

This study sought to identify the changing characteristic patterns and locations of stenosis after tracheostomy or intubation and to assess the risk factors associated with perioperative complication and restenosis after primary resection and reconstruction. A retrospective review was performed (January /2012 to March 2015) on patients treated at the University of Arizona Medical Center (Tucson, Arizona) who had symptomatic tracheal stenosis secondary to prolonged intubation or tracheostomy. Data on demographics, surgical approach, and outcome were obtained. Analysis was performed using the χ 2 test, Kaplan-Meier estimate of survival, Cox proportional hazards survival analysis, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Forty-eight patients were referred for surgical resection, and 36 patients underwent primary resection and reconstruction; 72% of patients had previous endobronchial treatments for stenosis. Fourteen patients had postintubation tracheal stenosis, and 22 had tracheostomy-related stenosis (16 percutaneous, 6 open tracheostomy). Among all patients, 52.8% had stenosis proximal to or involving the cricoid; 72.7% of patients with tracheostomy-related stenosis had stenosis at or proximal to the cricoid, whereas only 21.4% of the patients with intubation-related stenosis had a similar location. Nineteen patients underwent laryngotracheal resection, and 17 patients had tracheal resection. The mean length of resection was 3.6 cm. A body mass index greater than 35 was associated with increased perioperative complications (p = 0.012). In multivariate analysis, patients younger than 30 years of age at operation had an increased relative risk of recurrence. Recent advances in percutaneous tracheostomy have increased the numbers of patients presenting with proximal tracheal stenosis, thus necessitating more complex subglottic resection and reconstruction. The anastomotic and overall complication rate remains low despite these more complex operations

[Characteristics of systematic reviews about the impact of pharmacists].

Science.gov (United States)

Tanguay, C; Guérin, A; Bussières, J-F

2014-11-01

The pharmacists' role is varied and numerous articles evaluate the outcomes of pharmaceutical interventions. The main objectives of this study were to establish the characteristics of systematic reviews about pharmacists' interventions that were published in the last five years. A literature search was performed on Pubmed for French and English articles published between 01-01-2008 and 31-05-2013. Systematic reviews that presented the role, the interventions and the impact of pharmacists were selected by two research assistants. A total of 46 systematic reviews was identified, amongst which one third (n=15/46, 33 %) were meta-analyses. A quarter of systematic reviews did not evaluate the quality of included articles (n=13/46, 28 %). Twelve themes were identified. A median [min-max] of 16 [2-298] articles was included per systematic review. The most frequent pharmaceutical activities were patient counseling (n=41 systematic reviews), patient chart review (n=29), pharmacotherapy evaluation (n=27) and recommendations (n=26). The least frequent activities were teaching others than patients (n=12) and medical rounds participation (n=7). Many elements can influence the completion of pharmacy practice research projects; however, there exists no link between the presence of systematic reviews and the importance of pharmacists in a given healthcare program. This study presents the characteristics of 46 systematic reviews about pharmacists interventions published since 2008. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Does lowering cholesterol have an impact on the progression of aortic stenosis?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greve, A.M.; Wachtell, K.

2008-01-01

reviews the pathophysiological mechanisms of calcific AS, reviews current clinical trials of statin use in aortic stenosis and reports on on-going trials, evaluating whether cholesterol lowering therapy can slow disease progression in different populations. Finally, we review if computerized tomography...

Contribution of systematic reviews to management decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Carly N; Possingham, Hugh P; Fuller, Richard A

2013-10-01

Systematic reviews comprehensively summarize evidence about the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We investigated the contribution to management decisions made by this growing body of literature. We identified 43 systematic reviews of conservation evidence, 23 of which drew some concrete conclusions relevant to management. Most reviews addressed conservation interventions relevant to policy decisions; only 35% considered practical on-the-ground management interventions. The majority of reviews covered only a small fraction of the geographic and taxonomic breadth they aimed to address (median = 13% of relevant countries and 16% of relevant taxa). The likelihood that reviews contained at least some implications for management tended to increase as geographic coverage increased and to decline as taxonomic breadth increased. These results suggest the breadth of a systematic review requires careful consideration. Reviews identified a mean of 312 relevant primary studies but excluded 88% of these because of deficiencies in design or a failure to meet other inclusion criteria. Reviews summarized on average 284 data sets and 112 years of research activity, yet the likelihood that their results had at least some implications for management did not increase as the amount of primary research summarized increased. In some cases, conclusions were elusive despite the inclusion of hundreds of data sets and years of cumulative research activity. Systematic reviews are an important part of the conservation decision making tool kit, although we believe the benefits of systematic reviews could be significantly enhanced by increasing the number of reviews focused on questions of direct relevance to on-the-ground managers; defining a more focused geographic and taxonomic breadth that better reflects available data; including a broader range of evidence types; and appraising the cost-effectiveness of interventions. © 2013 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley

Systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leeflang, Mariska M G; Deeks, Jonathan J; Gatsonis, Constantine

2008-01-01

More and more systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies are being published, but they can be methodologically challenging. In this paper, the authors present some of the recent developments in the methodology for conducting systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies....... Restrictive electronic search filters are discouraged, as is the use of summary quality scores. Methods for meta-analysis should take into account the paired nature of the estimates and their dependence on threshold. Authors of these reviews are advised to use the hierarchical summary receiver...

Fully Covered Metallic Stents for the Treatment of Benign Airway Stenosis

OpenAIRE

Dahlqvist, Caroline; Ocak, Sebahat; Gourdin, Maximilien; Dincq, Anne Sophie; Putz, Laurie; d’Odémont, Jean-Paul

2016-01-01

Introduction. We herein report our experience with new fully covered self-expanding metallic stents in the setting of inoperable recurrent benign tracheobronchial stenosis. Methods. Between May 2010 and July 2014, 21 Micro-Tech® FC-SEMS (Nanjing Co., Republic of Korea) were placed in our hospital in 16 patients for inoperable, recurrent (after dilatation), and symptomatic benign airway stenosis. Their medical files were retrospectively reviewed in December 2014, with focus on stent’s toleranc...

The Reporting Quality of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses in Industrial and Organizational Psychology: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Schalken, Naomi; Rietbergen, Charlotte

2017-01-01

Objective: The goal of this systematic review was to examine the reporting quality of the method section of quantitative systematic reviews and meta-analyses from 2009 to 2016 in the field of industrial and organizational psychology with the help of the Meta-Analysis Reporting Standards (MARS), and to update previous research, such as the study of Aytug et al. (2012) and Dieckmann et al. (2009). Methods: A systematic search for quantitative systematic reviews and meta-analyses was conducted in the top 10 journals in the field of industrial and organizational psychology between January 2009 and April 2016. Data were extracted on study characteristics and items of the method section of MARS. A cross-classified multilevel model was analyzed, to test whether publication year and journal impact factor (JIF) were associated with the reporting quality scores of articles. Results: Compliance with MARS in the method section was generally inadequate in the random sample of 120 articles. Variation existed in the reporting of items. There were no significant effects of publication year and journal impact factor (JIF) on the reporting quality scores of articles. Conclusions: The reporting quality in the method section of systematic reviews and meta-analyses was still insufficient, therefore we recommend researchers to improve the reporting in their articles by using reporting standards like MARS.

5 CFR 1312.10 - Systematic review guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Systematic review guidelines. 1312.10... Declassification of National Security Information § 1312.10 Systematic review guidelines. The EOP Security Officer will prepare and keep current such guidelines as are required by Executive Order 12958 for the...

Primary balloon angioplasty for symptomatic, high-grade intracranial stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomycz, Luke; Bansal, Neil K; Lockney, Tim; Strothers, Megan; Connors, John J; Shay, Scott; Singer, Robert J

2013-01-01

In light of recent controversy about the safety and efficacy of intracranial stenting, we sought to evaluate our experience with primary balloon angioplasty for symptomatic, high-grade intracranial stenosis. All intracranial angioplasty cases performed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from 2006 to 2011 were retrospectively reviewed for degree of stenosis pre- and post-procedure. Immediate peri-procedural complications were evaluated as well as one-month and long-term outcomes. A total of 26 patients were included in the study with a mean age of 63.0 years and a mean follow-up of 350.2 days. The average pre-procedure stenosis was 71.2%. The immediate, average post-procedure stenosis was 46.6%, and the average post-procedure stenosis at last angiographic follow-up was 44.5%. Retreatment was required in only 3.8% of patients. The primary end-point of major stroke or death at 30 days was observed in 11.5%, and the overall intra-procedural complication rate was 7.7%. The incidence of stroke or death at last follow-up was 15.4%, which is comparable to the one-year stroke or death rate in the medical arm of the SAMPRISS trial. In this retrospective series, primary balloon angioplasty was found to be effective as a treatment option for symptomatic intracranial stenosis with the risk of stroke or death at 30 days higher than the medical arm of SAMPRIS but lower than the stenting arm. The one-year risk of stroke was comparable to that reported for the one-year outcomes in the SAMPRISS medical arm.

Mitral Valve Stenosis

Science.gov (United States)

... the left ventricle from flowing backward. A defective heart valve fails to either open or close fully. Risk factors Mitral valve stenosis is less common today than it once was because the most common cause, ... other heart valve problems, mitral valve stenosis can strain your ...

Tracheal stenosis: our experience at a tertiary care centre in India with special regard to cause and management.

Science.gov (United States)

Nair, Satish; Mohan, Sharad; Mandal, Ghanashyam; Nilakantan, Ajith

2014-01-01

Tracheal stenosis (TS), a challenging problem, is a known complication of prolonged intubation and tracheostomy. The management involves a multidisciplinary approach with multiple complex procedures. In this study we discuss our experience with severe TS with regards to patient characteristics, cause and management. A retrospective analysis of 20 patients of severe TS treated at a tertiary care centre was evaluated. Inclusion criteria were all patients with severe TS who required surgical intervention. Exclusion criteria were patients with associated laryngeal stenosis and TS due to cancer. Demographic data was recorded and findings relating to aetiology, characteristics of stenosis and the various aspects of therapeutic procedures performed are discussed with review of literature. Descriptive analysis of data were performed SPSS 18. Results of the 20 patients, 17 patients (85 %) developed TS post tracheostomy, or post intubation and subsequent tracheostomy. 13 Patients (65 %) had true stenosis of which 7 patients (35 %) had simple web or circumferential fibrosis and 6 patients (30 %) had complex stenosis. Seven patients (35 %) had granulations causing severe TS which were mostly suprastomal (5 patients), stomal (5 patients) and combined stomal and suprastomal (3 patients). The average length of stenosis was 3.57 cm (0.5-8 cm). Montgomery t tube insertion was a common procedure in 18 patients (90 %) pre or post intervention. Each patient underwent an average of 3.4 procedures during their course of treatment which included rigid bronchoscopy and mechanical debulking, Nd YAG laser, KTP laser, balloon dilatation and use of stents. Among the 7 patients with granulations 100 % successful decanulation was noted with endoscopic management whereas in 13 patients with true stenosis, 10 patients (76.9 %) required open surgical management (8 tracheal resection and anastomosis and 2 tracheoplasty) with 80 % successful decanulation, 2 patients (15.4 %) were treated

Fluoropyrimidine and platinum toxicity pharmacogenetics: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Jared M; Bateman, Emma; Peters, Micah Dj; Bowen, Joanne M; Keefe, Dorothy M; Stephenson, Matthew D

2016-03-01

Fluoropyrimidine (FU) and platinum-based chemotherapies are greatly complicated by their associated toxicities. This umbrella systematic review synthesized all systematic reviews that investigated associations between germline variations and toxicity, with the aim of informing personalized medicine. Systematic reviews are important in pharmacogenetics where false positives are common. Four systematic reviews were identified for FU-induced toxicity and three for platinum. Polymorphisms of DPYD and TYMS, but not MTHFR, were statistically significantly associated with FU-induced toxicity (although only DPYD had clinical significance). For platinum, GSTP1 was found to not be associated with toxicity. This umbrella systematic review has synthesized the best available evidence on the pharmacogenetics of FU and platinum toxicity. It provides a useful reference for clinicians and identifies important research gaps.

Systematic reviews: a cross-sectional study of location and citation counts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morgan Douglas

2003-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Systematic reviews summarize all pertinent evidence on a defined health question. They help clinical scientists to direct their research and clinicians to keep updated. Our objective was to determine the extent to which systematic reviews are clustered in a large collection of clinical journals and whether review type (narrative or systematic affects citation counts. Methods We used hand searches of 170 clinical journals in the fields of general internal medicine, primary medical care, nursing, and mental health to identify review articles (year 2000. We defined 'review' as any full text article that was bannered as a review, overview, or meta-analysis in the title or in a section heading, or that indicated in the text that the intention of the authors was to review or summarize the literature on a particular topic. We obtained citation counts for review articles in the five journals that published the most systematic reviews. Results 11% of the journals concentrated 80% of all systematic reviews. Impact factors were weakly correlated with the publication of systematic reviews (R2 = 0.075, P = 0.0035. There were more citations for systematic reviews (median 26.5, IQR 12 – 56.5 than for narrative reviews (8, 20, P Conclusions A few clinical journals published most systematic reviews. Authors cited systematic reviews more often than narrative reviews, an indirect endorsement of the 'hierarchy of evidence'.

Roles for librarians in systematic reviews: a scoping review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela J. Spencer

2018-01-01

Results: We identified 18 different roles filled by librarians and other information professionals in conducting systematic reviews from 310 different articles, book chapters, and presented papers and posters. Some roles were well known such as searching, source selection, and teaching. Other less documented roles included planning, question formulation, and peer review. We summarize these different roles and provide an accompanying bibliography of references for in-depth descriptions of these roles. Conclusion: Librarians play central roles in systematic review teams, including roles that go beyond searching. This scoping review should encourage librarians who are fulfilling roles that are not captured here to document their roles in journal articles and poster and paper presentations.  This article has been approved for the Medical Library Association’s Independent Reading Program.

Maximizing the Impact of Systematic Reviews in Health Care Decision Making: A Systematic Scoping Review of Knowledge-Translation Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Duncan; Wilson, Paul M; Thompson, Carl A; Hanbury, Andria; Farley, Katherine; Light, Kate

2011-01-01

Context: Barriers to the use of systematic reviews by policymakers may be overcome by resources that adapt and present the findings in formats more directly tailored to their needs. We performed a systematic scoping review to identify such knowledge-translation resources and evaluations of them. Methods: Resources were eligible for inclusion in this study if they were based exclusively or primarily on systematic reviews and were aimed at health care policymakers at the national or local level. Resources were identified by screening the websites of health technology assessment agencies and systematic review producers, supplemented by an email survey. Electronic databases and proceedings of the Cochrane Colloquium and HTA International were searched as well for published and unpublished evaluations of knowledge-translation resources. Resources were classified as summaries, overviews, or policy briefs using a previously published classification. Findings: Twenty knowledge-translation resources were identified, of which eleven were classified as summaries, six as overviews, and three as policy briefs. Resources added value to systematic reviews by, for example, evaluating their methodological quality or assessing the reliability of their conclusions or their generalizability to particular settings. The literature search found four published evaluation studies of knowledge-translation resources, and the screening of abstracts and contact with authors found three more unpublished studies. The majority of studies reported on the perceived usefulness of the service, although there were some examples of review-based resources being used to assist actual decision making. Conclusions: Systematic review producers provide a variety of resources to help policymakers, of which focused summaries are the most common. More evaluations of these resources are required to ensure users’ needs are being met, to demonstrate their impact, and to justify their funding. PMID:21418315

Living systematic reviews: 2. Combining human and machine effort.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, James; Noel-Storr, Anna; Marshall, Iain; Wallace, Byron; McDonald, Steven; Mavergames, Chris; Glasziou, Paul; Shemilt, Ian; Synnot, Anneliese; Turner, Tari; Elliott, Julian

2017-11-01

New approaches to evidence synthesis, which use human effort and machine automation in mutually reinforcing ways, can enhance the feasibility and sustainability of living systematic reviews. Human effort is a scarce and valuable resource, required when automation is impossible or undesirable, and includes contributions from online communities ("crowds") as well as more conventional contributions from review authors and information specialists. Automation can assist with some systematic review tasks, including searching, eligibility assessment, identification and retrieval of full-text reports, extraction of data, and risk of bias assessment. Workflows can be developed in which human effort and machine automation can each enable the other to operate in more effective and efficient ways, offering substantial enhancement to the productivity of systematic reviews. This paper describes and discusses the potential-and limitations-of new ways of undertaking specific tasks in living systematic reviews, identifying areas where these human/machine "technologies" are already in use, and where further research and development is needed. While the context is living systematic reviews, many of these enabling technologies apply equally to standard approaches to systematic reviewing. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: Who Should Be Fused? An Updated Review

Science.gov (United States)

Hasankhani, Ebrahim Ghayem; Ashjazadeh, Amir

2014-01-01

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is mostly caused by osteoarthritis (spondylosis). Clinically, the symptoms of patients with LSS can be categorized into two groups; regional (low back pain, stiffness, and so on) or radicular (spinal stenosis mainly presenting as neurogenic claudication). Both of these symptoms usually improve with appropriate conservative treatment, but in refractory cases, surgical intervention is occasionally indicated. In the patients who primarily complain of radiculopathy with an underlying biomechanically stable spine, a decompression surgery alone using a less invasive technique may be sufficient. Preoperatively, with the presence of indicators such as failed back surgery syndrome (revision surgery), degenerative instability, considerable essential deformity, symptomatic spondylolysis, refractory degenerative disc disease, and adjacent segment disease, lumbar fusion is probably recommended. Intraoperatively, in cases with extensive decompression associated with a wide disc space or insufficient bone stock, fusion is preferred. Instrumentation improves the fusion rate, but it is not necessarily associated with improved recovery rate and better functional outcome. PMID:25187873

Do systematic reviews on pediatric topics need special methodological considerations?

OpenAIRE

Farid-Kapadia, Mufiza; Askie, Lisa; Hartling, Lisa; Contopoulos-Ioannidis, Despina; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Soll, Roger; Moher, David; Offringa, Martin

2017-01-01

Background Systematic reviews are key tools to enable decision making by healthcare providers and policymakers. Despite the availability of the evidence based Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA-2009 and PRISMA-P 2015) statements that were developed to improve the transparency and quality of reporting of systematic reviews, uncertainty on how to deal with pediatric-specific methodological challenges of systematic reviews impairs decision-making in child ...

Performing Systematic Literature Reviews with Novices: An Iterative Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lavallée, Mathieu; Robillard, Pierre-N.; Mirsalari, Reza

2014-01-01

Reviewers performing systematic literature reviews require understanding of the review process and of the knowledge domain. This paper presents an iterative approach for conducting systematic literature reviews that addresses the problems faced by reviewers who are novices in one or both levels of understanding. This approach is derived from…

The effectiveness of massage therapy for the treatment of nonspecific low back pain: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Saravana; Beaton, Kate; Hughes, Tricia

2013-09-04

The last decade has seen a growth in the utilization of complementary and alternative medicine therapies, and one of the most popular and sought-after complementary and alternative medicine therapies for nonspecific low back pain is massage. Massage may often be perceived as a safe therapeutic modality without any significant risks or side effects. However, despite its popularity, there continues to be ongoing debate on the effectiveness of massage in treating nonspecific low back pain. With a rapidly evolving research evidence base and access to innovative means of synthesizing evidence, it is time to reinvestigate this issue. A systematic, step-by-step approach, underpinned by best practice in reviewing the literature, was utilized as part of the methodology of this umbrella review. A systematic search was conducted in the following databases: Embase, MEDLINE, AMED, ICONDA, Academic Search Premier, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, CINAHL, HealthSource, SPORTDiscus, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Knowledge/Web of Science, PsycINFO, and ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source, investigating systematic reviews and meta-analyses from January 2000 to December 2012, and restricted to English-language documents. Methodological quality of included reviews was undertaken using the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine critical appraisal tool. Nine systematic reviews were found. The methodological quality of the systematic reviews varied (from poor to excellent) although, overall, the primary research informing these systematic reviews was generally considered to be weak quality. The findings indicate that massage may be an effective treatment option when compared to placebo and some active treatment options (such as relaxation), especially in the short term. There is conflicting and contradictory findings for the effectiveness of massage therapy for the treatment of nonspecific low back pain when compared against other manual therapies (such as

The prevalence and clinical predictors of incidental atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ozkan, Ugur [Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Adana/Turkey (Turkey)], E-mail: radugur@yahoo.com; Oguzkurt, Levent; Tercan, Fahri [Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Adana/Turkey (Turkey); Nursal, Tarik Z. [Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, Ankara/Turkey (Turkey)

2009-03-15

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of incidental renal artery stenosis due to atherosclerosis and associated risk factors in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Materials and methods: To determine renal artery stenosis, aortofemoropopliteal digital substraction angiographies (DSA) of 629 consecutive patients with PAD were prospectively reviewed. Angiographies were performed as catheter angiography with automated pump injection. Of the patients, 540 were male (86%) and 89 female (14%) (mean age {+-} S.D.: 61.5 {+-} 11.1 years). Statistical analysis was performed to determine the association of significant renal artery stenosis ({>=}60% diameter stenosis) with patient demographics (age, sex, reason for angiography and smoking status), medical history (diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary artery disease), laboratory values (blood creatinine, fasting glucose, triglycerides, LDL, HDL and total cholesterol) and distribution of PAD (aortoiliac, femoropopliteal and crural diseases and multisegment involvement). Results: Renal artery disease was found in 33% (207 of 629) of all patients with peripheral arterial disease, and 9.6% of patients (n = 60) had significant ({>=}60%) renal artery stenosis. Only age and hypertension (blood pressure systolic >140 mmHg or diastolic >90 mmHg) were independent risk factors for significant renal artery stenosis on multivariate analysis. Mean age of patients with RAS was 66.5 {+-} 8.9 years compared with 61 {+-} 11.2 years for patients without RAS (p < 0.001). Hypertension was found in 41% of the patients in control group and in 63% of the patients in RAS group (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Incidental renal artery stenosis which can be mild or significant is a relatively common finding among patients with peripheral arterial disease. Advance age and hypertension are closely associated with significant renal artery stenosis.

A bibliometric analysis of systematic reviews on vaccines and immunisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Silke; Jit, Mark; Bozzani, Fiammetta; Griffiths, Ulla K; Scott, J Anthony G; Burchett, Helen E D

2018-04-19

SYSVAC is an online bibliographic database of systematic reviews and systematic review protocols on vaccines and immunisation compiled by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) through their National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAG) resource centre (www.nitag-resource.org). Here the development of the database and a bibliometric review of its content is presented, describing trends in the publication of policy-relevant systematic reviews on vaccines and immunisation from 2008 to 2016. Searches were conducted in seven scientific databases according to a standardized search protocol, initially in 2014 with the most recent update in January 2017. Abstracts and titles were screened according to specific inclusion criteria. All included publications were coded into relevant categories based on a standardized protocol and subsequently analysed to look at trends in time, topic, area of focus, population and geographic location. After screening for inclusion criteria, 1285 systematic reviews were included in the database. While in 2008 there were only 34 systematic reviews on a vaccine-related topic, this increased to 322 in 2016. The most frequent pathogens/diseases studied were influenza, human papillomavirus and pneumococcus. There were several areas of duplication and overlap. As more systematic reviews are published it becomes increasingly time-consuming for decision-makers to identify relevant information among the ever-increasing volume available. The risk of duplication also increases, particularly given the current lack of coordination of systematic reviews on vaccine-related questions, both in terms of their commissioning and their execution. The SYSVAC database offers an accessible catalogue of vaccine-relevant systematic reviews with, where possible access or a link to the full-text. SYSVAC provides a freely searchable platform to identify existing vaccine-policy-relevant systematic

Consideration of health inequalities in systematic reviews: a mapping review of guidance.

Science.gov (United States)

Maden, Michelle

2016-11-28

Given that we know that interventions shown to be effective in improving the health of a population may actually widen the health inequalities gap while others reduce it, it is imperative that all systematic reviewers consider how the findings of their reviews may impact (reduce or increase) on the health inequality gap. This study reviewed existing guidance on incorporating considerations of health inequalities in systematic reviews in order to examine the extent to which they can help reviewers to incorporate such issues. A mapping review was undertaken to identify guidance documents that purported to inform reviewers on whether and how to incorporate considerations of health inequalities. Searches were undertaken in Medline, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library Methodology Register. Review guidance manuals prepared by international organisations engaged in undertaking systematic reviews, and their associated websites were scanned. Studies were included if they provided an overview or discussed the development and testing of guidance for dealing with the incorporation of considerations of health inequalities in evidence synthesis. Results are summarised in narrative and tabular forms. Twenty guidance documents published between 2009 and 2016 were included. Guidance has been produced to inform considerations of health inequalities at different stages of the systematic review process. The Campbell and Cochrane Equity Group have been instrumental in developing and promoting such guidance. Definitions of health inequalities and guidance differed across the included studies. All but one guidance document were transparent in their method of production. Formal methods of evaluation were reported for six guidance documents. Most of the guidance was operationalised in the form of examples taken from published systematic reviews. The number of guidance items to operationalise ranges from 3 up to 26 with a considerable overlap noted. Adhering to the guidance will require more

Making progress with the automation of systematic reviews: principles of the International Collaboration for the Automation of Systematic Reviews (ICASR).

Science.gov (United States)

Beller, Elaine; Clark, Justin; Tsafnat, Guy; Adams, Clive; Diehl, Heinz; Lund, Hans; Ouzzani, Mourad; Thayer, Kristina; Thomas, James; Turner, Tari; Xia, Jun; Robinson, Karen; Glasziou, Paul

2018-05-19

Systematic reviews (SR) are vital to health care, but have become complicated and time-consuming, due to the rapid expansion of evidence to be synthesised. Fortunately, many tasks of systematic reviews have the potential to be automated or may be assisted by automation. Recent advances in natural language processing, text mining and machine learning have produced new algorithms that can accurately mimic human endeavour in systematic review activity, faster and more cheaply. Automation tools need to be able to work together, to exchange data and results. Therefore, we initiated the International Collaboration for the Automation of Systematic Reviews (ICASR), to successfully put all the parts of automation of systematic review production together. The first meeting was held in Vienna in October 2015. We established a set of principles to enable tools to be developed and integrated into toolkits.This paper sets out the principles devised at that meeting, which cover the need for improvement in efficiency of SR tasks, automation across the spectrum of SR tasks, continuous improvement, adherence to high quality standards, flexibility of use and combining components, the need for a collaboration and varied skills, the desire for open source, shared code and evaluation, and a requirement for replicability through rigorous and open evaluation.Automation has a great potential to improve the speed of systematic reviews. Considerable work is already being done on many of the steps involved in a review. The 'Vienna Principles' set out in this paper aim to guide a more coordinated effort which will allow the integration of work by separate teams and build on the experience, code and evaluations done by the many teams working across the globe.

Systematic reviews: guidance relevant for studies of older people.

Science.gov (United States)

Shenkin, Susan D; Harrison, Jennifer K; Wilkinson, Tim; Dodds, Richard M; Ioannidis, John P A

2017-09-01

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are increasingly common. This article aims to provide guidance for people conducting systematic reviews relevant to the healthcare of older people. An awareness of these issues will also help people reading systematic reviews to determine whether the results will influence their clinical practice. It is essential that systematic reviews are performed by a team which includes the required technical and clinical expertise. Those performing reviews for the first time should ensure they have appropriate training and support. They must be planned and performed in a transparent and methodologically robust way: guidelines are available. The protocol should be written-and if possible published-before starting the review. Geriatricians will be interested in a table of baseline characteristics, which will help to determine if the studied samples or populations are similar to their patients. Reviews of studies of older people should consider how they will manage issues such as different age cut-offs; non-specific presentations; multiple predictors and outcomes; potential biases and confounders. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses may provide evidence to improve older people's care, or determine where new evidence is required. Newer methodologies, such as meta-analyses of individual level data, network meta-analyses and umbrella reviews, and realist synthesis, may improve the reliability and clinical utility of systematic reviews. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.

Summarizing systematic reviews: methodological development, conduct and reporting of an umbrella review approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Aromataris, Edoardo; Fernandez, Ritin; Godfrey, Christina M; Holly, Cheryl; Khalil, Hanan; Tungpunkom, Patraporn

2015-09-01

With the increase in the number of systematic reviews available, a logical next step to provide decision makers in healthcare with the evidence they require has been the conduct of reviews of existing systematic reviews. Syntheses of existing systematic reviews are referred to by many different names, one of which is an umbrella review. An umbrella review allows the findings of reviews relevant to a review question to be compared and contrasted. An umbrella review's most characteristic feature is that this type of evidence synthesis only considers for inclusion the highest level of evidence, namely other systematic reviews and meta-analyses. A methodology working group was formed by the Joanna Briggs Institute to develop methodological guidance for the conduct of an umbrella review, including diverse types of evidence, both quantitative and qualitative. The aim of this study is to describe the development and guidance for the conduct of an umbrella review. Discussion and testing of the elements of methods for the conduct of an umbrella review were held over a 6-month period by members of a methodology working group. The working group comprised six participants who corresponded via teleconference, e-mail and face-to-face meeting during this development period. In October 2013, the methodology was presented in a workshop at the Joanna Briggs Institute Convention. Workshop participants, review authors and methodologists provided further testing, critique and feedback on the proposed methodology. This study describes the methodology and methods developed for the conduct of an umbrella review that includes published systematic reviews and meta-analyses as the analytical unit of the review. Details are provided regarding the essential elements of an umbrella review, including presentation of the review question in a Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome format, nuances of the inclusion criteria and search strategy. A critical appraisal tool with 10 questions to

The effectiveness of massage therapy for the treatment of nonspecific low back pain: a systematic review of systematic reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar S

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Saravana Kumar,1 Kate Beaton,1 Tricia Hughes2 1International Centre for Allied Health Evidence, School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 2Australian Association of Massage Therapists, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Introduction: The last decade has seen a growth in the utilization of complementary and alternative medicine therapies, and one of the most popular and sought-after complementary and alternative medicine therapies for nonspecific low back pain is massage. Massage may often be perceived as a safe therapeutic modality without any significant risks or side effects. However, despite its popularity, there continues to be ongoing debate on the effectiveness of massage in treating nonspecific low back pain. With a rapidly evolving research evidence base and access to innovative means of synthesizing evidence, it is time to reinvestigate this issue. Methods: A systematic, step-by-step approach, underpinned by best practice in reviewing the literature, was utilized as part of the methodology of this umbrella review. A systematic search was conducted in the following databases: Embase, MEDLINE, AMED, ICONDA, Academic Search Premier, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, CINAHL, HealthSource, SPORTDiscus, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Knowledge/Web of Science, PsycINFO, and ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source, investigating systematic reviews and meta-analyses from January 2000 to December 2012, and restricted to English-language documents. Methodological quality of included reviews was undertaken using the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine critical appraisal tool. Results: Nine systematic reviews were found. The methodological quality of the systematic reviews varied (from poor to excellent although, overall, the primary research informing these systematic reviews was generally considered to be weak quality. The findings indicate that massage may be an

Empirical methods for systematic reviews and evidence-based medicine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Enst, W.A.

2014-01-01

Evidence-Based Medicine is the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. Systematic reviews have become the cornerstone of evidence-based medicine, which is reflected in the position systematic reviews have in the pyramid of evidence-based medicine. Systematic

Interventions for postoperative pain in children: An overview of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Boric, Krste; Dosenovic, Svjetlana; Jelicic Kadic, Antonia; Batinic, Marijan; Cavar, Marija; Urlic, Marjan; Markovina, Nikolina; Puljak, Livia

2017-09-01

The aim of this study was to conduct an overview of systematic reviews that summarizes the results about efficacy and safety from randomized controlled trials involving the various strategies used for postoperative pain management in children. We searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, Database of Reviews of Effect, Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO from the earliest date to January 24, 2016. This overview included 45 systematic reviews that evaluated interventions for postoperative pain in children. Out of 45 systematic reviews that investigated various interventions for postoperative pain in children, 19 systematic reviews (42%) presented conclusive evidence of efficacy. Positive conclusive evidence was reported in 18 systematic reviews (40%) for the efficacy of diclofenac, ketamine, caudal analgesia, dexmedetomidine, music therapy, corticosteroid, epidural analgesia, paracetamol, and/or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and transversus abdominis plane block. Only one systematic review reported conclusive evidence of equal efficacy that involved a comparison of dexmedetomidine vs morphine and fentanyl. Safety of interventions was reported as conclusive in 14 systematic reviews (31%), with positive conclusive evidence for dexmedetomidine, corticosteroid, epidural analgesia, transversus abdominis plane block, and clonidine. Seven systematic reviews reported equal conclusive safety for epidural infusion, diclofenac intravenous vs ketamine added to opioid analgesia, bupivacaine, ketamine, paracetamol, and dexmedetomidine vs intravenous infusions of various opioid analgesics, oral suspension and suppository of diclofenac, only opioid, normal saline, no treatment, placebo, and midazolam. Negative conclusive statement for safety was reported in one systematic review for caudal analgesia vs noncaudal regional analgesia. More than half of systematic reviews included in this overview were rated as having medium methodological quality. Of 45 included

Compliance of systematic reviews in veterinary journals with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) literature search reporting guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Toews, Lorraine C

2017-07-01

Complete, accurate reporting of systematic reviews facilitates assessment of how well reviews have been conducted. The primary objective of this study was to examine compliance of systematic reviews in veterinary journals with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines for literature search reporting and to examine the completeness, bias, and reproducibility of the searches in these reviews from what was reported. The second objective was to examine reporting of the credentials and contributions of those involved in the search process. A sample of systematic reviews or meta-analyses published in veterinary journals between 2011 and 2015 was obtained by searching PubMed. Reporting in the full text of each review was checked against certain PRISMA checklist items. Over one-third of reviews (37%) did not search the CAB Abstracts database, and 9% of reviews searched only 1 database. Over two-thirds of reviews (65%) did not report any search for grey literature or stated that they excluded grey literature. The majority of reviews (95%) did not report a reproducible search strategy. Most reviews had significant deficiencies in reporting the search process that raise questions about how these searches were conducted and ultimately cast serious doubts on the validity and reliability of reviews based on a potentially biased and incomplete body of literature. These deficiencies also highlight the need for veterinary journal editors and publishers to be more rigorous in requiring adherence to PRISMA guidelines and to encourage veterinary researchers to include librarians or information specialists on systematic review teams to improve the quality and reporting of searches.

Retrospective analysis of co-occurrence of congenital aortic stenosis and pulmonary artery stenosis in dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kander, M; Pasławska, U; Staszczyk, M; Cepiel, A; Pasławski, R; Mazur, G; Noszczyk-Nowak, A

2015-01-01

The study has focused on the retrospective analysis of cases of coexisting congenital aortic stenosis (AS) and pulmonary artery stenosis (PS) in dogs. The research included 5463 dogs which were referred for cardiological examination (including clinical examination, ECG and echocardiography) between 2004 and 2014. Aortic stenosis and PS stenosis were detected in 31 dogs. This complex defect was the most commonly diagnosed in Boxers - 7 dogs, other breeds were represented by: 4 cross-breed dogs, 2 Bichon Maltais, 3 Miniature Pinschers, 2 Bernese Mountain Dogs, 2 French Bulldogs, and individuals of following breeds: Bichon Frise, Bull Terrier, Czech Wolfdog, German Shepherd, Hairless Chinese Crested Dog, Miniature Schnauzer, Pug, Rottweiler, Samoyed, West Highland White Terrier and Yorkshire Terrier. In all the dogs, the murmurs could be heard, graded from 2 to 5 (on a scale of 1-6). Besides, in 9 cases other congenital defects were diagnosed: patent ductus arteriosus, mitral valve dysplasia, pulmonary or aortic valve regurgitation, tricuspid valve dysplasia, ventricular or atrial septal defect. The majority of the dogs suffered from pulmonary valvular stenosis (1 dog had supravalvular pulmonary artery stenosis) and subvalvular aortic stenosis (2 dogs had valvular aortic stenosis). Conclusions and clinical relevance - co-occurrence of AS and PS is the most common complex congenital heart defect. Boxer breed was predisposed to this complex defect. It was found that coexisting AS and PS is more common in male dogs and the degree of PS and AS was mostly similar.

and Non-Operable Tracheal Stenosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Bagheri

2013-05-01

Full Text Available   Introduction: Tracheal stenosis is normally caused by trauma, infection, benign and malignant tumors, prolonged intubation or tracheostomy. The best treatment for tracheal stenosis is resection and anastomosis of trachea. Yet the major surgical complication of tracheal surgery is postoperative stenosis. The goal of this paper is to study the result of tracheal stenting as a replacement therapy for patients suffering from tracheal stenosis who are not good candidates for surgery.   Materials and Methods: This study presents the results of stenting in patients with: Inoperable tumoral stenosis,Non-tumoral stenosis being complicated due to prior surgeries,Inability to undergo a major surgery.The study was performed between September 2002 and July 2011 and poly flex stents were used by means of rigid bronchoscopy. Results: A total of 25 patients received stents during this study. Among them 15 patients suffered from benign and 10 suffered from malignant tracheal stenosis. The patients were followed up for at most 12 months after the stenting operation. The mean age of the patients was 35 years. The most common cause of stenosis was prolonged intubation (75%. The most common indication for stenting was the history of multiple tracheal operations. The most common complication of stenting and cause of stent removal was formation of granulation tissue. 30% of patients with benign tracheal stenosis were cured and about 10% improved until they could stand a major operation. Ten patients in benign group and 2 patients in malignant group (20% needed T-Tube insertion after stent removal but other patientcure by stenting. Conclusions: In benign cases stenting is associated with recurrence of symptoms which requires other therapeutic techniqus, so the stenting may not be named as a final solution in benign cases. However, this technique is the only method with approved efficacy for malignant cases with indication.

Methotrexate-induced toxicity pharmacogenetics: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Jared M; Bateman, Emma; Stephenson, Matthew D; Bowen, Joanne M; Keefe, Dorothy M; Peters, Micah D J

2016-07-01

Methotrexate chemotherapy is associated with various toxicities which can result in the interruption or discontinuation of treatment and a subsequently raised risk of relapse. This umbrella systematic review was conducted to synthesize the results of all existing systematic reviews that investigate the pharmacogenetics of methotrexate-induced toxicity, with the aim of developing a comprehensive reference for personalized medicine. Databases searched were PubMed, Embase, JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, DARE, and ProQuest. Papers were critically appraised by two reviewers, and data were extracted using a standardized tool. Three systematic reviews on methotrexate-induced toxicity were included in the review. Meta-analyses were reported across Asian, Caucasian, pediatric and adult patients for the MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms. Toxicity outcomes included different forms of hematologic, ectodermal and hepatic toxicities. Results varied considerably depending on the patient groups and subgroups investigated in the different systematic reviews, as well as the genetic models utilized. However, significant associations were found between the MTHFR C677T allele and; hepatic toxicity, myelosuppression, oral mucositis, gastrointestinal toxicity, and skin toxicity. Additionally, limited evidence suggests that the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism may be associated with decreased risk of skin toxicity and leukopenia. This umbrella systematic review has synthesized the best available evidence on the pharmacogenetics of methotrexate toxicity. The next step in making personalized medicine for methotrexate therapy a clinical reality is research on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of MTHFR genotype testing to enable the close monitoring of at-risk patients for the timely initiation of rescue therapies.

Peer review of health research funding proposals: A systematic map and systematic review of innovations for effectiveness and efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, Jonathan; Frampton, Geoff K; Pickett, Karen; Wyatt, Jeremy C

2018-01-01

To investigate methods and processes for timely, efficient and good quality peer review of research funding proposals in health. A two-stage evidence synthesis: (1) a systematic map to describe the key characteristics of the evidence base, followed by (2) a systematic review of the studies stakeholders prioritised as relevant from the map on the effectiveness and efficiency of peer review 'innovations'. Standard processes included literature searching, duplicate inclusion criteria screening, study keyword coding, data extraction, critical appraisal and study synthesis. A total of 83 studies from 15 countries were included in the systematic map. The evidence base is diverse, investigating many aspects of the systems for, and processes of, peer review. The systematic review included eight studies from Australia, Canada, and the USA, evaluating a broad range of peer review innovations. These studies showed that simplifying the process by shortening proposal forms, using smaller reviewer panels, or expediting processes can speed up the review process and reduce costs, but this might come at the expense of peer review quality, a key aspect that has not been assessed. Virtual peer review using videoconferencing or teleconferencing appears promising for reducing costs by avoiding the need for reviewers to travel, but again any consequences for quality have not been adequately assessed. There is increasing international research activity into the peer review of health research funding. The studies reviewed had methodological limitations and variable generalisability to research funders. Given these limitations it is not currently possible to recommend immediate implementation of these innovations. However, many appear promising based on existing evidence, and could be adapted as necessary by funders and evaluated. Where feasible, experimental evaluation, including randomised controlled trials, should be conducted, evaluating impact on effectiveness, efficiency and quality.

Peer review of health research funding proposals: A systematic map and systematic review of innovations for effectiveness and efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Frampton, Geoff K.; Pickett, Karen; Wyatt, Jeremy C.

2018-01-01

Objective To investigate methods and processes for timely, efficient and good quality peer review of research funding proposals in health. Methods A two-stage evidence synthesis: (1) a systematic map to describe the key characteristics of the evidence base, followed by (2) a systematic review of the studies stakeholders prioritised as relevant from the map on the effectiveness and efficiency of peer review ‘innovations’. Standard processes included literature searching, duplicate inclusion criteria screening, study keyword coding, data extraction, critical appraisal and study synthesis. Results A total of 83 studies from 15 countries were included in the systematic map. The evidence base is diverse, investigating many aspects of the systems for, and processes of, peer review. The systematic review included eight studies from Australia, Canada, and the USA, evaluating a broad range of peer review innovations. These studies showed that simplifying the process by shortening proposal forms, using smaller reviewer panels, or expediting processes can speed up the review process and reduce costs, but this might come at the expense of peer review quality, a key aspect that has not been assessed. Virtual peer review using videoconferencing or teleconferencing appears promising for reducing costs by avoiding the need for reviewers to travel, but again any consequences for quality have not been adequately assessed. Conclusions There is increasing international research activity into the peer review of health research funding. The studies reviewed had methodological limitations and variable generalisability to research funders. Given these limitations it is not currently possible to recommend immediate implementation of these innovations. However, many appear promising based on existing evidence, and could be adapted as necessary by funders and evaluated. Where feasible, experimental evaluation, including randomised controlled trials, should be conducted, evaluating impact

Endoscopic management of posttraumatic supraglottic stenosis in the pediatric population.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Oosthuizen, Johannes Christiaan

2012-02-01

OBJECTIVES: Pediatric blunt laryngeal trauma is a rare and potentially life-threatening entity. External injuries can be misleading, and a high index of suspicion, as well as early intervention, is essential to achieve the best possible outcome. The authors of this report review the management of blunt laryngeal trauma in the pediatric population and describe the endoscopic management of posttraumatic supraglottic stenosis. METHODS: Methods used were case report from a tertiary referral institution and review of the literature. RESULTS: We describe the case of a 13-year-old girl whom developed supraglottic stenosis following blunt laryngeal trauma. Innovative endoscopic techniques were used in the successful management of this exceedingly rare entity. CONCLUSION: Early recognition and intervention are of paramount importance if successful endoscopic management of blunt laryngeal trauma is to be considered.

Fifty shades of gradients: does the pressure gradient in venous sinus stenting for idiopathic intracranial hypertension matter? A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Cameron M; Ban, Vin Shen; Beecher, Jeffrey; Pride, Lee; Welch, Babu G

2018-03-02

OBJECTIVE The role of venous sinus stenting (VSS) for idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is not well understood. The aim of this systematic review is to attempt to identify subsets of patients with IIH who will benefit from VSS based on the pressure gradients of their venous sinus stenosis. METHODS MEDLINE/PubMed was searched for studies reporting venous pressure gradients across the stenotic segment of the venous sinus, pre- and post-stent pressure gradients, and clinical outcomes after VSS. Findings are reported according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. RESULTS From 32 eligible studies, a total of 186 patients were included in the analysis. Patients who had favorable outcomes had higher mean pressure gradients (22.8 ± 11.5 mm Hg vs 17.4 ± 8.0 mm Hg, p = 0.033) and higher changes in pressure gradients after stent placement (19.4 ± 10.0 mm Hg vs 12.0 ± 6.0 mm Hg, p = 0.006) compared with those with unfavorable outcomes. The post-stent pressure gradients between the 2 groups were not significantly different (2.8 ± 4.0 mm Hg vs 2.7 ± 2.0 mm Hg, p = 0.934). In a multivariate stepwise logistic regression controlling for age, sex, body mass index, CSF opening pressure, pre-stent pressure gradient, and post-stent pressure gradient, the change in pressure gradient with stent placement was found to be an independent predictor of favorable outcome (p = 0.028). Using a pressure gradient of 21 as a cutoff, 81/86 (94.2%) of patients with a gradient > 21 achieved favorable outcomes, compared with 82/100 (82.0%) of patients with a gradient ≤ 21 (p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS There appears to be a relationship between the pressure gradient of venous sinus stenosis and the success of VSS in IIH. A randomized controlled trial would help elucidate this relationship and potentially guide patient selection.

Use of programme theory to understand the differential effects of interventions across socio-economic groups in systematic reviews-a systematic methodology review.

Science.gov (United States)

Maden, Michelle; Cunliffe, Alex; McMahon, Naoimh; Booth, Andrew; Carey, Gina Michelle; Paisley, Suzy; Dickson, Rumona; Gabbay, Mark

2017-12-29

Systematic review guidance recommends the use of programme theory to inform considerations of if and how healthcare interventions may work differently across socio-economic status (SES) groups. This study aimed to address the lack of detail on how reviewers operationalise this in practice. A methodological systematic review was undertaken to assess if, how and the extent to which systematic reviewers operationalise the guidance on the use of programme theory in considerations of socio-economic inequalities in health. Multiple databases were searched from January 2013 to May 2016. Studies were included if they were systematic reviews assessing the effectiveness of an intervention and included data on SES. Two reviewers independently screened all studies, undertook quality assessment and extracted data. A narrative approach to synthesis was adopted. A total of 37 systematic reviews were included, 10 of which were explicit in the use of terminology for 'programme theory'. Twenty-nine studies used programme theory to inform both their a priori assumptions and explain their review findings. Of these, 22 incorporated considerations of both what and how interventions do/do not work in SES groups to both predict and explain their review findings. Thirteen studies acknowledged 24 unique theoretical references to support their assumptions of what or how interventions may have different effects in SES groups. Most reviewers used supplementary evidence to support their considerations of differential effectiveness. The majority of authors outlined a programme theory in the "Introduction" and "Discussion" sections of the review to inform their assumptions or provide explanations of what or how interventions may result in differential effects within or across SES groups. About a third of reviews used programme theory to inform the review analysis and/or synthesis. Few authors used programme theory to inform their inclusion criteria, data extraction or quality assessment. Twenty

A systematic review on diagnostic accuracy of CT-based detection of significant coronary artery disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janne d'Othee, Bertrand; Siebert, Uwe; Cury, Ricardo; Jadvar, Hossein; Dunn, Edward J.; Hoffmann, Udo

2008-01-01

Objectives: Systematic review of diagnostic accuracy of contrast enhanced coronary computed tomography (CE-CCT). Background: Noninvasive detection of coronary artery stenosis (CAS) by CE-CCT as an alternative to catheter-based coronary angiography (CCA) may improve patient management. Methods: Forty-one articles published between 1997 and 2006 were included that evaluated native coronary arteries for significant stenosis and used CE-CCT as diagnostic test and CCA as reference standard. Study group characteristics, study methodology and diagnostic outcomes were extracted. Pooled summary sensitivity and specificity of CE-CCT were calculated using a random effects model (1) for all coronary segments, (2) assessable segments, and (3) per patient. Results: The 41 studies totaled 2515 patients (75% males; mean age: 59 years, CAS prevalence: 59%). Analysis of all coronary segments yielded a sensitivity of 95% (80%, 89%, 86%, 98% for electron beam CT, 4/8-slice, 16-slice and 64-slice MDCT, respectively) for a specificity of 85% (77%, 84%, 95%, 91%). Analysis limited to segments deemed assessable by CT showed sensitivity of 96% (86%, 85%, 98%, 97%) for a specificity of 95% (90%, 96%, 96%, 96%). Per patient, sensitivity was 99% (90%, 97%, 99%, 98%) and specificity was 76% (59%, 81%, 83%, 92%). Heterogeneity was quantitatively important but not explainable by patient group characteristics or study methodology. Conclusions: Current diagnostic accuracy of CE-CCT is high. Advances in CT technology have resulted in increases in diagnostic accuracy and proportion of assessable coronary segments. However, per patient, accuracy may be lower and CT may have more limited clinical utility in populations at high risk for CAD

Changes in the Flow-Volume Curve According to the Degree of Stenosis in Patients With Unilateral Main Bronchial Stenosis

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Jung-Geun; Yi, Chin A; Lee, Kyung Soo; Jeon, Kyeongman; Um, Sang-Won; Koh, Won-Jung; Suh, Gee Young; Chung, Man Pyo; Kwon, O Jung

2015-01-01

Objectives The shape of the flow-volume (F-V) curve is known to change to showing a prominent plateau as stenosis progresses in patients with tracheal stenosis. However, no study has evaluated changes in the F-V curve according to the degree of bronchial stenosis in patients with unilateral main bronchial stenosis. Methods We performed an analysis of F-V curves in 29 patients with unilateral bronchial stenosis with the aid of a graphic digitizer between January 2005 and December 2011. Results The primary diseases causing unilateral main bronchial stenosis were endobronchial tuberculosis (86%), followed by benign bronchial tumor (10%), and carcinoid (3%). All unilateral main bronchial stenoses were classified into one of five grades (I, ≤25%; II, 26%-50%; III, 51%-75%; IV, 76%-90%; V, >90% to near-complete obstruction without ipsilateral lung collapse). A monophasic F-V curve was observed in patients with grade I stenosis and biphasic curves were observed for grade II-IV stenosis. Both monophasic (81%) and biphasic shapes (18%) were observed in grade V stenosis. After standardization of the biphasic shape of the F-V curve, the breakpoints of the biphasic curve moved in the direction of high volume (x-axis) and low flow (y-axis) according to the progression of stenosis. Conclusion In unilateral bronchial stenosis, a biphasic F-V curve appeared when bronchial stenosis was >25% and disappeared when obstruction was near complete. In addition, the breakpoint moved in the direction of high volume and low flow with the progression of stenosis. PMID:26045916

The prevalence and clinical predictors of incidental atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozkan, Ugur; Oguzkurt, Levent; Tercan, Fahri; Nursal, Tarik Z.

2009-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of incidental renal artery stenosis due to atherosclerosis and associated risk factors in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Materials and methods: To determine renal artery stenosis, aortofemoropopliteal digital substraction angiographies (DSA) of 629 consecutive patients with PAD were prospectively reviewed. Angiographies were performed as catheter angiography with automated pump injection. Of the patients, 540 were male (86%) and 89 female (14%) (mean age ± S.D.: 61.5 ± 11.1 years). Statistical analysis was performed to determine the association of significant renal artery stenosis (≥60% diameter stenosis) with patient demographics (age, sex, reason for angiography and smoking status), medical history (diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary artery disease), laboratory values (blood creatinine, fasting glucose, triglycerides, LDL, HDL and total cholesterol) and distribution of PAD (aortoiliac, femoropopliteal and crural diseases and multisegment involvement). Results: Renal artery disease was found in 33% (207 of 629) of all patients with peripheral arterial disease, and 9.6% of patients (n = 60) had significant (≥60%) renal artery stenosis. Only age and hypertension (blood pressure systolic >140 mmHg or diastolic >90 mmHg) were independent risk factors for significant renal artery stenosis on multivariate analysis. Mean age of patients with RAS was 66.5 ± 8.9 years compared with 61 ± 11.2 years for patients without RAS (p < 0.001). Hypertension was found in 41% of the patients in control group and in 63% of the patients in RAS group (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Incidental renal artery stenosis which can be mild or significant is a relatively common finding among patients with peripheral arterial disease. Advance age and hypertension are closely associated with significant renal artery stenosis.

Surgical interventions for gastric cancer: a review of systematic reviews.

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He, Weiling; Tu, Jian; Huo, Zijun; Li, Yuhuang; Peng, Jintao; Qiu, Zhenwen; Luo, Dandong; Ke, Zunfu; Chen, Xinlin

2015-01-01

To evaluate methodological quality and the extent of concordance among meta-analysis and/or systematic reviews on surgical interventions for gastric cancer (GC). A comprehensive search of PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane library and the DARE database was conducted to identify the reviews comparing different surgical interventions for GC prior to April 2014. After applying included criteria, available data were summarized and appraised by the Oxman and Guyatt scale. Fifty six reviews were included. Forty five reviews (80.4%) were well conducted, with scores of adapted Oxman and Guyatt scale ≥ 14. The reviews differed in criteria for avoiding bias and assessing the validity of the primary studies. Many primary studies displayed major methodological flaws, such as randomization, allocation concealment, and dropouts and withdrawals. According to the concordance assessment, laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) was superior to open gastrectomy, and laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy was superior to open distal gastrectomy in short-term outcomes. However, the concordance regarding other surgical interventions, such as D1 vs. D2 lymphadenectomy, and robotic gastrectomy vs. LAG were absent. Systematic reviews on surgical interventions for GC displayed relatively high methodological quality. The improvement of methodological quality and reporting was necessary for primary studies. The superiority of laparoscopic over open surgery was demonstrated. But concordance on other surgical interventions was rare, which needed more well-designed RCTs and systematic reviews.

Decompressive laminectomy for lumbar stenosis: review of 65 consecutive cases from Tema, Ghana.

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Andrews, N B; Lawson, H J; Darko, D

2007-01-01

There have been previous reports describing patients with lumbar stenosis (LS) in West Africa; however, to date no such report has been published from Ghana. To provide data on the pattern of lumbar stenosis and the effects of decompressive lumbar laminectomy (DLL) on the clinical course of LS in Tema. Sixty-five consecutive patients who underwent DLL for lumbar stenosis over between January 2001 and December 2004 had their medical records analyzed. The parameters of interest included demographics, pre and post surgical clinical status utilizing the modified low back pain clinical scoring system, operative procedure and complications. Sixty-five patients (36M, 29F) with a mean age of 51 years constituted the series. All had failed conservative treatment; each patient was operated on once at our institution. Eighty nine percent of the series presented with neurogenic claudication and accompanying motor and sensory deficits. Twenty-seven patients (41.5%) underwent bilateral DLL; the rest underwent unilateral DLL. The mean preoperative score for the series was 2.3; that for males 2.6, females 1.9 (p > 0.05). There was a significant difference between patients 60 years. The mean postoperative score for the series was 8.7. There was a significant difference between preoperative and postoperative scores of series. No mortality was recorded The complication rate was 15%. In Tema, decompressive lumbar laminectomy for lumbar stenosis achieves significant clinical improvement with attendant low morbidity and mortality rates in patients who have failed conservative treatment. Accompanying disc excision and or fusion are required in only a small minority of patients.

A Web-based archive of systematic review data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ip Stanley

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Systematic reviews have become increasingly critical to informing healthcare policy; however, they remain a time-consuming and labor-intensive activity. The extraction of data from constituent studies comprises a significant portion of this effort, an activity which is often needlessly duplicated, such as when attempting to update a previously conducted review or in reviews of overlapping topics. In order to address these inefficiencies, and to improve the speed and quality of healthcare policy- and decision-making, we have initiated the development of the Systematic Review Data Repository, an open collaborative Web-based repository of systematic review data. As envisioned, this resource would serve as both a central archive and data extraction tool, shared among and freely accessible to organizations producing systematic reviews worldwide. A suite of easy-to-use software tools with a Web frontend would enable researchers to seamlessly search for and incorporate previously deposited data into their own reviews, as well as contribute their own. In developing this resource, we identified a number of technical and non-technical challenges, as well as devised a number of potential solutions, including proposals for systems and software tools to assure data quality, stratify and control user access effectively and flexibly accommodate all manner of study data, as well as means by which to govern and foster adoption of this new resource. Herein we provide an account of the rationale and development of the Systematic Review Data Repository thus far, as well as outline its future trajectory.

The effect of English-language restriction on systematic review-based meta-analyses: a systematic review of empirical studies.

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Morrison, Andra; Polisena, Julie; Husereau, Don; Moulton, Kristen; Clark, Michelle; Fiander, Michelle; Mierzwinski-Urban, Monika; Clifford, Tammy; Hutton, Brian; Rabb, Danielle

2012-04-01

The English language is generally perceived to be the universal language of science. However, the exclusive reliance on English-language studies may not represent all of the evidence. Excluding languages other than English (LOE) may introduce a language bias and lead to erroneous conclusions. We conducted a comprehensive literature search using bibliographic databases and grey literature sources. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they measured the effect of excluding randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reported in LOE from systematic review-based meta-analyses (SR/MA) for one or more outcomes. None of the included studies found major differences between summary treatment effects in English-language restricted meta-analyses and LOE-inclusive meta-analyses. Findings differed about the methodological and reporting quality of trials reported in LOE. The precision of pooled estimates improved with the inclusion of LOE trials. Overall, we found no evidence of a systematic bias from the use of language restrictions in systematic review-based meta-analyses in conventional medicine. Further research is needed to determine the impact of language restriction on systematic reviews in particular fields of medicine.

Evaluating the utility of serological testing in laryngotracheal stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, S Ryan; Allen, Clint T; Merati, Albert L; Mayerhoff, Ross M

2017-06-01

Whereas mechanical (traumatic) causes of laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) are identified based on history, autoimmune laryngotracheal stenosis (aLTS) and idiopathic laryngotracheal stenosis (iLTS) are often more difficult to differentiate. The objective of this study was to evaluate serologic testing in a large cohort of nonmechanical LTS patients to determine which tests, if any, lead clinicians to the etiology of the LTS. Retrospective chart review. This study reviewed nonmechanical LTS patients seen at a tertiary medical center from 2007 to 2014. Data were obtained on patient demographics, associated preexisting autoimmune conditions, comorbidities, intubation history, and serologic testing. Ninety-two records were reviewed. Twenty-three (25%) patients were found to have autoimmune disease; 69 (75%) met criteria for iLTS. A history of cigarette smoking was more significant in the aLTS group than the iLTS group (P testing was equivocal between the two cohorts. Differentiating iLTS from aLTS has proven difficult. The lack of information about the two entities has resulted in variability in the diagnostic workup to distinguish them. This study's finding of a more significant smoking history in the aLTS group correlates with the literature, which suggests an inflammatory effect of smoking cigarettes and an association with autoimmune disease. The only significant cohort of patients in this study found to have positive serological testing correlated with a diagnosable condition responsible for LTS was GPA patients with positive ANCA. 4. Laryngoscope, 127:1408-1412, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Psychosocial Benefits of Cooking Interventions: A Systematic Review

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Farmer, Nicole; Touchton-Leonard, Katherine; Ross, Alyson

2018-01-01

Objectives: Cooking interventions are used in therapeutic and rehabilitative settings; however, little is known about the influence of these interventions on psychosocial outcomes. This systematic review examines the research evidence regarding the influence of cooking interventions on psychosocial outcomes. Methods: A systematic review of the…

Mediating Policy-Relevant Evidence at Speed: Are Systematic Reviews of Systematic Reviews a Useful Approach?

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Caird, Jenny; Sutcliffe, Katy; Kwan, Irene; Dickson, Kelly; Thomas, James

2015-01-01

When swift, accurate appraisal of evidence is required to inform policy concerning broad research questions, and budgetary constraints limit the employment of large research teams, researchers face a significant challenge which is sometimes met by reviewing existing systematic reviews. In this paper we highlight the challenges inherent in the…

The effectiveness of e-Interventions on reducing social isolation in older persons: A systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Chipps, Jennifer; Jarvis, Mary Ann; Ramlall, Suvira

2017-12-01

As the older adult population group has been increasing in size, there has been evidence of growing social isolation and loneliness in their lives. The increased use of information communication technology and Internet-supported interventions has stimulated an interest in the benefits of e-Interventions for older people and specifically in having a role in increasing social networks and decreasing loneliness. A systematic review of e-Interventions to reduce loneliness in older people was conducted with the aim to synthesize high quality evidence on the effectiveness of e-Interventions to decrease social isolation/loneliness for older people living in community/residential care. A systematic search of 12 databases for reviews published between 2000-2017 was conducted using search term synonyms for older people, social isolation and interventions. Three independent researchers screened articles and two reviewers extracted data. The Revised-Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews was used to assess the quality of reviews. The final search identified 12 reviews, which included 22 unique primary research studies evaluating e-Interventions for social isolation or loneliness. The reviews were of moderate quality and the primary studies showed a lack of rigor. Loneliness was most frequently measured using the University California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. Despite the limitations of the reviewed studies, there is inconsistent and weak evidence on using e-Interventions for loneliness in older people.

Rational decision-making in mental health: the role of systematic reviews.

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Gilbody, Simon M.; Petticrew, Mark

1999-09-01

BACKGROUND: "Systematic reviews" have come to be recognized as the most rigorous method of summarizing confusing and often contradictory primary research in a transparent and reproducible manner. Their greatest impact has been in the summarization of epidemiological literature - particularly that relating to clinical effectiveness. Systematic reviews also have a potential to inform rational decision-making in healthcare policy and to form a component of economic evaluation. AIMS OF THE STUDY: This article aims to introduce the rationale behind systematic reviews and, using examples from mental health, to introduce the strengths and limitations of systematic reviews, particularly in informing mental health policy and economic evaluation. METHODS: Examples are selected from recent controversies surrounding the introduction of new psychiatric drugs (anti-depressants and anti-schizophrenia drugs) and methods of delivering psychiatric care in the community (case management and assertive community treatment). The potential for systematic reviews to (i) produce best estimates of clinical efficacy and effectiveness, (ii) aid economic evaluation and policy decision-making and (iii) highlight gaps in the primary research knowledge base are discussed. Lastly examples are selected from outside mental health to show how systematic reviews have a potential to be explicitly used in economic and health policy evaluation. RESULTS: Systematic reviews produce the best estimates of clinical efficacy, which can form an important component of economic evaluation. Importantly, serious methodological flaws and areas of uncertainty in the primary research literature are identified within an explicit framework. Summary indices of clinical effectiveness can be produced, but it is difficult to produce such summary indices of cost effectiveness by pooling economic data from primary studies. Modelling is commonly used in economic and policy evaluation. Here, systematic reviews can provide the

Methological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on acupuncture for stroke: A review of review.

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Chen, Xin-Lin; Mo, Chuan-Wei; Lu, Li-Ya; Gao, Ri-Yang; Xu, Qian; Wu, Min-Feng; Zhou, Qian-Yi; Hu, Yue; Zhou, Xuan; Li, Xian-Tao

2017-11-01

To assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses regarding acupuncture intervention for stroke and the primary studies within them. Two researchers searched PubMed, Cumulative index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, Cochrane, Allied and Complementary Medicine, Ovid Medline, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and Traditional Chinese Medical Database to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses about acupuncture for stroke published from the inception to December 2016. Review characteristics and the criteria for assessing the primary studies within reviews were extracted. The methodological quality of the reviews was assessed using adapted Oxman and Guyatt Scale. The methodological quality of primary studies was also assessed. Thirty-two eligible reviews were identified, 15 in English and 17 in Chinese. The English reviews were scored higher than the Chinese reviews (P=0.025), especially in criteria for avoiding bias and the scope of search. All reviews used the quality criteria to evaluate the methodological quality of primary studies, but some criteria were not comprehensive. The primary studies, in particular the Chinese reviews, had problems with randomization, allocation concealment, blinding, dropouts and withdrawals, intent-to-treat analysis and adverse events. Important methodological flaws were found in Chinese systematic reviews and primary studies. It was necessary to improve the methodological quality and reporting quality of both the systematic reviews published in China and primary studies on acupuncture for stroke.

Systematic reviews with meta-analysis: Why, when, and how?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Crocetti, E.

2016-01-01

Systematic reviews with meta-analysis represent the gold standard for conducting reliable and transparent reviews of the literature. The purpose of this article is threefold: (a) to address why and when it is worthwhile to conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis, covering advantages of this

Wingspan stent for symptomatic M1 stenosis of middle cerebral artery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Xinbin; Ma Nan; Hu Xiaobo; Guan Sheng; Fan Yimu

2011-01-01

Objective: Stent placement for intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis has become an alternative treatment technique; however, stent placement for middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis remains a technical and clinical challenge. Our purpose was to assess the safety and feasibility of Wingspan stent for patients with symptomatic M1 stenosis, and its initial effect on prevention of ischemic events. Methods: Fifty-three cases with recurrent symptomatic MCA stenosis resistant to medical therapy treated by self-expanding stent were reviewed retrospectively (average 58 ± 18.5 years old, 19 women). All patients underwent angioplasty and stenting with the Gateway balloon–Wingspan stent system, and advised follow-up with DSA or TCD at 6th month. Results: Patients had an average stenosis ratio of 76.5 ± 15.4% prior to the treatment. Of the 53 patients, the technical success rate was 98.1% as a whole (52/53). The mean degree of stenosis reduced from (76.5 ± 15.4)% to (18.2 ± 11.3)%. Complications associated with the procedure include subarachnoid hemorrhage (1.89%) and occlusion (3.78%) occurred. During a follow-up of 6 months, there was no recurrence of transient ischemic attack or stroke in 52 cases with successful stenting. Cerebral hemodynamics of MCA using transcranial Doppler monitoring were at normal level (<120 cm/s) in 41 follow-up patients. The follow up angiography at 6 month post-procedure was conducted in 32 patients and showed good patency in stented vessels. Conclusions: Wingspan stent for symptomatic stenosis of middle cerebral artery is a safe and feasible procedure. It improves clinical outcome in the intermediate follow up, but its long-term effect remains to be further evaluated.

Tranexamic acid in epistaxis: a systematic review.

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Kamhieh, Y; Fox, H

2016-12-01

The role of tranexamic acid in the management of epistaxis remains unclear. There is uncertainty about its safety and about the contraindications for its use. We performed a systematic review of the use of systemic and topical tranexamic acid in epistaxis and a comparative review of its use in other specialties. This review assesses and summarises the existing evidence for the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in the management of epistaxis. Systematic review. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for 'epistaxis' and equivalent MESH terms, combined with the Boolean operator 'OR' and 'tranexamic acid'. The Cochrane library and society guidelines were reviewed for evidence regarding the use of tranexamic acid in other specialties. All five relevant RCTs were included in the review and were evaluated according to the recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews. Three RCTS pertained to spontaneous epistaxis; of these, one trial found no benefit of oral tranexamic acid in acute epistaxis, one trial found no significant benefit of topical tranexamic acid, but the largest of the trials showed significant benefit of topical tranexamic acid in acute epistaxis management. Two RCTs examined oral tranexamic acid for prophylaxis of recurrent epistaxes in patients with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia; both showed significant reduction in severity and frequency. Tranexamic acid, as a WHO 'essential medicine', is a powerful, readily available tool, the use of which in epistaxis has been limited by uncertainty over its efficacy and its safety profile. This systematic review summarises the existing evidence and extrapolates from the wealth of data for other specialties to address the clinical question - does TXA have a role in epistaxis management? © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Do systematic reviews on pediatric topics need special methodological considerations?

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Farid-Kapadia, Mufiza; Askie, Lisa; Hartling, Lisa; Contopoulos-Ioannidis, Despina; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Soll, Roger; Moher, David; Offringa, Martin

2017-03-06

Systematic reviews are key tools to enable decision making by healthcare providers and policymakers. Despite the availability of the evidence based Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA-2009 and PRISMA-P 2015) statements that were developed to improve the transparency and quality of reporting of systematic reviews, uncertainty on how to deal with pediatric-specific methodological challenges of systematic reviews impairs decision-making in child health. In this paper, we identify methodological challenges specific to the design, conduct and reporting of pediatric systematic reviews, and propose a process to address these challenges. One fundamental decision at the outset of a systematic review is whether to focus on a pediatric population only, or to include both adult and pediatric populations. Both from the policy and patient care point of view, the appropriateness of interventions and comparators administered to pre-defined pediatric age subgroup is critical. Decisions need to be based on the biological plausibility of differences in treatment effects across the developmental trajectory in children. Synthesis of evidence from different trials is often impaired by the use of outcomes and measurement instruments that differ between trials and are neither relevant nor validated in the pediatric population. Other issues specific to pediatric systematic reviews include lack of pediatric-sensitive search strategies and inconsistent choices of pediatric age subgroups in meta-analyses. In addition to these methodological issues generic to all pediatric systematic reviews, special considerations are required for reviews of health care interventions' safety and efficacy in neonatology, global health, comparative effectiveness interventions and individual participant data meta-analyses. To date, there is no standard approach available to overcome this problem. We propose to develop a consensus-based checklist of essential items which

Spinal Subdural Abscess Following Laminectomy for Symptomatic Stenosis: A Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature.

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Ramos, Alexander D; Rolston, John D; Gauger, Grant E; Larson, Paul S

2016-07-12

BACKGROUND Spinal subdural abscesses, also known as empyemas, are rare infectious lesions, the exact incidence of which is unknown. Presentation is typically dramatic, with back pain, fever, motor, and sensory deficits. Rapid identification and surgical intervention with laminectomy, durotomy, and washout provides the best outcomes. While hematogenous spread of an extra-spinal infection is the most common cause of this condition, a significant number of cases result from iatrogenic mechanisms, including lumbar punctures, epidural injections, and surgery. CASE REPORT Here we present 2 cases: 1) an 87-year-old man with type 2 diabetes, schizophrenia, mild cognitive impairment, and symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis and 2) a 62-year-old man with a prior L3-4 spinal fusion with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis. In both cases, patients underwent laminectomy for spinal stenosis and developed epidural abscess. Following successful drainage of the epidural abscess, they continued to be symptomatic, and repeat imaging revealed the presence of a subdural abscess that was subsequently evacuated. Case 1 had significant improvement with residual lower-extremity weakness, while Case 2 made a complete neurological recovery. CONCLUSIONS These cases illustrate patients at increased risk for developing this rare spinal infection, and demonstrate that rapid recognition and surgical treatment is key to cure and recovery. Review of the literature highlights pertinent risk factors and demonstrates nearly one-third of reported cases have an iatrogenic etiology. The cases presented here demonstrate that a subdural process should be suspected in any patient with intractable pain following treatment of an epidural abscess.

Central and foraminal stenosis of the lumbar spine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Major, N.M.; Helms, C.A.

1995-01-01

The discussion include clinical presentation, anatomy, imaging techniques, central canal stenosis, iatrogenic stenosis, post-traumatic stenosis, neural foraminal stenosis, facet joint disease, lateral recess disease (15 refs.)

Central and foraminal stenosis of the lumbar spine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Major, N M; Helms, C A [California Univ., San Francisco, CA (United States). Dept. of Radiology

1996-12-31

The discussion include clinical presentation, anatomy, imaging techniques, central canal stenosis, iatrogenic stenosis, post-traumatic stenosis, neural foraminal stenosis, facet joint disease, lateral recess disease (15 refs.).

Indications and applications of arterial stents for stroke prevention in atherosclerotic intracranial stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fields, Jeremy D; Liu, Kenneth C; Barnwell, Stanley L; Clark, Wayne M; Lutsep, Helmi L

2010-01-01

Intracranial stenosis accounts for 8-10% of all ischemic strokes in North America, a frequency slightly less than that of extracranial carotid stenosis. Among patients presenting with transient ischemic attack or stroke due to intracranial stenosis, the risk of recurrent stroke in the first year after initial symptoms is about 14%. Those with high-risk features (recent stroke and severe stenosis) have up to a 23% rate of recurrent stroke in the year after their initial event. Angioplasty with stenting has emerged as a potential treatment strategy, particularly in high-risk patients, although evidence is currently limited to uncontrolled prospective trials and retrospective case series. In this article, we critically review the clinical results supporting the use of stenting and highlight some key considerations in the application of this technology, including patient selection, procedural management, technical issues, and risk factors for complications and in-stent restenosis.

Pulmonic stenosis in dogs: survival and risk factors in a retrospective cohort of patients.

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Locatelli, C; Spalla, I; Domenech, O; Sala, E; Brambilla, P G; Bussadori, C

2013-09-01

To assess survival and risk factors in dogs with pulmonic stenosis. A retrospective review of medical case records of all cases of pulmonic stenosis >50 mmHg, undergoing pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty or not. Survival curves and multivariate analysis were calculated in the overall population and in subgroups. One hundred and seventy-two cases were included. Factors negatively affecting survival were clinical signs [hazard ratio (HR) 3 · 44, P Dogs with severe pulmonic stenosis undergoing pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty (HR 0 · 47, P = 0 · 047) and asymptomatic dogs with moderate pulmonic stenosis (HR 0 · 10, P = 0 · 042) had a better outcome. Younger age at diagnosis was correlated with poorer outcome in right-sided congestive heart failure dogs (HR 14 · 02, P = 0 · 01). Clinical signs, valve morphology type B and age at diagnosis are risk factors in pulmonic stenosis patients. Pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty is a reasonable treatment choice in dogs with severe pulmonic stenosis. © 2013 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

Tertiary center experience with primary endoscopic laryngoplasty in pediatric acquired subglottic stenosis and literature review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaber Alshammari

2017-03-01

Conclusion: Our study showed that primary endoscopic management was successful in 82.3% of cases of acquired subglottic stenosis including those with high grade stenosis and long segment of more than 12 mm in terms of the craniocaudal length. CO2 laser was an important tool to convert mature hard stenotic segment into a soft one. The latter yielded to the lateral pressure created by balloon dilatation better.

Interventions to promote healthy eating choices when dining out: A systematic review of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Breanna; Bragge, Peter

2018-05-01

To synthesize review research pertaining to the effectiveness of interventions in dining-out settings to reduce food/calorie consumption. A rapid review methodology was employed to focus on synthesized research. A comprehensive search for peer-reviewed systematic reviews from 2010 to 2015 yielded 1,847 citations. Following screening, ten systematic reviews were included. The 10 included systematic reviews identified 183 primary studies evaluating evidence in three behavioural intervention areas: social models/norms, manipulation of size, and provision of health information. Three systematic reviews evaluating the use of social models/norms found this was an effective intervention for influencing food intake. Five systematic reviews that assessed manipulation of portion/dishware/cutlery size found a small-to-moderate effect on food consumption. Three systematic reviews looked at the provision of health information, which was not effective alone; however, in combination with contextual or interpretive material such as traffic lights or exercise equivalence, this was shown to reduce calorie consumption. One systematic review covered two topic areas. The results indicate that policies or interventions that aim to improve healthy choices or consumption when dining out would benefit from harnessing social norms and positive positioning of social identity. Furthermore, provision of health information should always be accompanied by an interpretative guide, such as traffic lights. Manipulation of plate/portion/cutlery size may be effective; however, the effect size is small and further research is required to investigate whether this effect is retained in overweight or obese populations. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Eating behaviours (food choices, consumption) have played a role in the obesity epidemic. Behavioural 'nudges' have tried to increase healthier eating choices. What does this study add? Social norms and modelling have a

Carotid bifurcation calcium and correlation with percent stenosis of the internal carotid artery on CT angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKinney, Alexander M.; Casey, Sean O.; Teksam, Mehmet; Truwit, Charles L.; Kieffer, Stephen; Lucato, Leandro T.; Smith, Maurice

2005-01-01

The aim of this paper was to determine the correlation between calcium burden (expressed as a volume) and extent of stenosis of the origin of the internal carotid artery (ICA) by CT angiography (CTA). Previous studies have shown that calcification in the coronary arteries correlates with significant vessel stenosis, and severe calcification (measured by CT) in the carotid siphon correlates with significant (greater than 50% stenosis) as determined angiographically. Sixty-one patients (age range 50-85 years) underwent CT of the neck with intravenous administration of iodinated contrast for a variety of conditions. Images were obtained with a helical multidetector array CT scanner and reviewed on a three-dimensional workstation. A single observer manipulated window and level to segment calcified plaque from vascular enhancement in order to quantify vascular calcium volume (cc) in the region of the bifurcation of the common carotid artery/ICA origin, and to measure the extent of ICA stenosis near the origin. A total of 117 common carotid artery bifurcations were reviewed. A ''significant'' stenosis was defined arbitrarily as >40% (to detect lesions before they become hemodynamically significant) of luminal diameter on CTA using NASCET-like criteria. All ''significant'' stenoses (21 out of 117 carotid bifurcations) had measurable calcium. We found a relatively strong correlation between percent stenosis and the calcium volume (Pearson's r= 0.65, P<0.0001). We also found that there was an even stronger correlation between the square root of the calcium volume and the percent stenosis as measured by CTA (r= 0.77, P<0.0001). Calcium volumes of 0.01, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09 and 0.12 cc were used as thresholds to evaluate for a ''significant'' stenosis. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve demonstrated that thresholds of 0.06 cc (sensitivity 88%, specificity 87%) and 0.03 cc (sensitivity 94%, specificity 76%) generated the best combinations of sensitivity and

Cutaneous lichen planus: A systematic review of treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Fazel, Nasim

2015-06-01

Various treatment modalities are available for cutaneous lichen planus. Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and Health Technology Assessment Database were searched for all the systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials related to cutaneous lichen planus. Two systematic reviews and nine relevant randomized controlled trials were identified. Acitretin, griseofulvin, hydroxychloroquine and narrow band ultraviolet B are demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of cutaneous lichen planus. Sulfasalazine is effective, but has an unfavorable safety profile. KH1060, a vitamin D analogue, is not beneficial in the management of cutaneous lichen planus. Evidence from large scale randomized trials demonstrating the safety and efficacy for many other treatment modalities used to treat cutaneous lichen planus is simply not available.

Search and selection methodology of systematic reviews in orthodontics (2000-2004).

Science.gov (United States)

Flores-Mir, Carlos; Major, Michael P; Major, Paul W

2006-08-01

More systematic reviews related to orthodontic topics are published each year, although little has been done to evaluate their search and selection methodologies. Systematic reviews related to orthodontics published between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2004, were searched for their use of multiple electronic databases and secondary searches. The search and selection methods of identified systematic reviews were evaluated against the Cochrane Handbook's guidelines. Sixteen orthodontic systematic reviews were identified in this period. The percentage of reviews documenting and using each criterion of article searching has changed over the last 5 years, with no recognizable directional trend. On average, most systematic reviews documented their electronic search terms (88%) and inclusion-exclusion criteria (100%), and used secondary searching (75%). Many still failed to search more than MEDLINE (56%), failed to document the database names and search dates (37%), failed to document the search strategy (62%), did not use several reviewers for selecting studies (75%), and did not include all languages (81%). The methodology of systematic reviews in orthodontics is still limited, with key methodological components frequently absent or not appropriately described.

Stenosis of calcified carotid artery detected on Panoramic Radiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, So Yang; Oh, Won Mann; Yoon, Suk Ja; Yoon, Woong; Lee, Jae Seo; Kang, Byung Cheol [School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Palomo, Juan M. [Department of Orthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland (United States)

2009-09-15

This study aimed to investigate the luminal stenosis of the internal carotid artery with calcification detected on panoramic radiographs. This study used fifty carotid arteries of 36 dental patients whose panoramic radiograph and computed tomography angiography (CTA) revealed the presence of carotid artery calcification. A neuroradiologist interpreted CTA to determine the degree of stenosis of the internal carotid arteries. The degree of stenosis was stratified in four stages; normal (no stenosis), mild stenosis (1-49%), moderate stenosis (50-69%) and severe stenosis (70-99%). Among the fifty carotid arteries with calcification detected on both panoramic radiography and CTA, 20 carotid arteries (40%) were normal, 29 carotid arteries (18%) had mild stenosis, 1 carotid artery (2%) had moderate stenosis, and there was none with severe stenosis. Sixty percent of the carotid arteries with calcification detected on both panoramic radiography and CTA had internal luminal stenosis, and two percent had moderate stenosis. When carotid atheroma is detected on panoramic radiograph, it is possible that the dental patient has luminal stenosis of the internal carotid artery.

Systematic Review Workshop (August 2013)

Science.gov (United States)

The goal for this workshop is to receive scientific input regarding approaches for different steps within a systematic review, such as evaluating individual studies, synthesizing evidence within a particular discipline, etc.

Time to consider sharing data extracted from trials included in systematic reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke Wolfenden

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background While the debate regarding shared clinical trial data has shifted from whether such data should be shared to how this is best achieved, the sharing of data collected as part of systematic reviews has received little attention. In this commentary, we discuss the potential benefits of coordinated efforts to share data collected as part of systematic reviews. Main body There are a number of potential benefits of systematic review data sharing. Shared information and data obtained as part of the systematic review process may reduce unnecessary duplication, reduce demand on trialist to service repeated requests from reviewers for data, and improve the quality and efficiency of future reviews. Sharing also facilitates research to improve clinical trial and systematic review methods and supports additional analyses to address secondary research questions. While concerns regarding appropriate use of data, costs, or the academic return for original review authors may impede more open access to information extracted as part of systematic reviews, many of these issues are being addressed, and infrastructure to enable greater access to such information is being developed. Conclusion Embracing systems to enable more open access to systematic review data has considerable potential to maximise the benefits of research investment in undertaking systematic reviews.

Angioplasty of symptomatic high-grade internal carotid artery stenosis with intraluminal thrombus: therapeutic approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez, A.; Mayol, A. [Seccion de Neurorradiologia Intervencionista, Servicio de Radiologia, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Avenida Manuel Siurot s/n, Avenida Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013, Sevilla (Spain); Gil-Peralta, A.; Gonzalez-Marcos, J.R. [Servicio de Neurologia, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Avenida Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013, Sevilla (Spain); Boza, F. [Servicio de Neurofisiologia, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Avenida Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013, Sevilla (Spain); Ruano, J. [Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Avenida Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013, Sevilla (Spain)

2004-04-01

Intraluminal thrombus in the internal carotid artery (ICA) is usually found in patients with severe atheromatous stenosis. Having reviewed 300 carotid angioplasties for symptomatic >70% ICA stenosis, we found three patients (1%) with intraluminal thrombus. Conservative treatment with anticoagulants and double antiplatelet coverage can result in lysis of the thrombus without severe risks. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting, preferably with distal protection, can be an excellent alternative to carotid endarterectomy. (orig.)

Office design and health: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Ann; Potter, John; Paterson, Margaret; Harding, Thomas; Tyler-Merrick, Gaye; Kirk, Ray; Reid, Kate; McChesney, Jane

2017-12-15

To carry out a systematic review of recent research into the effects of workplace design, comparing individual with shared workspaces, on the health of employees. The research question was "Does workplace design (specifically individual offices compared with shared workspaces) affect the health of workers?" A literature search limited to articles published between 2000 and 2017 was undertaken. A systematic review was carried out, and the findings of the reviewed studies grouped into themes according to the primary outcomes measured in the studies. The literature search identified 15 relevant studies addressing health effects of shared or open-plan offices compared with individual offices. Our systematic review found that, compared with individual offices, shared or open-plan office space is not beneficial to employees' health, with consistent findings of deleterious effects on staff health, wellbeing and productivity. Our findings are also consistent with those of earlier reviews. These findings have public health implications for the New Zealand workforce. Decisions about workplace design should include weighing the short-term financial benefits of open-plan or shared workspaces against the significant harms, including increased sickness absence, lower job satisfaction and productivity, and possible threats to recruitment and retention of staff.

Simulation Modelling in Healthcare: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Literature Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Salleh, Syed; Thokala, Praveen; Brennan, Alan; Hughes, Ruby; Booth, Andrew

2017-09-01

Numerous studies examine simulation modelling in healthcare. These studies present a bewildering array of simulation techniques and applications, making it challenging to characterise the literature. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the level of activity of simulation modelling in healthcare and the key themes. We performed an umbrella review of systematic literature reviews of simulation modelling in healthcare. Searches were conducted of academic databases (JSTOR, Scopus, PubMed, IEEE, SAGE, ACM, Wiley Online Library, ScienceDirect) and grey literature sources, enhanced by citation searches. The articles were included if they performed a systematic review of simulation modelling techniques in healthcare. After quality assessment of all included articles, data were extracted on numbers of studies included in each review, types of applications, techniques used for simulation modelling, data sources and simulation software. The search strategy yielded a total of 117 potential articles. Following sifting, 37 heterogeneous reviews were included. Most reviews achieved moderate quality rating on a modified AMSTAR (A Measurement Tool used to Assess systematic Reviews) checklist. All the review articles described the types of applications used for simulation modelling; 15 reviews described techniques used for simulation modelling; three reviews described data sources used for simulation modelling; and six reviews described software used for simulation modelling. The remaining reviews either did not report or did not provide enough detail for the data to be extracted. Simulation modelling techniques have been used for a wide range of applications in healthcare, with a variety of software tools and data sources. The number of reviews published in recent years suggest an increased interest in simulation modelling in healthcare.

Anesthesia for subglottic stenosis in pediatrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eid Essam

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Any site in the upper airway can get obstructed and cause noisy breathing as well as dyspnea. These include nasal causes such as choanal atresia or nasal stenosis; pharyngeal causes including lingual thyroid; laryngeal causes such as laryngomalacia; tracheobronchial causes such as tracheal stenosis; and subglottic stenosis. Lesions in the oropharynx may cause stertor, while lesions in the laryngotracheal tree will cause stridor. Subglottic stenosis is the third leading cause of congenital stridors in the neonate. Subglottic Stenosis presents challenges to the anesthesiologist. Therefore, It is imperative to perform a detailed history, physical examination, and characterization of the extent and severity of stenosis. Rigid endoscopy is essential for the preoperative planning of any of the surgical procedures that can be used for correction. Choice of operation is dependent on the surgeon′s comfort, postoperative capabilities, and severity of disease. For high-grade stenosis, single-stage laryngotracheal resection or cricotracheal resection are the best options. It has to be borne in mind that the goal of surgery is to allow for an adequate airway for normal activity without the need for tracheostomy. Anesthesia for airway surgery could be conducted safely with either sevofl uraneor propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia.

A Guide to the Systematic Literature Review Methodology in Supply Chain Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Durach, Christian F.; Wieland, Andreas; Kembro, Joakim

methodological developments in the application systematic literature reviews in supply chain management. It analyzes what approaches researchers in supply chain management have taken to follow the requirements of a systematic review, identifies issues in the approaches and provides authors, reviewers and editors...... with suggestions to better craft, disseminate, evaluate and select systematic literature reviews in supply chain management. This paper applies a systematic literature review approach to identify and analyze 31 articles published in core supply chain journals. It is the first research to map these developments......, since three seminal methodology papers on systematic reviews in management research have been published between 2003-2009. This research shows that there is still a need for more transparency in the approaches taken. Systematic literature reviews have a high potential to advance the field...

Swaddling: A Systematic Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Sleuwen, Bregje E.; Engelberts, Adèle C.; Boere-Boonekamp, Magdalena M.; Kuis, Wietse; Schulpen, Tom W.J.

2007-01-01

Swaddling was an almost universal child-care practice before the 18th century. It is still tradition in certain parts of the Middle East and is gaining popularity in the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands to curb excessive crying. We have systematically reviewed all articles on

Swaddling : A systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Sleuwen, Bregje E.; Engelberts, Adele C.; Boere-Boonekamp, Magda M.; Kuis, Wietse; Schulpen, Tom W. J.; L'Hoir, Monique P.

2007-01-01

Swaddling was an almost universal child-care practice before the 18th century. It is still tradition in certain parts of the Middle East and is gaining popularity in the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands to curb excessive crying. We have systematically reviewed all articles on

The systematic review as a research process in music therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson-Abromeit, Deanna; Sena Moore, Kimberly

2014-01-01

Music therapists are challenged to present evidence on the efficacy of music therapy treatment and incorporate the best available research evidence to make informed healthcare and treatment decisions. Higher standards of evidence can come from a variety of sources including systematic reviews. To define and describe a range of research review methods using examples from music therapy and related literature, with emphasis on the systematic review. In addition, the authors provide a detailed overview of methodological processes for conducting and reporting systematic reviews in music therapy. The systematic review process is described in five steps. Step 1 identifies the research plan and operationalized research question(s). Step 2 illustrates the identification and organization of the existing literature related to the question(s). Step 3 details coding of data extracted from the literature. Step 4 explains the synthesis of coded findings and analysis to answer the research question(s). Step 5 describes the strength of evidence evaluation and results presentation for practice recommendations. Music therapists are encouraged to develop and conduct systematic reviews. This methodology contributes to review outcome credibility and can determine how information is interpreted and used by clinicians, clients or patients, and policy makers. A systematic review is a methodologically rigorous research method used to organize and evaluate extant literature related to a clinical problem. Systematic reviews can assist music therapists in managing the ever-increasing literature, making well-informed evidence based practice and research decisions, and translating existing music-based and nonmusic based literature to clinical practice and research development. © the American Music Therapy Association 2014. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Intimal spindle cell sarcoma masquerading as adult-onset symptomatic pulmonic stenosis: a case report and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Manmadhan, Arun; Malhotra, Sunil P; Weinberg, Catherine R; Reyentovich, Alex; Latson, Larry A; Bhatla, Puneet; Saric, Muhamed

2017-10-30

Pulmonary artery intimal spindle cell sarcomas are rare and carry with them a poor prognosis and high rate of recurrence. In extremely rare cases, this tumor can infiltrate the pulmonic valve and manifest as adult-onset pulmonic stenosis. We report an unusual case of a patient with symptomatic, adult-onset severe pulmonic stenosis who was referred for possible balloon valvuloplasty but was subsequently found to have pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma infiltrating the pulmonary valve leading to progressive exertional dyspnea. The presence of adult-onset pulmonic stenosis should prompt the clinician to investigate further as most cases of pulmonic stenosis are congenital in nature and present early in life. Careful diagnostic evaluation in concert with multimodal imaging should take place to arrive at the correct and challenging diagnosis of sarcoma-induced adult-onset severe pulmonic stenosis. Given the poor prognosis and rapid progression of disease, early diagnosis is crucial.

A review of the reporting of web searching to identify studies for Cochrane systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Briscoe, Simon

2018-03-01

The literature searches that are used to identify studies for inclusion in a systematic review should be comprehensively reported. This ensures that the literature searches are transparent and reproducible, which is important for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a systematic review and re-running the literature searches when conducting an update review. Web searching using search engines and the websites of topically relevant organisations is sometimes used as a supplementary literature search method. Previous research has shown that the reporting of web searching in systematic reviews often lacks important details and is thus not transparent or reproducible. Useful details to report about web searching include the name of the search engine or website, the URL, the date searched, the search strategy, and the number of results. This study reviews the reporting of web searching to identify studies for Cochrane systematic reviews published in the 6-month period August 2016 to January 2017 (n = 423). Of these reviews, 61 reviews reported using web searching using a search engine or website as a literature search method. In the majority of reviews, the reporting of web searching was found to lack essential detail for ensuring transparency and reproducibility, such as the search terms. Recommendations are made on how to improve the reporting of web searching in Cochrane systematic reviews. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Renal Artery Stenosis (RAS) Case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaater, M.K.

2012-01-01

Renal Artery Stenosis (RAS), is one of the causes of secondary hypertension; there are many causes of renal artery stenosis, as atherosclerosis of the renal artery which account for 90% of cases of RAS; fibromuscular dysplasia accounts for 10% of RAS. Various causes of thrombophilia either due congenital causes or acquired causes and can lead to RAS. Our patient was presented by acute attack of epistaxis and hypertension. Angiography of the Renal Arteries,are showed no sign of renal artery stenosis. However, the right kidney showed upper pole infarction, and the left kidney showed evidence of functional lower pole renal artery stenosis, although there is no anatomical stenosis detected in angiography. Work up for the cause of thrombophilia did not help in the diagnosis, which may be due to an undiscovered cause of thrombophilia

Quality of systematic reviews: an example of studies comparing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-07-22

Jul 22, 2015 ... were: the article should be a systematic review and/or ... 7. The scientific quality of the included studies should be assessed and ... steps to conduct a systematic review as follows: 1. .... All authors contributed to the writing of.

Systematic reviews of adverse effects: framework for a structured approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herxheimer Andrew

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As every healthcare intervention carries some risk of harm, clinical decision making needs to be supported by a systematic assessment of the balance of benefit to harm. A systematic review that considers only the favourable outcomes of an intervention, without also assessing the adverse effects, can mislead by introducing a bias favouring the intervention. Much of the current guidance on systematic reviews is directed towards the evaluation of effectiveness; but this differs in important ways from the methods used in assessing the safety and tolerability of an intervention. A detailed discussion of why, how and when to include adverse effects in a systematic review, is required. Methods This discussion paper, which presupposes a basic knowledge of systematic review methodology, was developed by consensus among experienced reviewers, members of the Adverse Effects Subgroup of The Cochrane Collaboration, and supplemented by a consultation of content experts in reviews methodology, as well as those working in drug safety. Results A logical framework for making decisions in reviews that incorporate adverse effects is provided. We explore situations where a comprehensive investigation of adverse effects is warranted and suggest strategies to identify practicable and clinically useful outcomes. The advantages and disadvantages of including observational and experimental study designs are reviewed. The consequences of including separate studies for intended and unintended effects are explained. Detailed advice is given on designing electronic searches for studies with adverse effects data. Reviewers of adverse effects are given general guidance on the assessment of study bias, data collection, analysis, presentation and the interpretation of harms in a systematic review. Conclusion Readers need to be able to recognize how strategic choices made in the review process determine what harms are found, and how the findings may affect

Management of complex pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis with skin graft reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowe, Sarah N; Wentland, Carissa J; Sandhu, G S; Hartnick, Christopher J

2018-05-01

For pediatric patients with laryngotracheal stenosis, the ultimate goal is creation of a safe, functional airway. Unfortunately, wound healing in a hollow structure can complicate repair attempts, leading to restenosis. Herein, we present our experience using skin-grafting techniques in two complex pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis cases, leading to successful decannulation or speech production. A chart review was performed examining the evaluation and management of two pediatric patients with laryngotracheal stenosis despite prior reconstructive attempts. Patient history, bronchoscopic evaluation, intra-operative technique, post-operative management, treatment outcomes, and complications were noted. Harvesting and preparation of the split-thickness skin grafts (STSG) proceeded in a similar manner for each case. Stenting material varied based on the clinical scenario. Using this technique, our patient with a Type 3 glottic web achieved substantial improvement in exercise tolerance, as well as vocal strength and quality. In addition, our aphonic patient could vocalize for the first time since her laryngotracheal injury. Temporary endoluminal stenting with skin graft lining can reproduce epithelial continuity and provide "biological inhibition" to enhance the wound healing process. When previous reconstructive efforts have failed, use of STSG can be considered in the management of complex pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The methodological quality of systematic reviews of animal studies in dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Faggion, C M; Listl, S; Giannakopoulos, N N

2012-05-01

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of animal studies are important for improving estimates of the effects of treatment and for guiding future clinical studies on humans. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of animal studies in dentistry through using a validated checklist. A literature search was conducted independently and in duplicate in the PubMed and LILACS databases. References in selected systematic reviews were assessed to identify other studies not captured by the electronic searches. The methodological quality of studies was assessed independently and in duplicate by using the AMSTAR checklist; the quality was scored as low, moderate, or high. The reviewers were calibrated before the assessment and agreement between them was assessed using Cohen's Kappa statistic. Of 444 studies retrieved, 54 systematic reviews were selected after full-text assessment. Agreement between the reviewers was regarded as excellent. Only two studies were scored as high quality; 17 and 35 studies were scored as medium and low quality, respectively. There is room for improvement of the methodological quality of systematic reviews of animal studies in dentistry. Checklists, such as AMSTAR, can guide researchers in planning and executing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. For determining the need for additional investigations in animals and in order to provide good data for potential application in human, such reviews should be based on animal experiments performed according to sound methodological principles. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systematic reviews: A guide for radiographers and other health care professionals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, Gill; Sykes, Anne E.

2011-01-01

This paper offers guidance on performing systematic reviews to help up-skill radiographers and other health care professionals. It considers why systematic review is critically important to Radiography. Using a relevant example i.e. to investigate adverse effects related to MRI contrast agents it then examines the features of a systematic review and explains how diagnostic research evidence within a systematic review is evaluated. The paper then discusses the threats to validity of systematic reviews on a step by step basis. Five key steps are considered: Step 1: define the purpose of the review via a well-structured question. Step 2: determine the parameters (eligibility criteria) for a comprehensive systematic literature review that will address the research question. It is the wide range of material reviewed in this way that makes the work a systematic review, rather than an analysis of papers you happen to have. Step 3: Assess the quality of the literature you have found. Generally peer-reviewed papers published on a database such as Medline, which in the example given was established as an eligibility criterion, are considered to be high quality, but the actual impact factor/SCOPUS score of each journal is variable and should be considered. Step 4: Synthesise what the literature has revealed; appropriately extract data and summarise it; identifying any study differences. This requires the use of suitable methods for agreeing and summarising the results. This may involve a meta-analysis to collate the results from several studies. Step 5: interpret the findings to draw inferences from the resulting review and from the results of a meta-analysis if undertaken. This paper then provides a check list for guidance of those involved in writing systematic reviews and finally summarises the paper. A glossary of terms appears at the end of this paper.

Systematic reviews: A guide for radiographers and other health care professionals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, Gill, E-mail: gill.marshall@cumbria.ac.u [Chair in Medical Imaging Education, Research Development Lead, School of Medical Imaging Sciences, Faculty of Health, Medical Sciences and Social Care, University of Cumbria, Lancaster, LA1 3JD (United Kingdom); Sykes, Anne E., E-mail: a.e.sykes@salford.ac.u [Directorate of Radiography School of Health, Sport and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Salford Frederick Road, M6 6PU (United Kingdom)

2011-05-15

This paper offers guidance on performing systematic reviews to help up-skill radiographers and other health care professionals. It considers why systematic review is critically important to Radiography. Using a relevant example i.e. to investigate adverse effects related to MRI contrast agents it then examines the features of a systematic review and explains how diagnostic research evidence within a systematic review is evaluated. The paper then discusses the threats to validity of systematic reviews on a step by step basis. Five key steps are considered: Step 1: define the purpose of the review via a well-structured question. Step 2: determine the parameters (eligibility criteria) for a comprehensive systematic literature review that will address the research question. It is the wide range of material reviewed in this way that makes the work a systematic review, rather than an analysis of papers you happen to have. Step 3: Assess the quality of the literature you have found. Generally peer-reviewed papers published on a database such as Medline, which in the example given was established as an eligibility criterion, are considered to be high quality, but the actual impact factor/SCOPUS score of each journal is variable and should be considered. Step 4: Synthesise what the literature has revealed; appropriately extract data and summarise it; identifying any study differences. This requires the use of suitable methods for agreeing and summarising the results. This may involve a meta-analysis to collate the results from several studies. Step 5: interpret the findings to draw inferences from the resulting review and from the results of a meta-analysis if undertaken. This paper then provides a check list for guidance of those involved in writing systematic reviews and finally summarises the paper. A glossary of terms appears at the end of this paper.

Updated method guidelines for cochrane musculoskeletal group systematic reviews and metaanalyses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ghogomu, Elizabeth A T; Maxwell, Lara J; Buchbinder, Rachelle

2014-01-01

The Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group (CMSG), one of 53 groups of the not-for-profit, international Cochrane Collaboration, prepares, maintains, and disseminates systematic reviews of treatments for musculoskeletal diseases. It is important that authors conducting CMSG reviews and the readers of our...... reviews be aware of and use updated, state-of-the-art systematic review methodology. One hundred sixty reviews have been published. Previous method guidelines for systematic reviews of interventions in the musculoskeletal field published in 2006 have been substantially updated to incorporate...... using network metaanalysis. Method guidelines specific to musculoskeletal disorders are provided by CMSG editors for various aspects of undertaking a systematic review. These method guidelines will help improve the quality of reporting and ensure high standards of conduct as well as consistency across...

Evaluating clinical librarian services: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Brettle, Alison; Maden-Jenkins, Michelle; Anderson, Lucy; McNally, Rosalind; Pratchett, Tracey; Tancock, Jenny; Thornton, Debra; Webb, Anne

2011-03-01

  Previous systematic reviews have indicated limited evidence and poor quality evaluations of clinical librarian (CL) services. Rigorous evaluations should demonstrate the value of CL services, but guidance is needed before this can be achieved.   To undertake a systematic review which examines models of CL services, quality, methods and perspectives of clinical librarian service evaluations.   Systematic review methodology and synthesis of evidence, undertaken collaboratively by a group of 8 librarians to develop research and critical appraisal skills.   There are four clear models of clinical library service provision. Clinical librarians are effective in saving health professionals time, providing relevant, useful information and high quality services. Clinical librarians have a positive effect on clinical decision making by contributing to better informed decisions, diagnosis and choice of drug or therapy. The quality of CL studies is improving, but more work is needed on reducing bias and providing evidence of specific impacts on patient care. The Critical Incident Technique as part of a mixed method approach appears to offer a useful approach to demonstrating impact.   This systematic review provides practical guidance regarding the evaluation of CL services. It also provides updated evidence regarding the effectiveness and impact of CL services. The approach used was successful in developing research and critical appraisal skills in a group of librarians. © 2010 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2010 Health Libraries Group.

Systematic Review Methodology for the Fatigue in Emergency Medical Services Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, P Daniel; Higgins, J Stephen; Weiss, Patricia M; Lang, Eddy; Martin-Gill, Christian

2018-02-15

Guidance for managing fatigue in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) setting is limited. The Fatigue in EMS Project sought to complete multiple systematic reviews guided by seven explicit research questions, assemble the best available evidence, and rate the quality of that evidence for purposes of producing an Evidence Based Guideline (EBG) for fatigue risk management in EMS operations. We completed seven systematic reviews that involved searches of six databases for literature relevant to seven research questions. These questions were developed a priori by an expert panel and framed in the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) format and pre-registered with PROSPERO. Our target population was defined as persons 18 years of age and older classified as EMS personnel or similar shift worker groups. A panel of experts selected outcomes for each PICO question as prescribed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. We pooled findings, stratified by study design (experimental vs. observational) and presented results of each systematic review in narrative and quantitative form. We used meta-analyses of select outcomes to generate pooled effects. We used the GRADE methodology and the GRADEpro software to designate a quality of evidence rating for each outcome. We present the results for each systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). More than 38,000 records were screened across seven systematic reviews. The median, minimum, and maximum inter-rater agreements (Kappa) between screeners for our seven systematic reviews were 0.66, 0.49, and 0.88, respectively. The median, minimum, and maximum number of records retained for the seven systematic reviews was 13, 1, and 100, respectively. We present key findings in GRADE Evidence Profile Tables in separate publications for each systematic review. We describe a protocol for

Financial conflicts of interest and outcomes and quality of systematic reviews

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Camilla; Lundh, Andreas; Rasmussen, Kristine

2017-01-01

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Methodology). The objectives are as follows: The primary objectives are to investigate to what degree: - funding of systematic reviews by drug, device, and imaging companies and authors' other financial conflicts of interest are associated with effect size...... estimate; and - funding of systematic reviews by drug, device, and imaging companies and authors' other financial conflicts of interest are associated with conclusions that are favourable to the sponsor. The secondary objective is to investigate to what degree: - funding of systematic reviews by drug......, device, and imaging companies and authors' other financial conflicts of interest are associated with the methodological quality of systematic reviews as presented by the reviews....

A systematic review of dental disease management in cancer patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hong, C.H.L.; Hu, S.; Haverman, T.M.; Stokman, M.; Napeñas, J.J.; Bos-den Braber, J.; Gerber, E.; Geuke, M.; Vardas, E.; Waltimo, T.; Jensen, S.B.; Saunders, D.P.

2018-01-01

Introduction: This systematic review aims to update on the prevalence of odontogenic-related infections and the efficacy of dental strategies in preventing dental-related complications in cancer patients since the 2010 systematic review. Review method: A literature search was conducted in the

A systematic review of dental disease management in cancer patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hong, Catherine H L; Hu, Shijia; Haverman, Thijs; Stokman, Monique; Napeñas, Joel J; Braber, Jacolien Bos-den; Gerber, Erich; Geuke, Margot; Vardas, Emmanouil; Waltimo, Tuomas; Jensen, Siri Beier; Saunders, Deborah P

INTRODUCTION: This systematic review aims to update on the prevalence of odontogenic-related infections and the efficacy of dental strategies in preventing dental-related complications in cancer patients since the 2010 systematic review. REVIEW METHOD: A literature search was conducted in the

Reviewing Literature in Bioethics Research: Increasing Rigour in Non-Systematic Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Rosalind

2015-09-01

The recent interest in systematic review methods in bioethics has highlighted the need for greater transparency in all literature review processes undertaken in bioethics projects. In this article, I articulate features of a good bioethics literature review that does not aim to be systematic, but rather to capture and analyse the key ideas relevant to a research question. I call this a critical interpretive literature review. I begin by sketching and comparing three different types of literature review conducted in bioethics scholarship. Then, drawing on Dixon-Wood's concept of critical interpretive synthesis, I put forward six features of a good critical interpretive literature review in bioethics: answering a research question, capturing the key ideas relevant to the research question, analysing the literature as a whole, generating theory, not excluding papers based on rigid quality assessment criteria, and reporting the search strategy. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[A modern look at benign stenosing lesions. Etiology and pathogenesis of diagnostic capabilities. A systematic review].

Science.gov (United States)

Pakhabova, E Iu; Belova, G V

2012-01-01

The problem of nonneoplastic stenosis of major duodenal papilla is on joint of gastroenterology and surgery and present a challenge for physicians. This article reviews what is known about the pathogenesis, epidemiology and diagnostics of papillostenosis and sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

Suggested Guidelines for Conducting Music Therapy Literature Reviews & an Introduction to Systematic Reviews in Music Therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O'Callaghan, Clare; Bonde, Lars Ole; Rickson, Daphne

2014-01-01

This paper describes the kinds of literature reviews found in music therapy writings and offers ideas for authors preparing literature reviews related to their clinical practice and research. It includes a description of systematic review and lists samples of literature reviews and systematic...

Intimal spindle cell sarcoma masquerading as adult-onset symptomatic pulmonic stenosis: a case report and review of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arun Manmadhan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pulmonary artery intimal spindle cell sarcomas are rare and carry with them a poor prognosis and high rate of recurrence. In extremely rare cases, this tumor can infiltrate the pulmonic valve and manifest as adult-onset pulmonic stenosis. Case presentation We report an unusual case of a patient with symptomatic, adult-onset severe pulmonic stenosis who was referred for possible balloon valvuloplasty but was subsequently found to have pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma infiltrating the pulmonary valve leading to progressive exertional dyspnea. Conclusion The presence of adult-onset pulmonic stenosis should prompt the clinician to investigate further as most cases of pulmonic stenosis are congenital in nature and present early in life. Careful diagnostic evaluation in concert with multimodal imaging should take place to arrive at the correct and challenging diagnosis of sarcoma-induced adult-onset severe pulmonic stenosis. Given the poor prognosis and rapid progression of disease, early diagnosis is crucial.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ehealth interventions in somatic diseases: a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

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Elbert, Niels J; van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke; van Renselaar, Wilco; Ekeland, Anne G; Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona; Raat, Hein; Nijsten, Tamar E C; Pasmans, Suzanne G M A

2014-04-16

eHealth potentially enhances quality of care and may reduce health care costs. However, a review of systematic reviews published in 2010 concluded that high-quality evidence on the benefits of eHealth interventions was still lacking. We conducted a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the effectiveness/cost-effectiveness of eHealth interventions in patients with somatic diseases to analyze whether, and to what possible extent, the outcome of recent research supports or differs from previous conclusions. Literature searches were performed in PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on eHealth interventions published between August 2009 and December 2012. Articles were screened for relevance based on preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. Citations of residual articles were screened for additional literature. Included papers were critically appraised using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement before data were extracted. Based on conclusions drawn by the authors of the included articles, reviews and meta-analyses were divided into 1 of 3 groups: suitable, promising, or limited evidence on effectiveness/cost-effectiveness. Cases of uncertainty were resolved by consensus discussion. Effect sizes were extracted from papers that included a meta-analysis. To compare our results with previous findings, a trend analysis was performed. Our literature searches yielded 31 eligible reviews, of which 20 (65%) reported on costs. Seven papers (23%) concluded that eHealth is effective/cost-effective, 13 (42%) underlined that evidence is promising, and others found limited or inconsistent proof. Methodological quality of the included reviews and meta-analyses was generally considered high. Trend analysis showed a considerable accumulation of literature on eHealth. However, a similar percentage of papers concluded that eHealth is effective/cost-effective or

Methodology Series Module 6: Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis.

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Setia, Maninder Singh

2016-01-01

Systematic reviews and meta-analysis have become an important of biomedical literature, and they provide the "highest level of evidence" for various clinical questions. There are a lot of studies - sometimes with contradictory conclusions - on a particular topic in literature. Hence, as a clinician, which results will you believe? What will you tell your patient? Which drug is better? A systematic review or a meta-analysis may help us answer these questions. In addition, it may also help us understand the quality of the articles in literature or the type of studies that have been conducted and published (example, randomized trials or observational studies). The first step it to identify a research question for systematic review or meta-analysis. The next step is to identify the articles that will be included in the study. This will be done by searching various databases; it is important that the researcher should search for articles in more than one database. It will also be useful to form a group of researchers and statisticians that have expertise in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analysis before initiating them. We strongly encourage the readers to register their proposed review/meta-analysis with PROSPERO. Finally, these studies should be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis checklist.

Idiopathic Supraglottic Stenosis Refractory to Multiple Interventions Improved With Serial Office-based Steroid Injections.

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Hoffman, Matthew R; Mai, Johnny P; Dailey, Seth H

2017-10-30

The objective of this study was to describe a patient with idiopathic supraglottic stenosis who experienced persistent disease despite multiple office-based and operative interventions, whose disease is now better controlled with scheduled serial office-based steroid injections. This is a case report and literature review. A 42-year-old female was referred for worsening supraglottic stenosis despite systemic steroids. She underwent awake tracheotomy. A thorough historical, histologic, and laboratory workup did not reveal an etiology to her stenosis. She later underwent endoscopic partial laryngectomy and was able to be decannulated. She underwent a second endoscopic partial laryngectomy two years later for worsening disease and then was managed over the next seven years with intermittent systemic steroids. Over the last year, she has undergone eight office-based steroid injections with improvement in her degree of stenosis and symptom burden. There are only four prior reported cases of idiopathic supraglottic stenosis, none of which has been managed with serial office-based steroid injections. This case report adds to the small body of literature on the management of this rare disease and proposes a new office-based treatment pathway that may help induce regression of stenosis. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What determines the effects and costs of breast cancer screening? A protocol of a systematic review of reviews.

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Mandrik, O; Ekwunife, O I; Zielonke, N; Meheus, F; Severens, J L; Lhachimi, S K; Murillo, R

2017-06-28

Multiple reviews demonstrated high variability in effectiveness and cost-effectiveness outcomes among studies on breast cancer screening (BCS) programmes. No study to our knowledge has summarized the current evidence on determinants of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the most used BCS approaches or tried to explain differences in conclusions of systematic reviews on this topic. Based on published reviews, this systematic review aims to assess the degree of variability of determinants for (a) effectiveness and (b) cost-effectiveness of BCS programmes using mammography, clinical breast examination, breast self-examination, ultrasonography, or their combinations among the general population. We will perform a comprehensive systematic literature search in Cochrane, Scopus, Embase, and Medline (via Pubmed). The search will be supplemented with hand searching of references of the included reviews, with hand searching in the specialized journals, and by contacting prominent experts in the field. Additional search for grey literature will be conducted on the websites of international cancer associations and networks. Two trained research assistants will screen titles and abstracts of publications independently, with at least random 10% of all abstracts being also screened by the principal researcher. The full texts of the systematic reviews will then be screened independently by two authors, and disagreements will be solved by consensus. The included reviews will be grouped by publication year, outcomes, designs of original studies, and quality. Additionally, for reviews published since 2011, transparency in reporting will be assessed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist for the review on determinants of effectiveness and a modified PRISMA checklist for the review on determinants for cost-effectiveness. The study will apply the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews checklist to assess

Placement of tracheobronchial silicone Y-stents: Multicenter experience and systematic review of the literature

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Inderpaul Singh Sehgal

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Airway obstruction or tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF near the tracheal carina requires placement of Y-shaped stents. Herein, we describe our multicenter experience with the placement of Dumon silicone Y-stents. We also conduct a systematic review for studies describing the deployment of airway silicone Y-stents. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive subjects who underwent placement of silicone Y-stents. The clinical details including the underlying diagnosis, indication for the placement of silicone Y-stents, success of stent placement, and follow-up are presented. The PubMed and EMBASE databases were also reviewed for studies describing the placement of silicone Y-stents. Results: During the study, 27 silicone Y-stents were placed. The mean (standard deviation age of the study population (85.2% males was 57.7 (13.5 years. The stents were placed for airway obstruction in 77.8% and TEF in 29.6% of the patients. The most common underlying disease was carcinoma of the esophagus. The degree of airway obstruction was grade 3–4 in 18 subjects, and respiratory failure was encountered in 18 subjects. The stent was deployed successfully in all the subjects. No deaths were encountered during stent placement. Most subjects had rapid relief of symptoms following the procedure. Excessive secretions and mucostasis were the most common stent-related complications followed by the development of granulation tissue. The systematic review yielded nine studies (338 subjects with airway obstruction and/or TEF. The most common indication for silicone Y-stent placement was tracheobronchial obstruction and TEF due to malignancy. Benign disorders that necessitated stent placement included postintubation tracheal stenosis, airway malacia, and others. The stent was successfully placed in 98% with only one periprocedural death. Granulation tissue formation and mucostasis were the most common stent-related complications. Conclusion

Recurred Post-intubation Tracheal Stenosis Treated with Bronchoscopic Cryotherapy

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Jung, Ye-Ryung; Taek Jeong, Joon; Kyu Lee, Myoung; Kim, Sang-Ha; Joong Yong, Suk; Jeong Lee, Seok; Lee, Won-Yeon

2016-01-01

Post-intubation tracheal stenosis accounts for the greatest proportion of whole-cause tracheal stenosis. Treatment of post-intubation tracheal stenosis requires a multidisciplinary approach. Surgery or an endoscopic procedure can be used, depending on the type of stenosis. However, the efficacy of cryotherapy in post-intubation tracheal stenosis has not been validated. Here, we report a case of recurring post-intubation tracheal stenosis successfully treated with bronchoscopic cryotherapy that had previously been treated with surgery. In this case, cryotherapy was effective in treating web-like fibrous stenosis, without requiring more surgery. Cryotherapy can be considered as an alternative or primary treatment for post-intubation tracheal stenosis. PMID:27853078

Pitfalls of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses in Imaging Research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McInnes, Matthew D. F.; Bossuyt, Patrick M. M.

2015-01-01

Systematic reviews of imaging research represent a tool to better understand test accuracy or the efficacy of interventions. Like any type of research, appropriate methods must be applied to optimize quality. The purpose of this review is to outline common pitfalls in performing systematic reviews

Interventions for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Are Practice Guidelines Based on Systematic Reviews?

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Lindsley, Kristina; Li, Tianjing; Ssemanda, Elizabeth; Virgili, Gianni; Dickersin, Kay

2016-04-01

Are existing systematic reviews of interventions for age-related macular degeneration incorporated into clinical practice guidelines? High-quality systematic reviews should be used to underpin evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and clinical care. We examined the reliability of systematic reviews of interventions for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and described the main findings of reliable reviews in relation to clinical practice guidelines. Eligible publications were systematic reviews of the effectiveness of treatment interventions for AMD. We searched a database of systematic reviews in eyes and vision without language or date restrictions; the database was up to date as of May 6, 2014. Two authors independently screened records for eligibility and abstracted and assessed the characteristics and methods of each review. We classified reviews as reliable when they reported eligibility criteria, comprehensive searches, methodologic quality of included studies, appropriate statistical methods for meta-analysis, and conclusions based on results. We mapped treatment recommendations from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Preferred Practice Patterns (PPPs) for AMD to systematic reviews and citations of reliable systematic reviews to support each treatment recommendation. Of 1570 systematic reviews in our database, 47 met inclusion criteria; most targeted neovascular AMD and investigated anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) interventions, dietary supplements, or photodynamic therapy. We classified 33 (70%) reviews as reliable. The quality of reporting varied, with criteria for reliable reporting met more often by Cochrane reviews and reviews whose authors disclosed conflicts of interest. Anti-VEGF agents and photodynamic therapy were the only interventions identified as effective by reliable reviews. Of 35 treatment recommendations extracted from the PPPs, 15 could have been supported with reliable systematic reviews; however, only 1

Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for laryngotracheal stenosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Kathrine Kronberg; Grønhøj, Christian; Jensen, David H

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) can be either congenital or acquired. Laryngeal stenosis is most often encountered after prolonged intubation. The mechanism for stenosis following intubation is believed to be hypertrophic scarring. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy has shown...

Information sources for obesity prevention policy research: a review of systematic reviews.

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Hanneke, Rosie; Young, Sabrina K

2017-08-08

Systematic identification of evidence in health policy can be time-consuming and challenging. This study examines three questions pertaining to systematic reviews on obesity prevention policy, in order to identify the most efficient search methods: (1) What percentage of the primary studies selected for inclusion in the reviews originated in scholarly as opposed to gray literature? (2) How much of the primary scholarly literature in this topic area is indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE? (3) Which databases index the greatest number of primary studies not indexed in PubMed, and are these databases searched consistently across systematic reviews? We identified systematic reviews on obesity prevention policy and explored their search methods and citations. We determined the percentage of scholarly vs. gray literature cited, the most frequently cited journals, and whether each primary study was indexed in PubMed. We searched 21 databases for all primary study articles not indexed in PubMed to determine which database(s) indexed the highest number of these relevant articles. In total, 21 systematic reviews were identified. Ten of the 21 systematic reviews reported searching gray literature, and 12 reviews ultimately included gray literature in their analyses. Scholarly articles accounted for 577 of the 649 total primary study papers. Of these, 495 (76%) were indexed in PubMed. Google Scholar retrieved the highest number of the remaining 82 non-PubMed scholarly articles, followed by Scopus and EconLit. The Journal of the American Dietetic Association was the most-cited journal. Researchers can maximize search efficiency by searching a small yet targeted selection of both scholarly and gray literature resources. A highly sensitive search of PubMed and those databases that index the greatest number of relevant articles not indexed in PubMed, namely multidisciplinary and economics databases, could save considerable time and effort. When combined with a gray literature search and

Echocardiography in chronic liver disease: systematic review.

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Mota, Vitor Gomes; Markman Filho, Brivaldo

2013-04-01

Doppler echocardiography (Echo) is a non-invasive method of excellent accuracy to screen portopulmonary hypertension (PPH) and to assess intrapulmonary shunts (IPS) in chronic liver disease (CLD). In the past decade, Echo proved to play a fundamental role in the diagnosis of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM). To perform a systematic review of relevant articles on the subject 'Echo in CLD'. In November 2011, a systematic review was performed in the PubMed, LILACS and SciELO databases, and the characteristics of the studies selected were reported. The search based on descriptors and free terms obtained 204 articles (179 in Pubmed, 21 in LILACS, and 1 in SciELO). Of those 204 articles, 22 were selected for systematic review. A meta-analysis could not be performed because of the heterogeneity of the articles. Echo should be part of CLD stratification for screening PPH, IPS and CCM, because, most of the time, such complications are diagnosed only when patients are already waiting for a liver transplant.

Overview of Evidence in Prevention and Aetiology of Food Allergy: A Review of Systematic Reviews

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Lodge, Caroline J.; Allen, Katrina J.; Lowe, Adrian J.; Dharmage, Shyamali C.

2013-01-01

The worldwide prevalence of food allergy appears to be increasing. Early life environmental factors are implicated in the aetiology of this global epidemic. The largest burden of disease is in early childhood, where research efforts aimed at prevention have been focused. Evidence synthesis from good quality systematic reviews is needed. We performed an overview of systematic reviews concerning the prevention and aetiology of food allergy, retrieving 14 systematic reviews, which covered three broad topics: formula (hydrolysed or soy) for the prevention of food allergy or food sensitization; maternal and infant diet and dietary supplements for the prevention of food allergy or food sensitization and hygiene hypothesis-related interventions. Using the AMSTAR criteria for assessment of methodological quality, we found five reviews to be of high quality, seven of medium quality and two of low quality. Overall we found no compelling evidence that any of the interventions that had been systematically reviewed were related to the risk of food allergy. Updating of existing reviews, and production of new systematic reviews, are needed in areas where evidence is emerging for interventions and environmental associations. Furthermore, additional primary studies, with greater numbers of participants and objective food allergy definitions are urgently required. PMID:24192789

[The cause and efficacy of benign tracheal stenosis].

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Su, Zhu-quan; Wei, Xiao-qun; Zhong, Chang-hao; Chen, Xiao-bo; Luo, Wei-zhan; Guo, Wen-liang; Wang, Ying-zhi; Li, Shi-yue

2013-09-01

To analysis the causes of benign tracheal stenosis and evaluate the curative effect of intraluminal bronchoscopic treatment. 158 patients with benign tracheal stenosis in our hospital from September 2005 to September 2012 were collected to retrospectively analysis the causes and clinic features of tracheal stenosis. Interventional treatments through bronchoscopy were used to treat the benign tracheal stenosis and the curative effects were evaluated. 158 cases of benign tracheal stenosis were recruited to our study, 69.6% of them were young and middle-aged. The main causes of benign tracheal stenosis were as follows: secondary to postintubation or tracheotomy in 61.4% (97/158), tuberculosis in 16% (26/158), benign tumor in 5.1% (8/158) and other 27 cases. 94.3% patients improved in symptoms with alleviation immediately after bronchoscopic treatment, the average tracheal diameter increased form (4.22 ± 2.06) mm to (10.16 ± 2.99) mm (t = 21.48, P benign tracheal stenosis were increasing year by year. The most common cause of benign tracheal stenosis was postintubation and tracheotomy. Interventional treatments through bronchoscopy is effective in treating benign tracheal stenosis, but repeated interventional procedures may be required to maintain the favorable long-term effects.

Conflicts of interest and spin in reviews of psychological therapies: a systematic review

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Lieb, Klaus; von der Osten-Sacken, Jan; Stoffers-Winterling, Jutta; Reiss, Neele; Barth, Jürgen

2016-01-01

Objective To explore conflicts of interest (COI) and their reporting in systematic reviews of psychological therapies, and to evaluate spin in the conclusions of the reviews. Methods MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were searched for systematic reviews published between 2010 and 2013 that assessed effects of psychological therapies for anxiety, depressive or personality disorders, and included at least one randomised controlled trial. Required COI disclosure by journal, disclosed COI by review authors, and the inclusion of own primary studies by review authors were extracted. Researcher allegiance, that is, that researchers concluded favourably about the interventions they have studied, as well as spin, that is, differences between results and conclusions of the reviews, were rated by 2 independent raters. Results 936 references were retrieved, 95 reviews fulfilled eligibility criteria. 59 compared psychological therapies with other forms of psychological therapies, and 36 psychological therapies with pharmacological interventions. Financial, non-financial, and personal COI were disclosed in 22, 4 and 1 review, respectively. 2 of 86 own primary studies of review authors included in 34 reviews were disclosed by review authors. In 15 of the reviews, authors showed an allegiance effect to the evaluated psychological therapy that was never disclosed. Spin in review conclusions was found in 27 of 95 reviews. Reviews with a conclusion in favour of psychological therapies (vs pharmacological interventions) were at high risk for a spin in conclusions (OR=8.31 (1.41 to 49.05)). Spin was related in trend to the inclusion of own primary studies in the systematic review (OR=2.08 (CI 0.83 to 5.18) p=0.11) and researcher allegiance (OR=2.63 (0.84 to 8.16) p=0.16). Conclusions Non-financial COI, especially the inclusion of own primary studies into reviews and researcher allegiance, are frequently seen in systematic reviews of psychological therapies and need more transparency and

Efficacy of Surgical Airway Plasty for Benign Airway Stenosis.

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Tsukioka, Takuma; Takahama, Makoto; Nakajima, Ryu; Kimura, Michitaka; Inoue, Hidetoshi; Yamamoto, Ryoji

2016-01-01

Long-term patency is required during treatment for benign airway stenosis. This study investigated the effectiveness of surgical airway plasty for benign airway stenosis. Clinical courses of 20 patients, who were treated with surgical plasty for their benign airway stenosis, were retrospectively investigated. Causes of stenosis were tracheobronchial tuberculosis in 12 patients, post-intubation stenosis in five patients, malacia in two patients, and others in one patient. 28 interventional pulmonology procedures and 20 surgical plasty were performed. Five patients with post-intubation stenosis and four patients with tuberculous stenosis were treated with tracheoplasty. Eight patients with tuberculous stenosis were treated with bronchoplasty, and two patients with malacia were treated with stabilization of the membranous portion. Anastomotic stenosis was observed in four patients, and one to four additional treatments were required. Performance status, Hugh-Jones classification, and ventilatory functions were improved after surgical plasty. Outcomes were fair in patients with tuberculous stenosis and malacia. However, efficacy of surgical plasty for post-intubation stenosis was not observed. Surgical airway plasty may be an acceptable treatment for tuberculous stenosis. Patients with malacia recover well after surgical plasty. There may be untreated patients with malacia who have the potential to benefit from surgical plasty.

Therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy at a tertiary care center in North India: Initial experience and systematic review of Indian literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karan Madan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Rigid bronchoscopy is often an indispensable procedure in the therapeutic management of a wide variety of tracheobronchial disorders. However, it is performed at only a few centers in adult patients in India. Herein, we report our initial 1-year experience with this procedure. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study on the indications, outcomes, and safety of various rigid bronchoscopy procedures performed between November 2009 and October 2010. Improvement in dyspnea, cough, and the overall quality of life was recorded on a visual analog scale from 0 to 100 mm. A systematic review of PubMed was performed to identify studies reporting the use of rigid bronchoscopy from India. Results: Thirty-eight rigid bronchoscopies (50 procedures were performed in 19 patients during the study period. The commonest indication was benign tracheal stenosis followed by central airway tumor, and the procedures performed were rigid bronchoplasty, tumor debulking, and stent placement. The median procedure duration was 45 (range, 30-65 min. There was significant improvement in quality of life associated with therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy. Minor procedural complications were encountered in 18 bronchoscopies, and there was no procedural mortality. The systematic review identified 15 studies, all on the role of rigid bronchoscopy in foreign body removal. Conclusions: Rigid bronchoscopy is a safe and effective modality for treatment of a variety of tracheobronchial disorders. There is a dire need of rigid bronchoscopy training at teaching hospitals in India.

Systematic reviews addressing identified health policy priorities in Eastern Mediterranean countries: a situational analysis.

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El-Jardali, Fadi; Akl, Elie A; Karroum, Lama Bou; Kdouh, Ola; Akik, Chaza; Fadlallah, Racha; Hammoud, Rawan

2014-08-20

Systematic reviews can offer policymakers and stakeholders concise, transparent, and relevant evidence pertaining to pressing policy priorities to help inform the decision-making process. The production and the use of systematic reviews are specifically limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities in the region is still unknown. This situational analysis exercise aims at assessing the extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities identified by policymakers and stakeholders in Eastern Mediterranean region countries. It also provides an overview about the state of systematic review production in the region and identifies knowledge gaps. We conducted a systematic search of the Health System Evidence database to identify published systematic reviews on policy-relevant priorities pertaining to the following themes: human resources for health, health financing, the role of the non-state sector, and access to medicine. Priorities were identified from two priority-setting exercises conducted in the region. We described the distribution of these systematic reviews across themes, sub-themes, authors' affiliations, and countries where included primary studies were conducted. Out of the 1,045 systematic reviews identified in Health System Evidence on selected themes, a total of 200 systematic reviews (19.1%) addressed the priorities from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The theme with the largest number of systematic reviews included was human resources for health (115) followed by health financing (33), access to medicine (27), and role of the non-state sector (25). Authors based in the region produced only three systematic reviews addressing regional priorities (1.5%). Furthermore, no systematic review focused on the Eastern Mediterranean region. Primary studies from the region had limited contribution to systematic reviews; 17 systematic reviews (8.5%) included primary

Systematic reviews addressing identified health policy priorities in Eastern Mediterranean countries: a situational analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Systematic reviews can offer policymakers and stakeholders concise, transparent, and relevant evidence pertaining to pressing policy priorities to help inform the decision-making process. The production and the use of systematic reviews are specifically limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities in the region is still unknown. This situational analysis exercise aims at assessing the extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities identified by policymakers and stakeholders in Eastern Mediterranean region countries. It also provides an overview about the state of systematic review production in the region and identifies knowledge gaps. Methods We conducted a systematic search of the Health System Evidence database to identify published systematic reviews on policy-relevant priorities pertaining to the following themes: human resources for health, health financing, the role of the non-state sector, and access to medicine. Priorities were identified from two priority-setting exercises conducted in the region. We described the distribution of these systematic reviews across themes, sub-themes, authors’ affiliations, and countries where included primary studies were conducted. Results Out of the 1,045 systematic reviews identified in Health System Evidence on selected themes, a total of 200 systematic reviews (19.1%) addressed the priorities from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The theme with the largest number of systematic reviews included was human resources for health (115) followed by health financing (33), access to medicine (27), and role of the non-state sector (25). Authors based in the region produced only three systematic reviews addressing regional priorities (1.5%). Furthermore, no systematic review focused on the Eastern Mediterranean region. Primary studies from the region had limited contribution to systematic reviews; 17 systematic reviews

Living systematic review: 1. Introduction-the why, what, when, and how.

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Julian H; Synnot, Anneliese; Turner, Tari; Simmonds, Mark; Akl, Elie A; McDonald, Steve; Salanti, Georgia; Meerpohl, Joerg; MacLehose, Harriet; Hilton, John; Tovey, David; Shemilt, Ian; Thomas, James

2017-11-01

Systematic reviews are difficult to keep up to date, but failure to do so leads to a decay in review currency, accuracy, and utility. We are developing a novel approach to systematic review updating termed "Living systematic review" (LSR): systematic reviews that are continually updated, incorporating relevant new evidence as it becomes available. LSRs may be particularly important in fields where research evidence is emerging rapidly, current evidence is uncertain, and new research may change policy or practice decisions. We hypothesize that a continual approach to updating will achieve greater currency and validity, and increase the benefits to end users, with feasible resource requirements over time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recording and accounting for stakeholder involvement in systematic reviews.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saan, M.; Boeije, H.; Sattoe, J.; Bal, M.; Missler, M.A.; van Wesel, F.

2015-01-01

Objectives: The use of stakeholders in systematic reviews is increasingly valued, but their influence on the systematicity of the review is often unclear. The aim of this study was to describe some of the processes of involvement of stakeholders and to demonstrate a Tool for Recording and Accounting

Metallic stent for the treatment of iliac arterial stenosis

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Park, Jae Hyung; Chung, Jin Wook; Han, Joon Koo; Suh, Chul Soo; Yoo, Jae Wook; Han, Man Chung [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Song, Chi Sung [Seoul City Boramae Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1993-07-15

In order to study the clinical efficacy of the metallic stent of the treatment of iliac arterial stenosis, the clinical and arteriographic findings of the 8 patients were retrospectively reviewed. All 8 patients were males with an age of 51 to 79. The Fontaine class for the functional status of lower extremities was II in 4 patients, III in 3 patents and IV in 1 patient. Self expandable Gianturco stent was inserted of in 7 iliac arteries and balloon expandable Palmaz stent was inserted in 2 iliac arteries in the 8 patients. The indications for the metallic stent application were localized dissection with significant residual stenosis in 6 sites, recoiling due to calcification in one case and eccentricity of the stenosislesionin 2 sites. The deployment of the metallic stent was successful in all the cases to maintain the patency of iliac arteries with residual stenosis less than 30%. The Fontaine class was improved to 1 in 6 patients, IIa in 1 patient and IIb in another one. During the follow up period of 3 to 14 month, none except one developed recurrence of the symptom. On the basis of our experience, we believe that metallic stent is safe and effective for the treatment of iliac arterial stenosis. However, we think that it is a complementary measure to the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. The comparative study between different types of metallic stent and the long term effect should be investigated further.

Kefir and Cancer: A Systematic Review of Literatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Rafie, Nahid; Golpour Hamedani, Sahar; Ghiasvand, Reza; Miraghajani, Maryam

2015-12-01

Some studies have suggested chemopreventive effects of kefir, a fermented milk product, on carcinogenesis. The aim of this review study was to evaluate the scientific evidence for effects of kefir on cancer prevention and treatment. We systematically searched for all relevant studies published before June 2015, using PubMed, Google scholar, Cochrane and Science Direct, SID, MedLib and Srlst databases. Relevant studies were reviewed based on systematic review (PRISMA) guidelines. From a total of 2208 papers obtained at the initial database search, 11 publications including 7 in vitro and 4 experimental studies were eligible. In vitro studies on breast, colon, skin and gastric cancers and leukemia cell lines and experimental studies on different sarcomas consistently showed beneficial effects of kefir on cancer prevention and treatment. The results of this systematic review suggest that kefir may be associated with cancer prevention and it also has beneficial effects in cancer treatment. This protection may be associated with kefir bioactive components including peptides, polysaccharides and sphingolipids.

Clinical role of non-contrast magnetic resonance angiography for evaluation of renal artery stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Utsunomiya, Daisuke; Nomitsu, Yohei; Komeda, Yosuke; Okigawa, Takashi; Urata, Joji; Miyazaki, Mitsue; Yamashita, Yasuyuki

2008-01-01

The association between a gadolinium-based contrast material and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis has been discussed. The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether non-contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) might provide sufficient information of renal artery stenosis. The non-contrast MRA of 26 patients with hypertension was retrospectively reviewed in the present study. The significant renal artery stenosis was visually evaluated by comparing non-contrast MRA with computed tomography or conventional angiographic finding. Difference of the intensities between the proximal and distal aorta was quantitatively evaluated. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of non-contrast MRA in the evaluation of the renal artery stenosis was 78%, 91%, 64% and 96%, respectively. The distal abdominal aorta showed less signal intensity than the proximal aorta by 16.9±12.2%. Non-contrast MRA is a non-invasive and effective method that allows evaluation of the renal artery stenosis. (author)

Moving toward the automation of the systematic review process: a summary of discussions at the second meeting of International Collaboration for the Automation of Systematic Reviews (ICASR).

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O'Connor, Annette M; Tsafnat, Guy; Gilbert, Stephen B; Thayer, Kristina A; Wolfe, Mary S

2018-01-09

The second meeting of the International Collaboration for Automation of Systematic Reviews (ICASR) was held 3-4 October 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. ICASR is an interdisciplinary group whose aim is to maximize the use of technology for conducting rapid, accurate, and efficient systematic reviews of scientific evidence. Having automated tools for systematic review should enable more transparent and timely review, maximizing the potential for identifying and translating research findings to practical application. The meeting brought together multiple stakeholder groups including users of summarized research, methodologists who explore production processes and systematic review quality, and technologists such as software developers, statisticians, and vendors. This diversity of participants was intended to ensure effective communication with numerous stakeholders about progress toward automation of systematic reviews and stimulate discussion about potential solutions to identified challenges. The meeting highlighted challenges, both simple and complex, and raised awareness among participants about ongoing efforts by various stakeholders. An outcome of this forum was to identify several short-term projects that participants felt would advance the automation of tasks in the systematic review workflow including (1) fostering better understanding about available tools, (2) developing validated datasets for testing new tools, (3) determining a standard method to facilitate interoperability of tools such as through an application programming interface or API, and (4) establishing criteria to evaluate the quality of tools' output. ICASR 2016 provided a beneficial forum to foster focused discussion about tool development and resources and reconfirm ICASR members' commitment toward systematic reviews' automation.

The systematic review team: contributions of the health sciences librarian.

Science.gov (United States)

Dudden, Rosalind F; Protzko, Shandra L

2011-01-01

While the role of the librarian as an expert searcher in the systematic review process is widely recognized, librarians also can be enlisted to help systematic review teams with other challenges. This article reviews the contributions of librarians to systematic reviews, including communicating methods of the review process, collaboratively formulating the research question and exclusion criteria, formulating the search strategy on a variety of databases, documenting the searches, record keeping, and writing the search methodology. It also discusses challenges encountered such as irregular timelines, providing education, communication, and learning new technologies for record keeping. Rewards include building relationships with researchers, expanding professional expertise, and receiving recognition for contributions to health care outcomes.

Calcium intake and risk of fracture: systematic review

OpenAIRE

Bolland, Mark J; Leung, William; Tai, Vicky; Bastin, Sonja; Gamble, Greg D; Grey, Andrew; Reid, Ian R

2015-01-01

Objective To examine the evidence underpinning recommendations to increase calcium intake through dietary sources or calcium supplements to prevent fractures. Design Systematic review of randomised controlled trials and observational studies of calcium intake with fracture as an endpoint. Results from trials were pooled with random effects meta-analyses. Data sources Ovid Medline, Embase, PubMed, and references from relevant systematic reviews. Initial searches undertaken in July 2013 and upd...

Clinical application of the Natural Y stent in the management of benign carinal stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Hae-Seong; Um, Sang Won; Koh, Won-Jung; Suh, Gee Young; Chung, Man Pyo; Kwon, O Jung; Kim, Jhingook; Kim, Hojoong

2009-08-01

The Y-shaped structure of the carinal bifurcation causes difficulties in the treatment of carinal stenosis. We describe a new Y-shaped silicone stent, called the Natural Y stent. We investigated its clinical efficacy through a review of patients with benign carinal stenosis who undewent consecutive Natural Y stent placement. Between January 2004 and February 2008, 11 patients underwent ballooning, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser resection, or bougienation (by rigid bronchoscopy) to dilate the airway, followed by placement of the Natural Y stent. The underlying etiologies of carinal stenosis included posttuberculosis stricture in 7 patients (64%), postintubation stenosis in 2 (18%), and postoperative malacia in 2 (18%). All patients reported subjective symptomatic relief immediately after stent placement. No procedurally related deaths or immediate major complications occurred. Stent-related late complications included granulation tissue formation (64%) and mucostasis (18%, defined as > or = 50% narrowing). The median duration of overall stent placement was 439 days (range, 119 to 1729 days). The stents were successfully removed in 4 patients (36%) after a median of 409 days. The Natural Y stent provides an effective and feasible therapeutic modality in patients with benign carinal stenosis, with or without previous thoracic airway interventions.

Association of Childhood Obesity and the Immune System: A Systematic Review of Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelishadi, Roya; Roufarshbaf, Mohammad; Soheili, Sina; Payghambarzadeh, Farzaneh; Masjedi, Mohsen

2017-08-01

The growing prevalence of childhood obesity has become a serious health problem over the past decades. As the immune system is greatly affected by excess weight, in this review of reviews, we discuss the findings of review articles about the relationship between childhood/maternal obesity and children's immune system. We searched English-language articles in PubMed, Scopus, ISI Thomson Reuters, and Google Scholar databases. All relevant reviews, either systematic or narrative, were retrieved. Then their quality was assessed by using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews and International Narrative Systematic Assessment tools, respectively. In the final step, 26 reviews were included. Our review suggests that childhood obesity is associated with extensive changes in the serum levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and proteins, as well as the number of immune cells and their behavior. Therefore, it might cause or exacerbate diseases such as asthma, allergy, atopic dermatitis (AD), and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Moreover, childhood obesity may reduce the immune system responsiveness to vaccines and microorganisms. Furthermore, studies suggest that maternal obesity increases the risk of asthma in offspring. Future studies are needed to determine different associations of childhood obesity with allergy, atophic dermatitis, and autoimmune diseases.

A competency framework for librarians involved in systematic reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Whitney A. Townsend

2017-07-01

Conclusions: The Systematic Review Competencies Framework provides a standards-based, flexible way for librarians and organizations to identify areas of competence and areas in need of development to build capacity for systematic review integration. The framework can be used to identify or develop appropriate assessment tools and to target skill development opportunities.

Reporting Quality of Search Methods in Systematic Reviews of HIV Behavioral Interventions (2000–2010): Are the Searches Clearly Explained, Systematic and Reproducible?

Science.gov (United States)

Mullins, Mary M.; DeLuca, Julia B.; Crepaz, Nicole; Lyles, Cynthia M.

2018-01-01

Systematic reviews are an essential tool for researchers, prevention providers and policy makers who want to remain current with the evidence in the field. Systematic review must adhere to strict standards, as the results can provide a more objective appraisal of evidence for making scientific decisions than traditional narrative reviews. An integral component of a systematic review is the development and execution of a comprehensive systematic search to collect available and relevant information. A number of reporting guidelines have been developed to ensure quality publications of systematic reviews. These guidelines provide the essential elements to include in the review process and report in the final publication for complete transparency. We identified the common elements of reporting guidelines and examined the reporting quality of search methods in HIV behavioral intervention literature. Consistent with the findings from previous evaluations of reporting search methods of systematic reviews in other fields, our review shows a lack of full and transparent reporting within systematic reviews even though a plethora of guidelines exist. This review underscores the need for promoting the completeness of and adherence to transparent systematic search reporting within systematic reviews. PMID:26052651

Living systematic reviews: an emerging opportunity to narrow the evidence-practice gap.

OpenAIRE

Julian H Elliott; Tari Turner; Ornella Clavisi; James Thomas; Julian P T Higgins; Chris Mavergames; Russell L Gruen

2014-01-01

The current difficulties in keeping systematic reviews up to date leads to considerable inaccuracy, hampering the translation of knowledge into action. Incremental advances in conventional review updating are unlikely to lead to substantial improvements in review currency. A new approach is needed. We propose living systematic review as a contribution to evidence synthesis that combines currency with rigour to enhance the accuracy and utility of health evidence. Living systematic reviews are ...

Side effects are incompletely reported among systematic reviews in gastroenterology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahady, Suzanne E; Schlub, Timothy; Bero, Lisa; Moher, David; Tovey, David; George, Jacob; Craig, Jonathan C

2015-02-01

Systematic reviews are an integral component of evidence-based health care. However, little is known on how well they report the potential harms of interventions. We assessed the reporting of harms in recently published systematic reviews of interventions relevant to clinical gastroenterology. We identified all systematic reviews of randomized trials of gastroenterology interventions published from 2008 to 2012 in highly cited gastroenterology and general medical journals. We adapted the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines for harms and assessed qualitative and quantitative parameters of harms reporting. Regression analyses determined predictors of more comprehensive harms reporting. In total, 78 systematic reviews were identified, with 72 published in gastroenterology journals and six in general medical journals. Overall, one in three systematic reviews (26/78, 33%) did not refer to harms of the intervention anywhere in the article. Less than half of the studies included adverse events as an outcome measure, and data on absolute rates of adverse events were only provided in 28%. Most (65%) did not include any figures or tables on adverse event; however, all included these on efficacy outcomes (mean, 3 and range, 1-7). Regression analyses indicated that the use of reporting guidelines was significantly associated with better harms reporting (P = 0.04). The reporting of harms in gastroenterology systematic reviews is largely inadequate and highly asymmetrical compared with the reporting of benefits. We suggest that review authors routinely assess both efficacy and harms outcomes of an intervention and that reporting guidelines specifically targeting harms reporting be developed. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Haematological factors in the management of adult epistaxis: systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, A; Biffen, A; Pilkington, N; Arrick, L; Williams, R J; Smith, M E; Smith, M; Birchall, J

2017-12-01

The management of epistaxis requires an understanding of haematological factors that may complicate its treatment. This systematic review includes six distinct reviews examining the evidence supporting epistaxis-specific management strategies relating to warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants, heparin, antiplatelet agents, tranexamic acid and transfusion. A systematic review of the literature was performed using a standardised methodology and search strategy. Limited numbers of articles were identified in each systematic review, with level 1 evidence only regarding the use of tranexamic acid. No studies met the inclusion criteria within the heparin, direct oral anticoagulants or transfusion systematic reviews. Many studies were limited by small sample sizes and significant risk of bias. The management of major bleeding and transfusion practice is well documented in national guidance from multiple sources. The guidelines include advice on anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents and tranexamic acid. In the absence of more specific evidence, these guidelines should be applied in the management of epistaxis.

The evidence base for psychological interventions for rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Prothero, Louise; Barley, Elizabeth; Galloway, James; Georgopoulou, Sofia; Sturt, Jackie

2018-06-01

Psychological interventions are an important but often overlooked adjunctive treatment option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Findings from systematic reviews of psychological interventions for this patient group are conflicting. A systematic review of reviews can explain inconsistencies between studies and provide a clearer understanding of the effects of interventions. To: 1) determine the effectiveness of psychological interventions in improving biopsychosocial outcomes for adults with rheumatoid arthritis, 2) determine the relationship between the intensity of the psychological interventions (number of sessions, duration of sessions, duration of intervention) on outcomes, and 3) assess the impact of comparator group (usual care, education only) on outcomes. We conducted a systematic review of reviews using the following inclusion criteria: 1) randomised controlled trials of psychological interventions (including cognitive behavioural therapy, supportive counselling, psychotherapy, self-regulatory techniques, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and disclosure therapy) provided as an adjunct to medication, 2) included rheumatoid arthritis patients aged ≥ 18 years, 3) reported findings for at least 1 of the primary outcomes: pain, fatigue, psychological status, functional disability and disease activity and 4) were published in English between January 2000 and March 2015 (updated January 2018). We searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects. Reference lists were searched for additional reviews. Study selection and 50% of the quality assessments were performed by two independent reviewers. Methodological quality was measured using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews checklist. Data extraction was conducted by one reviewer using a predesigned data extraction form. Eight systematic reviews met inclusion criteria (one review was excluded due to

Subglottic stenosis in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's granulomatosis): Report of 4 cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Horta-Baas, Gabriel; Hernández-Cabrera, María Fernanda; Catana, Rocío; Pérez-Cristóbal, Mario; Barile-Fabris, Leonor Adriana

2016-01-01

Subglottic stenosis (SGS) in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) may result from active disease or from chronic recurrent inflammation. The objective of the study was to describe the clinical features and treatment of patients with subglottic stenosis. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients with SGS due to GPA diagnosed at Rheumatology deparment between January 2000 and June 2015. We present 4 cases of SGS at our department during a period of 15 years. The interval between the presentation of the GPA and SGS varied between 2 and 144 months. The leading symptoms of SGS were dyspnoea on exertion and stridor. Three patients presented SGS without evidence of systemic activity. Two patients presented SGS grade i and received tracheal dilatation; two recurred and three needed a tracheostomy due to severe airway-limiting stenosis. SGS presents high morbidity. Even though subglottic dilatation provides symptomatic relief, recurrences may present. Severe airway-limiting stenosis often requires tracheostomy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

Delayed complications after flow-diverter stenting: reactive in-stent stenosis and creeping stents.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, José E; Gomori, John Moshe; Moscovici, Samuel; Leker, Ronen R; Itshayek, Eyal

2014-07-01

We assessed the frequency and severity of changes in stent configuration and location after the treatment of intracranial aneurysms, and patterns of in-stent stenosis. We retrospectively reviewed data for consecutive aneurysm patients managed with endovascular implantation of flow-diverter stents (Silk Flow Diverter [Balt Extrusion, Montmorency, France] and Pipeline Embolization Device [ev3/Coviden, Minneapolis, MN, USA]) from October 2011 to July 2012. Routine 2, 6, 9-12, and 16-20 month follow-up angiograms were compared, with a focus on changes in stent configuration and location from immediately after deployment to angiographic follow-up, and the incidence and development of in-stent stenosis. Thirty-four patients with 42 aneurysms met inclusion criteria. The Silk device was implanted in 16 patients (47%, single device in 15), the Pipeline device in 18 (53%, single device in 16). On first follow-up angiography, in-stent stenosis was observed in 38% of Silk devices and 39% of Pipeline devices. In-stent stenosis was asymptomatic in 12 of 13 patients. One woman presented with transient ischemic attacks and required stent angioplasty due to end tapering and mild, diffuse in-stent stenosis. Configuration and location changes, including stent creeping and end tapering were seen in 2/16 patients (13%) with Silk devices, and 0/18 patients with Pipeline devices. We describe stent creeping and end tapering as unusual findings with the potential for delayed clinical complications. In-stent stenosis, with a unique behavior, is a frequent angiographic finding observed after flow-diverter stent implant. The stenosis is usually asymptomatic; however, close clinical and angiographic monitoring is mandatory for individualized management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alignment of systematic reviews published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Database of Abstracts and Reviews of Effectiveness with global burden-of-disease data: a bibliographic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoong, Sze Lin; Hall, Alix; Williams, Christopher M; Skelton, Eliza; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Wiggers, John; Karimkhani, Chante; Boyers, Lindsay N; Dellavalle, Robert P; Hilton, John; Wolfenden, Luke

2015-07-01

Systematic reviews of high-quality evidence are used to inform policy and practice. To improve community health, the production of such reviews should align with burden of disease. This study aims to assess if the volume of research output from systematic reviews proportionally aligns with burden of disease assessed using percentages of mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). A cross-sectional audit of reviews published between January 2012 and August 2013 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) was undertaken. Percentages of mortality and DALYs were obtained from the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study. Standardised residual differences (SRD) based on percentages of mortality and DALYs were calculated, where conditions with SRD of more than or less than three were considered overstudied or understudied, respectively. 1029 reviews from CDSR and 1928 reviews from DARE were examined. There was a significant correlation between percentage DALYs and systematic reviews published in CDSR and DARE databases (CDSR: r=0.68, p=0.001; DARE: r=0.60, psystematic reviews published in either database (CDSR: r=0.34, p=0.14; DARE: r=0.22, p=0.34). Relative to percentage of mortality, mental and behavioural disorders, musculoskeletal conditions and other non-communicable diseases were overstudied. Maternal disorders were overstudied relative to percentages of mortality and DALYs in CDSR. The focus of systematic reviews is moderately correlated with DALYs. A number of conditions may be overstudied relative to percentage of mortality particularly in the context of health and medical reviews. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Complementary therapies for peripheral arterial disease: systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Pittler, Max H; Ernst, Edzard

2005-07-01

While peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affects a considerable proportion of patients in the primary care setting, there is a high level of use of complementary treatment options. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of any type of complementary therapy for peripheral arterial disease. A systematic review was performed. Literature searches were conducted on Medline, Embase, Amed, and the Cochrane Library until December 2004. Hand-searches of medical journals and bibliographies were conducted. There were no restrictions regarding the language of publication. The screening of studies, selection, data extraction, the assessment of methodologic quality and validation were performed independently by the two reviewers. Data from randomized controlled trials, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which based their findings on the results of randomized controlled trials were included. Seven systematic reviews and meta-analyses and three additional randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. The evidence relates to acupuncture, biofeedback, chelation therapy, CO(2)-applications and the dietary supplements Allium sativum (garlic), Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo), omega-3 fatty acids, padma 28 and Vitamin E. Most studies included only patients with peripheral arterial disease in Fontaine stage II (intermittent claudication). The reviewed RCTs, systematic reviews and meta-analyses which based their findings on the results of RCTs suggest that G. biloba is effective compared with placebo for patients with intermittent claudication. Evidence also suggests that padma 28 is effective for intermittent claudication, although more data are required to confirm these findings. For all other complementary treatment options there is no evidence beyond reasonable doubt to suggest effectiveness for patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Preventing gender-based violence victimization in adolescent girls in lower-income countries: Systematic review of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Yount, Kathryn M; Krause, Kathleen H; Miedema, Stephanie S

2017-11-01

This systematic review of reviews synthesizes evidence on the impact of interventions to prevent violence against adolescent girls and young women 10-24 years (VAWG) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Theories of women's empowerment and the social ecology of multifaceted violence frame the review. Child abuse, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC), child marriage, intimate partner violence (IPV), and sexual violence were focal outcomes. Our review followed the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) for the systematic review of reviews, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for a systematic review of recent intervention studies. Of 35 reviews identified between June 7 and July 20, 2016, 18 were non-duplicate systematic reviews of medium-to-high quality. Half of these 18 reviews focused on interventions to prevent IPV. Only four focused on adolescents, of which three focused on child marriage and one compared findings across early and late adolescence. None focused on interventions to prevent child abuse or sexual violence in adolescent/young women. From these 18 reviews and the supplemental systematic review of intervention studies, data were extracted on 34 experimental or quasi-experimental intervention studies describing 28 interventions. Almost all intervention studies measured impacts on one form of VAWG. Most studies assessed impacts on child marriage (n = 13), then IPV (n = 8), sexual violence (n = 4), child abuse (n = 3), and FGMC (n = 3). Interventions included 1-6 components, involving skills to enhance voice/agency (n = 17), social networks (n = 14), human resources like schooling (n = 10), economic incentives (n = 9), community engagement (n = 11) and community infrastructure development (n = 6). Bundled individual-level interventions and multilevel interventions had more favorable impacts on VAWG. Interventions involving community engagement, skill-building to

Addressing resistance to antibiotics in systematic reviews of antibiotic interventions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leibovici, Leonard; Paul, Mical; Garner, Paul

2016-01-01

Antibiotics are among the most important interventions in healthcare. Resistance of bacteria to antibiotics threatens the effectiveness of treatment. Systematic reviews of antibiotic treatments often do not address resistance to antibiotics even when data are available in the original studies....... This omission creates a skewed view, which emphasizes short-term efficacy and ignores the long-term consequences to the patient and other people. We offer a framework for addressing antibiotic resistance in systematic reviews. We suggest that the data on background resistance in the original trials should...... controlled trials or systematic reviews....

A Youth Suicide Prevention Plan for Canada: A Systematic Review of Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Kathryn; Rhodes, Anne E; Duda, Stephanie; Cheung, Amy H; Manassis, Katharina; Links, Paul; Mushquash, Christopher; Braunberger, Peter; Newton, Amanda S; Kutcher, Stanley; Bridge, Jeffrey A; Santos, Robert G; Manion, Ian G; Mclennan, John D; Bagnell, Alexa; Lipman, Ellen; Rice, Maureen; Szatmari, Peter

2015-06-01

We conducted an expedited knowledge synthesis (EKS) to facilitate evidence-informed decision making concerning youth suicide prevention, specifically school-based strategies and nonschool-based interventions designed to prevent repeat attempts. Systematic review of review methods were applied. Inclusion criteria were as follows: systematic review or meta-analysis; prevention in youth 0 to 24 years; peer-reviewed English literature. Review quality was determined with AMSTAR (a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews). Nominal group methods quantified consensus on recommendations derived from the findings. No included review addressing school-based prevention (n = 7) reported decreased suicide death rates based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled cohort studies (CCSs), but reduced suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and proxy measures of suicide risk were reported (based on RCTs and CCSs). Included reviews addressing prevention of repeat suicide attempts (n = 14) found the following: emergency department transition programs may reduce suicide deaths, hospitalizations, and treatment nonadherence (based on RCTs and CCSs); training primary care providers in depression treatment may reduce repeated attempts (based on one RCT); antidepressants may increase short-term suicide risk in some patients (based on RCTs and meta-analyses); this increase is offset by overall population-based reductions in suicide associated with antidepressant treatment of youth depression (based on observational studies); and prevention with psychosocial interventions requires further evaluation. No review addressed sex or gender differences systematically, Aboriginal youth as a special population, harm, or cost-effectiveness. Consensus on 6 recommendations ranged from 73% to 100%. Our EKS facilitates decision maker access to what is known about effective youth suicide prevention interventions. A national research-to-practice network that links researchers and decision

The diastal urethral stenosis in female children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pauer, W.

1985-01-01

The distal urethral stenosis in female children is a pathological reality. It is represented by the hymenal hood, the meatal stenosis and the distal urethral ring. Diagnosis and localisation of the stenosis is maintained by calibration with bougies a boule. Therapeutical consequences are: internal urethrotomy, bilateral meatotomy and excision of hymenal hoods. (Author)

Factors that influence the implementation of e-health: a systematic review of systematic reviews (an update

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamie Ross

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a significant potential for e-health to deliver cost-effective, quality health care, and spending on e-health systems by governments and healthcare systems is increasing worldwide. However, there remains a tension between the use of e-health in this way and implementation. Furthermore, the large body of reviews in the e-health implementation field, often based on one particular technology, setting or health condition make it difficult to access a comprehensive and comprehensible summary of available evidence to help plan and undertake implementation. This review provides an update and re-analysis of a systematic review of the e-health implementation literature culminating in a set of accessible and usable recommendations for anyone involved or interested in the implementation of e-health. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and The Cochrane Library were searched for studies published between 2009 and 2014. Studies were included if they were systematic reviews of the implementation of e-health. Data from included studies were synthesised using the principles of meta-ethnography, and categorisation of the data was informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR. Results Forty-four reviews mainly from North America and Europe were included. A range of e-health technologies including electronic medical records and clinical decision support systems were represented. Healthcare settings included primary care, secondary care and home care. Factors important for implementation were identified at the levels of the following: the individual e-health technology, the outer setting, the inner setting and the individual health professionals as well as the process of implementation. Conclusion This systematic review of reviews provides a synthesis of the literature that both acknowledges the multi-level complexity of e-health implementation and provides an accessible and useful guide for those

Book review: Doing a Systematic Review: A Student's Guide, edited by Angela Boland, M. Gemma Cherry & Rumona Dickson

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lecheler, S.

2014-01-01

Writing a systematic review is one of the most challenging aspects of the academic process. With Doing a Systematic Review: A Student’s Guide, Angela Boland, M. Gemma Cherry and Rumona Dickson aim to offer a detailed and effective guide to writing a successful systematic review. This takes the book

Is compensation "bad for health"? A systematic meta-review.

Science.gov (United States)

Spearing, Natalie M; Connelly, Luke B

2011-01-01

There is a common perception that injury compensation has a negative impact on health status, and systematic reviews supporting this thesis have been used to influence policy and practice decisions. This study evaluates the quality of the empirical evidence of a negative correlation between injury compensation and health outcomes, based on systematic reviews involving both verifiable and non-verifiable injuries. Systematic meta-review (a "review of reviews"). PubMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, PEDro, PsycInfo, EconLit, Lexis, ABI/INFORM, The Cochrane Library, and the AHRQ EPC were searched from the date of their inception to August 2008, and hand searches were conducted. Selection criteria were established a priori. Included systematic reviews examined the impact of compensation on health, involved adults, were published in English and used a range of outcome measures. Two investigators independently applied standard instruments to evaluate the methodological quality of the included reviews. Data on compensation scheme design (i.e., the intervention) and outcome measures were also extracted. Eleven systematic reviews involving verifiable and non-verifiable injuries met the inclusion criteria. Nine reviews reported an association between compensation and poor health outcomes. All of them were affected by the generally low quality of the primary (observational) research in this field, the heterogeneous nature of compensation laws (schemes) and legal processes for seeking compensation, and the difficulties in measuring compensation in relation to health. Notwithstanding the limitations of the research in this field, one higher quality review examining a single compensation process and relying on primary studies using health outcome (rather than proxy) measures found strong evidence of no association between litigation and poor health following whiplash, challenging the general belief that legal processes have a negative impact on health status. Moves to alter scheme design and

Susceptibility to fraud in systematic reviews: lessons from the Reuben case

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marret, Emmanuel; Elia, Nadia; Dahl, Jørgen B

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Dr. Scott Reuben allegedly fabricated data. The authors of the current article examined the impact of Reuben reports on conclusions of systematic reviews. METHODS: The authors searched in ISI Web of Knowledge systematic reviews citing Reuben reports. Systematic reviews were grouped...... of patients from Reuben reports was less than 30% of all patients included in the analysis. Of 8 qualitative category III reviews, all authors agreed that one would certainly have reached different conclusions without Reuben reports. For another 4, the authors' judgment was not unanimous. CONCLUSIONS...... into one of three categories: I, only cited but did not include Reuben reports; II, retrieved and considered, but eventually excluded Reuben reports; III, included Reuben reports. For quantitative systematic reviews (i.e., meta-analyses), a relevant difference was defined as a significant result becoming...

Diagnostic method for lumbar foraminal stenosis based on the clinical results of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Utility of the foraminal stenosis score

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Katsutaka; Nakamura, Jun-ichiro; Mitsugi, Naoto; Sato, Masatsune; Saito, Tomoyuki

2010-01-01

In this study we analyzed 73 cases treated by transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) for lumbar foraminal stenosis or central canal stenosis and foraminal stenosis, and based on the perioperative findings and outcome of treatment, we considered the diagnostic procedure for lumbar foraminal stenosis in the future. In 25 cases (34.2%) cases there was actually no clear perioperative evidence of foraminal stenosis. We compared the preoperative clinical and imaging findings in the group with perioperative findings and the group without perioperative findings performed a multiple logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with foraminal stenosis. We also calculated the odds ratio for the perioperative findings and proposed a foraminal stenosis scoring system. (author)

Systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of transcatheter interventions for valvular heart disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gialama, Fotini; Prezerakos, Panagiotis; Apostolopoulos, Vasilis; Maniadakis, Nikolaos

2018-04-01

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) are increasingly used for managing patients with valvular heart disease to whom surgery presents a high-risk. As these are costly procedures, a systematic review of studies concerned with their economic assessment was undertaken. The search was performed in PubMed and the Cochrane Library and followed recommended methodological steps. Studies were screened and their data were retrieved and were synthesized using a narrative approach. Twenty-four, good to high quality, evaluations were identified, representing different viewpoints, modelling techniques and willingness-to-pay thresholds. Studies show that in high-risk patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis, TAVI may be cost-effective compared with medical management (MM) across many health care settings. In contrast, studies of TAVI compared with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) yield conflicting and inconclusive results. The limited data available show that TMVR may also be cost-effective relative to MM in mitral valve disease. Existing evidence indicates that transcatheter techniques may be cost-effective options, relative to MM, in high-risk patients with valvular disease. Nonetheless, more research is needed to establish their economic value further, to investigate the drives of cost-effectiveness, and to evaluate surgical with transcatheter techniques in aortic valvular disease.

Internal auditory canal (IAC) stenosis: imaging Findings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortiz Jimenez, Johanna; Roa, Jose Luis; Figuero A, Ramon E

2011-01-01

Objectives: To describe the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) findings in a patient with a diagnosis of internal auditory canal (IAC) stenosis. To describe the embryological development of the IAC structures and the natural history of IAC stenosis. Methods: A 4 year old girl presents with sensorineural hearing loss and bilateral recurrent otitis media. The temporal bone CT shows diminished left IAC diameter (less than 2 mm), right IAC absence and normal inner ear structures. These findings are pathognomonic for left IAC stenosis. The MR findings include left IAC stenosis and IAC neural structures absence secondary to aplasia of the vestibulocochlear nerve on each IAC . Results: Hypoplasia/aplasia of the vestibulocochlear nerve in association with IAC stenosis is an important consideration in the differential diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss, as it is a relative contraindication for cochlear implant placement. Conclusions: IAC stenosis and vestibulocochlear nerve hypoplasia/aplasia must be excluded as an etiology of sensorineural hearing loss. The diagnosis can be made by CT and MR.

Internal auditory canal (IAC) stenosis: Imaging findings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortiz J, Johanna; Roa, Jose L; Figueroa Ramon E

2011-01-01

Objectives: To describe the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) findings in a patient with a diagnosis of internal auditory canal (IAC) stenosis. To describe the embryological development of the IAC structures and the natural history of IAC stenosis. Methods: A 4 year old girl presents with sensorineural hearing loss and bilateral recurrent otitis media. The temporal bone CT shows diminished left IAC diameter (less than 2 mm), right IAC absence and normal inner ear structures. These findings are pathognomonic for left IAC stenosis. The MR findings include left IAC stenosis and IAC neural structures absence secondary to aplasia of the vestibulocochlear nerve on each IAC. Results: Hypoplasia/aplasia of the vestibulocochlear nerve in association with IAC stenosis is an important consideration in the differential diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss, as it is a relative contraindication for cochlear implant placement. Conclusions: IAC stenosis and vestibulocochlear nerve hypoplasia/aplasia must be excluded as an etiology of sensorineural hearing loss. The diagnosis can be made by CT and MR.

Sublingual immunotherapy in children with allergic rhinitis : quality of systematic reviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Bot, Cindy M. A.; Moed, Heleen; Berger, Marjolein Y.; Roeder, Esther; van Wijk, Roy G.; van der Wouden, Johannes C.

Systematic reviews have gained popularity as a way to combine the increasing amount of research information. This study assessed the quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) for allergic rhinitis in children, published since 2000. Eligible reviews were

[Medical indications for acupuncture: Systematic review].

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz-Ortego, Juan; Solans-Domènech, Maite; Carrion, Carme

2016-09-16

Acupuncture is a medical procedure with a very wide range of indications according to the WHO. However the indications require robust scientific evidence to support them. We have conducted a systematic review (2010-2015) in order to define in which pathologies acupuncture can be an effective strategy, STRICTA criteria that aim to set up acupuncture clinical trials standard criteria were defined in 2010. Only systematic reviews and meta-analyses of good or very good methodological quality according to SIGN criteria were selected. Its main objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of any disease. Most of the final 31 selected reviews focus on chronic pain-related diseases, mainly in the disciplines of Neurology, Orthopaedics and Rheumatology. Current evidence supports the use of acupuncture in the treatment of headaches, migraines, back pain, cervical pain and osteoarthritis. The remaining pathologies still require further good quality studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The Association of Cardiovascular Disorders and Falls : A Systematic Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, Sofie; Bhangu, Jaspreet; de Rooij, Sophia; Daams, Joost; Kenny, Rose Anne; van der Velde, Nathalie

2016-01-01

Objective: Cardiovascular disorders are recognized as risk factors for falls in older adults. The aim of this systematic review was to identify cardiovascular disorders that are associated with falls, thus providing angles for optimization of fall-preventive care. Design: Systematic review. Data

Advancing Systematic Review Workshop (December 2015)

Science.gov (United States)

EPA hosted an event to examine the systematic review process for development and applications of methods for different types of evidence (epidemiology, animal toxicology, and mechanistic). The presentations are also available.

Systematic literature review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barnard, K. D.; Lloyd, C. E.; Skinner, T. C.

2007-01-01

mixed results, with one study reporting quality of life benefits and one reporting no evidence of quality of life benefits. Conclusions: There is conflicting evidence reported in the various studies on the quality of life benefits of CSII in Type 1 diabetes. Existing research is flawed, making......Aim: To review systematically the published literature addressing whether continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) provides any quality of life benefits to people with Type 1 diabetes. Methods: Electronic databases and published references were searched and a consultation with two...

Aetiology of auditory dysfunction in amusia: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Casey, Daniel Aj

2013-04-24

Amusia, a music-specific agnosia, is a disorder of pitch interval analysis and pitch direction change recognition which results in a deficit in musical ability. The full range of aetiological factors which cause this condition is unknown, as is each cause's frequency. The objective of this study was to identify all causes of amusia, and to measure each of their frequencies. systematic review was conducted by search of multiple databases for articles related to the aetiology of amusic auditory dysfunction. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for reporting of systematic reviews were followed, utilizing the PRISMA checklist and PRISMA flowchart methodology. Retrospective medical database review. evidence yielded from the systematic review process. The initial search protocol identified 5723 articles. Application of a classification review filter and exclusion of irrelevant or duplicates led to the initial identification of 56 relevant studies which detailed 301 patients. However, these studies were of poor quality. Because of this, synthesis and statistical analysis were not appropriate. Although initially a large number of relevant studies were identified, and might point in future to potential diagnostic categories, it was not appropriate to synthesise and analyse them due to poor quality, considerable heterogeneity and small numbers. This suggests that large, high quality studies focussed directly on understanding the aetiology of amusia are required.

Conducting systematic reviews of intervention questions I: Writing the review protocol, formulating the question and searching the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, A M; Anderson, K M; Goodell, C K; Sargeant, J M

2014-06-01

This article is the fourth of six articles addressing systematic reviews in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine. Previous articles in the series have introduced systematic reviews, discussed study designs and hierarchies of evidence, and provided details on conducting randomized controlled trials, a common design for use in systematic reviews. This article describes development of a review protocol and the first two steps in a systematic review: formulating a review question, and searching the literature for relevant research. The emphasis is on systematic reviews of questions related to interventions. The review protocol is developed prior to conducting the review and specifies the plan for the conduct of the review, identifies the roles and responsibilities of the review team and provides structured definitions related to the review question. For intervention questions, the review question should be defined by the PICO components: population, intervention, comparison and outcome(s). The literature search is designed to identify all potentially relevant original research that may address the question. Search terms related to some or all of the PICO components are entered into literature databases, and searches for unpublished literature also are conducted. All steps of the literature search are documented to provide transparent reporting of the process. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Application of systematic review methodology to the field of nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Lichtenstein, Alice H; Yetley, Elizabeth A; Lau, Joseph

2008-12-01

Systematic reviews represent a rigorous and transparent approach to synthesizing scientific evidence that minimizes bias. They evolved within the medical community to support development of clinical and public health practice guidelines, set research agendas, and formulate scientific consensus statements. The use of systematic reviews for nutrition-related topics is more recent. Systematic reviews provide independently conducted comprehensive and objective assessments of available information addressing precise questions. This approach to summarizing available data is a useful tool for identifying the state of science including knowledge gaps and associated research needs, supporting development of science-based recommendations and guidelines, and serving as the foundation for updates as new data emerge. Our objective is to describe the steps for performing systematic reviews and highlight areas unique to the discipline of nutrition that are important to consider in data assessment. The steps involved in generating systematic reviews include identifying staffing and planning for outside expert input, forming a research team, developing an analytic framework, developing and refining research questions, defining eligibility criteria, identifying search terms, screening abstracts according to eligibility criteria, retrieving articles for evaluation, constructing evidence and summary tables, assessing methodological quality and applicability, and synthesizing results including performing meta-analysis, if appropriate. Unique and at times challenging, nutrition-related considerations include baseline nutrient exposure, nutrient status, bioequivalence of bioactive compounds, bioavailability, multiple and interrelated biological functions, undefined nature of some interventions, and uncertainties in intake assessment. Systematic reviews are a valuable and independent component of decision-making processes by groups responsible for developing science-based recommendations

Familial aggregation and heritability of pyloric stenosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, Camilla; Fischer, Thea K; Skotte, Line

2010-01-01

stenosis from monozygotic twins to fourth-generation relatives according to sex and maternal and paternal contributions and to estimate disease heritability. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Population-based cohort study of 1,999,738 children born in Denmark between 1977 and 2008 and followed up.......51-4.99) for half-cousins. We found no difference in rate ratios for maternal and paternal relatives of children with pyloric stenosis and no difference according to sex of cohort member or sex of relative. The heritability of pyloric stenosis was 87%. CONCLUSION: Pyloric stenosis in Danish children shows strong...... familial aggregation and heritability....

frequency of severe mitral stenosis in young female patients having pure mitral stenosis secondary to rheumatic heart disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, S.; Hayat, U.; Naz, H.

2010-01-01

High morbidity and mortality due to Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) associated with females is mainly because of late diagnosis on one hand and socioeconomic reasons on the other hand. Poor referral to tertiary care centres leads to delayed diagnosis which results in complications. The objectives of this cross-sectional descriptive study was to assess the frequency of severe mitral stenosis in woman of child bearing age, having pure mitral stenosis (MS) secondary to rheumatic heart disease. Methods: Two hundred and fifty women of child bearing age with RHD were enrolled in the study using consecutive non-probability sampling technique. Out of these 250 patients, cases of pure MS were selected. Patients with associated mitral regurgitation and aortic valve disease were excluded. After admission, assessment of mitral valve stenosis was done with 2D colour Doppler echocardiography. Results: Out of 250 consecutive patients of rheumatic carditis, 110 (44%) patients had pure mitral valve stenosis, 85 (34%) had stenosis with mitral regurgitation and 55 (22%) patients had both mitral and aortic valve problem of varying severity. Among 110 patients with pure mitral valve stenosis, 48 (43.6%) had severe mitral valve stenosis. Severe mitral valve gradient (MVG) and high pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was observed in 66 (60%) and 49 (44.5%) of the patients respectively. Conclusion: This high frequency can be linked to lack of early detection of the disease at primary level, poor management of throat infections and poor rheumatic fever prophylaxis at community level. (author )

Clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors in the treatment of sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Wang, Yun Fu; Chen, Ping You; Chang, Wei; Zhu, Fi Qi; Xu, Li Li; Wang, Song Lin; Chang, Li Ying; Luo, Jie; Liu, Guang Jian

2014-01-01

Currently, no satisfactory treatment is available for sciatica caused by herniated discs and/or spinal stenosis. The objective of this study is to assess the value of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors in the treatment of sciatica. Without language restrictions, we searched PubMed, OVID, EMBASE, the Web of Science, the Clinical Trials Registers, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the China Academic Library and Information System. We then performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the enrolled trials that met the inclusion criteria. Nine prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and two before-after controlled trials involving 531 patients met our inclusion criteria and were included in this study. Our systematic assessment and meta-analysis demonstrated that in terms of the natural course of the disease, compared with the control condition, TNF-α inhibitors neither significantly relieved lower back and leg pain (both p > 0.05) nor enhanced the proportion of patients who felt overall satisfaction (global perceived effect (satisfaction)) or were able to return to work (return to work) (combined endpoint; p > 0.05) at the short-term, medium-term and long-term follow-ups. In addition, compared with the control condition, TNF-α inhibitors could reduce the risk ratio (RR) of discectomy or radicular block (combined endpoint; RR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.26 to 1.00, p = 0.049) at medium-term follow-up, but did not decrease RR at the short-term (RR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.17 to 2.40, p = 0.508) and long-term follow-ups (RR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.40 to 1.03, p = 0.065). The currently available evidence demonstrated that other than reducing the RR of discectomy or radicular block (combined endpoint) at medium-term follow-up, TNF-α inhibitors showed limited clinical value in the treatment of sciatica caused by herniated discs and/or spinal stenosis.

Clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors in the treatment of sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Fu Wang

Full Text Available Currently, no satisfactory treatment is available for sciatica caused by herniated discs and/or spinal stenosis. The objective of this study is to assess the value of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α inhibitors in the treatment of sciatica.Without language restrictions, we searched PubMed, OVID, EMBASE, the Web of Science, the Clinical Trials Registers, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the China Academic Library and Information System. We then performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the enrolled trials that met the inclusion criteria.Nine prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs and two before-after controlled trials involving 531 patients met our inclusion criteria and were included in this study. Our systematic assessment and meta-analysis demonstrated that in terms of the natural course of the disease, compared with the control condition, TNF-α inhibitors neither significantly relieved lower back and leg pain (both p > 0.05 nor enhanced the proportion of patients who felt overall satisfaction (global perceived effect (satisfaction or were able to return to work (return to work (combined endpoint; p > 0.05 at the short-term, medium-term and long-term follow-ups. In addition, compared with the control condition, TNF-α inhibitors could reduce the risk ratio (RR of discectomy or radicular block (combined endpoint; RR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.26 to 1.00, p = 0.049 at medium-term follow-up, but did not decrease RR at the short-term (RR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.17 to 2.40, p = 0.508 and long-term follow-ups (RR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.40 to 1.03, p = 0.065.The currently available evidence demonstrated that other than reducing the RR of discectomy or radicular block (combined endpoint at medium-term follow-up, TNF-α inhibitors showed limited clinical value in the treatment of sciatica caused by herniated discs and/or spinal stenosis.

INTRACRANIAL STENOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CEREBROVASCULAR ACCIDENTS

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Hossein Zarei

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract    INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted to investigate pattern and risk factors associated with the location of atherosclerotic occlusive lesions in cerebral vessels. Previous studies of patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA suggest that extracranial atherosclerosis is more common in the white race. Noninvasive techniques such as duplex ultrasound, transcranial Doppler (TCD, and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA allow vascular assessment of a more representative proportion of the patients, compared to conventional angiography alone.    METHODS: We evaluated patients with cerebrovascular problems (stroke and/or TIA during a period of 6 months, using duplex ultrasonography, TCD and MRA to detect significant stenosis according to standard criteria.    RESULTS: Stenosis of extracranial and intracranial arteries was detected in 38% and 29% of cases, respectively. MCA was the most frequent involved intracranial artery (11% bilaterally and 5% unilaterally. Intracranial lesions tend to be multiple. There was no significant difference between men and women in terms of frequency and distribution of stenosis. No correlation was found between opium use and stenosis. The women had significantly more poor windows than men (P<0.05. The extracranial stenosis was significantly more frequent than intracranial stenosis (P<0.01.    CONCLUSION: The relations between hypertension and extracranial stenosis, and diabetes and MCA stenosis were statistically significant. TCD seemed to be a better technique for evaluating intracranial lesions in men than in women.      Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Stenosis, Carotid artery, Doppler Sonography.  

Hospitality and Tourism Online Review Research: A Systematic Analysis and Heuristic-Systematic Model

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Sunyoung Hlee

2018-04-01

Full Text Available With tremendous growth and potential of online consumer reviews, online reviews of hospitality and tourism are now playing a significant role in consumer attitude and buying behaviors. This study reviewed and analyzed hospitality and tourism related articles published in academic journals. The systematic approach was used to analyze 55 research articles between January 2008 and December 2017. This study presented a brief synthesis of research by investigating content-related characteristics of hospitality and tourism online reviews (HTORs in different market segments. Two research questions were addressed. Building upon our literature analysis, we used the heuristic-systematic model (HSM to summarize and classify the characteristics affecting consumer perception in previous HTOR studies. We believe that the framework helps researchers to identify the research topic in extended HTORs literature and to point out possible direction for future studies.

Living systematic reviews: an emerging opportunity to narrow the evidence-practice gap.

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Julian H; Turner, Tari; Clavisi, Ornella; Thomas, James; Higgins, Julian P T; Mavergames, Chris; Gruen, Russell L

2014-02-01

The current difficulties in keeping systematic reviews up to date leads to considerable inaccuracy, hampering the translation of knowledge into action. Incremental advances in conventional review updating are unlikely to lead to substantial improvements in review currency. A new approach is needed. We propose living systematic review as a contribution to evidence synthesis that combines currency with rigour to enhance the accuracy and utility of health evidence. Living systematic reviews are high quality, up-to-date online summaries of health research, updated as new research becomes available, and enabled by improved production efficiency and adherence to the norms of scholarly communication. Together with innovations in primary research reporting and the creation and use of evidence in health systems, living systematic review contributes to an emerging evidence ecosystem.

A systematic map of systematic reviews in pediatric dentistry--what do we really know?

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Ingegerd A Mejàre

Full Text Available To identify, appraise and summarize existing knowledge and knowledge gaps in practice-relevant questions in pediatric dentistry.A systematic mapping of systematic reviews was undertaken for domains considered important in daily clinical practice. The literature search covered questions in the following domains: behavior management problems/dental anxiety; caries risk assessment and caries detection including radiographic technologies; prevention and non-operative treatment of caries in primary and young permanent teeth; operative treatment of caries in primary and young permanent teeth; prevention and treatment of periodontal disease; management of tooth developmental and mineralization disturbances; prevention and treatment of oral conditions in children with chronic diseases/developmental disturbances/obesity; diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental erosion and tooth wear; treatment of traumatic injuries in primary and young permanent teeth and cost-effectiveness of these interventions. Abstracts and full text reviews were assessed independently by two reviewers and any differences were solved by consensus. AMSTAR was used to assess the risk of bias of each included systematic review. Reviews judged as having a low or moderate risk of bias were used to formulate existing knowledge and knowledge gaps.Out of 81 systematic reviews meeting the inclusion criteria, 38 were judged to have a low or moderate risk of bias. Half of them concerned caries prevention. The quality of evidence was high for a caries-preventive effect of daily use of fluoride toothpaste and moderate for fissure sealing with resin-based materials. For the rest the quality of evidence for the effects of interventions was low or very low.There is an urgent need for primary clinical research of good quality in most clinically-relevant domains in pediatric dentistry.

Bronchology Treatment Of The Malignant Airway Stenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slivka, R. et al

2007-01-01

Central airway stenosis is benign or malignant etiology. Multidiscplinary approach is useful in treatment central airway stenosis. In inoperable cases, interventional bronchology is good therapeutic alternative. We can use NdYAG laser, argon plasma coagulation, elektrocautery, cryotherapy, photodynamic therapy and stents for obstruction release. In malignant stenosis, we combine often methods of the interventional bronchology with brachytherapy, chemotherapy and external radiotherapy. (author)

[Segmental tracheal resection and anastomosis for the treatment of cicatricial stenosis in cervical tracheal].

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, P C; Luo, J S; Liu, Z; Bian, K; Guo, Z H; Ma, R N

2016-02-01

To evaluate the efficacy of segmental tracheal resection with end-to-end anastomosis for cicatricial cervical tracheal stenosis. The clinical outcomes of 40 patients treated with tracheal resection were retrospectively reviewed. There were 28 male patients and 12 female patients with the age ranged from 6 to 64 years (mean 33.7 years). The degree of stenosis was classified according to Myer-Cotton classification as follows: grade Ⅱ (n=7), grade Ⅲ (n=22) and grade Ⅳ (n=11). The stenosis extension ranged from 1.0 to 4.3 cm (mean 2.5 cm). The causes of the stenosis were postintubation (n=33), cervical trauma (n=6) and resection of tracheal neoplasm (n=1). Thirty-four(85.0%) patients were decannulated and 6 failed. Of the 6 patients failed, 4 were decannulated after reoperation with the sternohyoid myocutaneous flap or thyroid alar cartilage graft. Complications occurred in 10 patients. In 8 patients granulation tissues formed at the site of the tracheal anastomosis, which needed endoscopic resction, and in 2 patients anastomosic dehiscence occurred. No injury to recurrent laryngeal nerve or trachoesophageal fistula occurred. Segmental tracheal resection with end-to-end anastomosis is an effective surgical method for tracheal stenosis, which has a higher successful rate for primary operation and shorter therapeutic period.

Attention should be given to multiplicity issues in systematic reviews

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bender, R.; Bunce, C.; Clarke, M.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to describe the problem of multiple comparisons in systematic reviews and to provide some guidelines on how to deal with it in practice. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We describe common reasons for multiplicity in systematic reviews, and present some examples...

A bronchoscopic approach to benign subglottic stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Raman, Tuhina; Chatterjee, Kshitij; Alzghoul, Bashar N; Innabi, Ayoub A; Tulunay, Ozlem; Bartter, Thaddeus; Meena, Nikhil K

2017-01-01

Subglottic stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the tracheal lumen at the level of subglottis (the area in between the vocal cords and the cricoid cartilage). It can cause significant symptoms due to severe attenuation of airflow. We describe our experience in alleviating symptoms by addressing the stenosis using fibreoptic bronchoscopic methods. We report all concurrent cases performed between September 2015 and July 2016. We use a combination of balloon dilation, electro-surgery knife to dilate and incise stenotic segments followed by steroid injection to modulate healing. We treated 10 patients in the study period, 8 of which were women. A total of 39 procedures were performed on these patients during this period. Gastro-esophageal reflux was the most common comorbidity associated with stenosis. The majority of the patients required more than 2 therapeutic procedures, but none required more than 4 procedures. There were no complications. Tracheal stenosis and in particular subglottic stenosis is a recurrent process and its management requires extensive collaboration amongst treating specialties. Our technique of steroid injection after dilation of the stenosis was effective in symptom control and decreased the number of repeat procedures.

Factor Analysis in Assessing the Research Methodology Quality of Systematic Reviews

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Andrada Elena URDA-CÎMPEAN

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Many high quality systematic reviews available from medical journals, data bases and other electronic sources differ in quality and provide different answers to the same question. The literature recommended the use of a checklist type approach, which exceeds many of the problems associated with measurements. Aim: This study proposes to identify in a checklist type approach the most commonly used factors (from a methodological point of view in assessing the quality of systematic reviews, and then mirror the actual stage of medical writing. We want to analyze the factors’ occurrence and / or their development in the text and in the abstract of systematic reviews published in 2011. Methods: The present study randomly selected only free full text systematic reviews published in 2011, systematic reviews found in Pubmed and in Cochrane Database. The most commonly used factors were identified in PRISMA statement and quality measurement tools. Results: The evaluated systematic reviews mentioned or developed several of the factors studied. Only 78% of the papers surveyed have used the correct IMRAD format and 59% of them have mentioned the sample size used. The correspondence between the content of the paper and its abstract is summarized in the proportion of 54.63% and 51.85% for the two sets of factors, and it can lead to scarce appreciation of the article provided that only abstracts are read. Conclusions: Researchers do not properly take into consideration scientific articles and assessment tools used for quality evaluation. They should place more value over methodological factors which help assess systematic review quality, while journals form the only party who can enforce quality standards in medical writing.

Antibiotic prophylaxis in orthognathic surgery: A complex systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Hultin, Margareta; Klinge, Anna; Klinge, Björn; Tranæus, Sofia; Lund, Bodil

2018-01-01

Objective In orthognathic surgery, antibiotics are prescribed to reduce the risk of postoperative infection. However, there is lack of consensus over the appropriate drug, the dose and duration of administration. The aim of this complex systematic review was to assess the effect of antibiotics on postoperative infections in orthognathic surgery. Methods Both systematic reviews and primary studies were assessed. Medline (OVID), The Cochrane Library (Wiley) and EMBASE (embase.com), PubMed (non-indexed articles) and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) publications were searched. The primary studies were assessed using GRADE and the systematic reviews by AMSTAR. Results Screening of abstracts yielded 6 systematic reviews and 36 primary studies warranting full text scrutiny. In total,14 primary studies were assessed for risk of bias. Assessment of the included systematic reviews identified two studies with a moderate risk of bias, due to inclusion in the meta-analyses of primary studies with a high risk of bias. Quality assessment of the primary studies disclosed one with a moderate risk of bias and one with a low risk. The former compared a single dose of antibiotic with 24 hour prophylaxis using the same antibiotic; the latter compared oral and intravenous administration of antibiotics. Given the limited number of acceptable studies, no statistical analysis was undertaken, as it was unlikely to contribute any relevant information. Conclusion With respect to antibiotic prophylaxis in orthognathic surgery, most of the studies to date have been poorly conducted and reported. Thus scientific uncertainty remains as to the preferred antibiotic and the optimal duration of administration. PMID:29385159

[Endoscopic dilatation of benign colon and rectum stenosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera Vega, Juan; Frisancho Velarde, Oscar; Cervera, Zenón; Ruiz, Edwin; Yoza, Max; Larrea, Pedro

2002-01-01

To determine the usefulness of endoscopic dilatation in dealing with benign stenosis of the anus, rectum and colon. PATIENTS AND METHODS USED: Thirty six (36) patients with stenosis, anus (8), rectum (22) and colon (6) were given endoscopic treatment using hydroneumatic balloons, electro incision (radiated cuts) or a combination of both. Rigid equipment (metal) was used for distal stenosis. Age ranged between 30 and 82 years. Twelve (12) patients were male and 24 female. The diameter of the stenosis was less than 13 mm in 18 of the patients and 11 patients carried colostomy. All 36 patients were subjected to a total of 113 dilatation sessions. The average number of sessions per patient for patients with anal stenosis was 2.5 and for patients with colorectal stenosis, 3.32. One patient with rectal stenosis required 21 sessions to achieve final objective. The result achieved was good in 31 patients, less than satisfactory in 3 patients and bad in one patient, who presented a stenosis which was over 5 cm long. We lost track of a patient in the follow up stage. Success in closing the colostomy was achieved in 9 patients, while one presented a complication due to the procedure (cervical emphysema) which remitted with medical attention. Endoscopic dilatation offers, through its different techniques, a safe and efficient method for the treatment of benign stenosis of the anus, rectum and colon and must be considered as a first class tool for the treatment of this kind of pathologies.

Living systematic reviews: an emerging opportunity to narrow the evidence-practice gap.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian H Elliott

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The current difficulties in keeping systematic reviews up to date leads to considerable inaccuracy, hampering the translation of knowledge into action. Incremental advances in conventional review updating are unlikely to lead to substantial improvements in review currency. A new approach is needed. We propose living systematic review as a contribution to evidence synthesis that combines currency with rigour to enhance the accuracy and utility of health evidence. Living systematic reviews are high quality, up-to-date online summaries of health research, updated as new research becomes available, and enabled by improved production efficiency and adherence to the norms of scholarly communication. Together with innovations in primary research reporting and the creation and use of evidence in health systems, living systematic review contributes to an emerging evidence ecosystem.

Systematic overview finds variation in approaches to investigating and reporting on sources of heterogeneity in systematic reviews of diagnostic studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Naaktgeboren, Christiana A.; van Enst, Wynanda A.; Ochodo, Eleanor A.; de Groot, Joris A. H.; Hooft, Lotty; Leeflang, Mariska M.; Bossuyt, Patrick M.; Moons, Karel G. M.; Reitsma, Johannes B.

2014-01-01

To examine how authors explore and report on sources of heterogeneity in systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy studies. A cohort of systematic reviews of diagnostic tests was systematically identified. Data were extracted on whether an exploration of the sources of heterogeneity was undertaken,

The Application of Liquid Nitrogen Spray Cryotherapy in Treatment of Bronchial Stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Janke, Kelly J; Abbas, Abbas El-Sayed; Ambur, Vishnu; Yu, Daohai

Spray cryotherapy (SCT), the application of liquid nitrogen in a noncontact form, has been demonstrated to have efficacy in treating various types of pathologic lesions of the airway when used as an adjunct with bronchoscopy. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the results of the use of bronchoscopic SCT on the airway in a single institution. We performed a retrospective review of data collected on all patients who underwent SCT to re-establish or improve airway patency in an 11-month period. Patients were classified based on the nature of their disease into benign or malignant. Demographic data, change in luminal patency, and clinical outcomes were recorded. The percent of stenosis was divided into grades according to the following classification: 1, ≤25%; 2, 26% to 50%; 3, 51% to 75%; and 4, ≥76%. We defined successful completion of treatment as obtaining a final patency of grade 1. Twenty-two patients met inclusion criteria, with 45.5% (10 patients) having benign stenosis and 54.5% (12 patients) malignant. At initial bronchoscopic evaluation, the median grade of stenosis was 4 for malignant disease and 3.5 for benign disease. The median final posttreatment grade of stenosis was 2 for malignant disease and 1 for benign. The median improvement in grade of stenosis after treatment was 2 for both malignant and benign causes (Wilcoxon test, P = 0.92). Final patency of grade 1 was achieved in 42% of malignant stenosis and 80% of benign. Overall, 86.4% of patients had an improvement in grade of stenosis after treatment. The rate of morbidity was 4.5% (1/22) of all patients. The median change in grade after treatment was 2 grades of improvement for both the benign and malignant groups. These results provide evidence that the use of SCT is equally efficacious for both types of stenosis with an expectation of overall improvement in luminal patency, offering a safe and effective method of achieving airway patency in a minimally invasive fashion. This study

Sedentary behavior and health outcomes: an overview of systematic reviews.

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Leandro Fornias Machado de Rezende

Full Text Available 1 To synthesize the current observational evidence for the association between sedentary behavior and health outcomes using information from systematic reviews. 2 To assess the methodological quality of the systematic reviews found.Medline; Excerpta Medica (Embase; PsycINFO; and Web of Science were searched for reviews published up to September 2013. Additional publications were provided by Sedentary Behaviour Research Network members. The methodological quality of the systematic reviews was evaluated using recommended standard criteria from AMSTAR. For each review, improper use of causal language in the description of their main results/conclusion was evaluated. Altogether, 1,044 review titles were identified, 144 were read in their entirety, and 27 were included. Based on the systematic reviews with the best methodological quality, we found in children and adolescents, strong evidence of a relationship between time spent in sedentary behavior and obesity. Moreover, moderate evidence was observed for blood pressure and total cholesterol, self-esteem, social behavior problems, physical fitness and academic achievement. In adults, we found strong evidence of a relationship between sedentary behavior and all-cause mortality, fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. In addition, there is moderate evidence for incidence rates of ovarian, colon and endometrial cancers.This overview based on the best available systematics reviews, shows that sedentary behavior may be an important determinant of health, independently of physical activity. However, the relationship is complex because it depends on the type of sedentary behavior and the age group studied. The relationship between sedentary behavior and many health outcomes remains uncertain; thus, further studies are warranted.

The effect of medical treatments on stroke risk in asymptomatic carotid stenosis.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Alice; Shipley, Martin; Markus, Hugh

2013-02-01

Recent evidence suggests current best medical treatment may be sufficient to prevent stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. If this is the case, then it is important to determine risk reduction provided by treatments. Using Asymptomatic Carotid Emboli Study (ACES) prospective data, the effect of current treatment and risk factors on future stroke and transient ischemic attack risk were determined. Four-hundred seventy-seven patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis were followed-up every 6 months for 2 years. Changes in risk factors and stroke prevention therapies were reviewed at each visit. Using time-dependent Cox regression, the relationship between current treatment over time was determined and presented as hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for risk of stroke, transient ischemic attack, and cardiovascular death end points. On multivariate analysis, antiplatelets (P=0.001) and lower mean blood pressure (P=0.002) were independent predictors of reduced risk of ipsilateral stroke and transient ischemic attack. Antiplatelets (Pstroke or cardiovascular death. Antiplatelet therapy and blood pressure control are the most important factors in reducing short-term stroke and cardiovascular risk in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. More prospective data are required for medical treatments in asymptomatic carotid stenosis in particular for current statin usage.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SEBAGAI METODE PENELITIAN UNTUK MENSINTESIS HASIL-HASIL PENELITIAN (SEBUAH PENGANTAR

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Siswanto Siswanto

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Individual research is not enough to provide inputs for policy improvement. In order that research results can be used for policy inputs, a synthesis from a number research results and packaging them into actionable messages are important methodologies that have to be mastered by researchers. By conducting synthesis of research results with the use of systematic review and packaging it in the form of actionable messages (policy brief and policy paper, a more comprehensive and balanced fact can be presented for policy makers. Systematic review comprises quantitative technique (meta-analysis and qualitative technique (meta-synthesis. However, systematic review should be distinguished with a review that is not systematic (traditional review. Both quantitative and qualitative review possess a systematic and sequential step as that of general research methodology. Quantitative approach is identified as meta-analysis, whereas qualitative approach is identified as meta-synthesis. Within meta-synthesis, there are at least two approaches, i.e. meta-ethnography and meta-aggregation. Within the perspective of research translation, meta-aggregation is an important method in comprehending a number of qualitative research results, for providing more comprehensive and balanced facts to policy makers. Key words: systematic review, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, meta-ethnography, meta-aggregation

Dietary supplements for body-weight reduction: a systematic review.

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Pittler, Max H; Ernst, Edzard

2004-04-01

Compliance with conventional weight-management programs is notoriously poor, and a plethora of over-the-counter slimming aids are sold with claims of effectiveness. The objective of the study was to assess the evidence from rigorous clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses on the effectiveness of dietary supplements in reducing body weight. The study was a systematic review. Literature searches were conducted on Medline, Embase, Amed, Cinahl, and the Cochrane Library until March 2003. Hand searches of medical journals, the authors' own files, and bibliographies of identified articles were conducted. There were no restrictions regarding the language of publication. The screening of studies, selection, validation, data extraction, and the assessment of methodologic quality were performed independently by the 2 reviewers. To be included, trials were required to be randomized and double-blind. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of dietary supplements were included if they were based on the results of randomized, double-blind trials. Five systematic reviews and meta-analyses and 25 additional trials were included and reviewed. Data on the following dietary supplements were identified: chitosan, chromium picolinate, Ephedra sinica, Garcinia cambogia, glucomannan, guar gum, hydroxy-methylbutyrate, plantago psyllium, pyruvate, yerba maté, and yohimbe. The reviewed studies provide some encouraging data but no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that any specific dietary supplement is effective for reducing body weight. The only exceptions are E. sinica- and ephedrine-containing supplements, which have been associated with an increased risk of adverse events. The evidence for most dietary supplements as aids in reducing body weight is not convincing. None of the reviewed dietary supplements can be recommended for over-the-counter use.

Endovascular therapy of carotid stenosis with self-expandable stent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jianmin; Huang Qinghai; Hong Bo; Xu Yi; Zhao Wenyuan; Zhang Yongwei; Zhang Long; Zhou Xiaoping

2002-01-01

Objective: To summarize the experience of endovascular treatment of carotid stenosis with expandable stents. Methods: Fifty-two patients with carotid stenosis who experienced repeated transient ischemic attacks or cerebral infarction were admitted to our hospital. The stenosis was pre-expanded with undetachable balloon, and self-expandable stents were implanted across the stenosis. A balloon catheter was used to further expand stents in 29 patients. Results: The stent was accurately implanted, and total disappearance of stenosis was obtained in 34 patients, the degree of stenosis reduced more than 90% in 16 patients, and more than 70% in 2 patients. The patients recovered well and no complications related to the procedure occurred. None experienced TIA or infarction postoperatively in 52 cases and follow-up imaging in 19 patients (6 - 12 months) demonstrated no restenosis. Conclusion: Endovascular stenting may be a safe and valid choice for the treatment of extracranial carotid stenosis

Intervention quality is not routinely assessed in Cochrane systematic reviews of radiation therapy interventions.

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Abdul Rahim, Mohamad R; James, Melissa L; Hickey, Brigid E

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to maximise the benefits from clinical trials involving technological interventions such as radiation therapy. High compliance to the quality assurance protocols is crucial. We assessed whether the quality of radiation therapy intervention was evaluated in Cochrane systematic reviews. We searched 416 published Cochrane systematic reviews and identified 67 Cochrane systematic reviews that investigated radiation therapy or radiotherapy as an intervention. For each systematic review, either quality assurance or quality control for the intervention was identified by a description of such processes in the published systematic reviews. Of the 67 Cochrane systematic reviews studied, only two mentioned quality assurance or quality control. Our findings revealed that 65 of 67 (97%) Cochrane systematic reviews of radiation therapy interventions failed to consider the quality of the intervention. We suggest that advice about the evaluation of intervention quality be added to author support materials. © 2017 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

The 'obesity paradox' does exist in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation for aortic stenosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Lv, Wenyu; Li, Shuangjiang; Liao, Yanbiao; Zhao, Zhengang; Che, Guowei; Chen, Mao; Feng, Yuan

2017-10-01

Most recent studies have proposed the paradoxical benefits of obesity in surgical populations. For patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis, the prognostic roles of obesity and high body mass index remain controversial. Therefore, the objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate whether the 'obesity paradox' exists in patients undergoing TAVI. We searched in PubMed and EMBASE to identify the eligible articles. Odds ratios and hazard ratios with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were adopted for synthesizing short-term and long-term survival outcomes, respectively. The level of heterogeneity and the publication bias between studies were also estimated. Finally, there were 16 studies with 12 330 patients who met the eligibility criteria and who were thus included in this review. When body mass index was analysed as a continuous variable, each increase of 1 kg/m2 was significantly associated with the lower 30-day mortality rate (odds ratio = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.93-0.97; P obese patients had a significantly lower risk of 30-day mortality after TAVI than did normal patients (odds ratio = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.50-0.95; P = 0.024). Further analyses indicated that the obesity could be predictive of more favourable long-term overall survival of TAVI (hazard ratio = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.72-0.97; P = 0.021). However, we found no difference in procedural complications between the obese and normal patients. In conclusion, higher body mass index and obesity seem to have protective benefits on both short-term and long-term survival of TAVI patients. Current evidence suggests that the 'obesity paradox' may really exist in TAVI. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Pharmacologic treatment in pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders: a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korterink, Judith J.; Rutten, Juliette M. T. M.; Venmans, Leonie; Benninga, Marc A.; Tabbers, Merit M.

2015-01-01

To systematically review literature assessing efficacy and safety of pharmacologic treatments in children with abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (AP-FGIDs). MEDLINE and Cochrane Database were searched for systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials investigating

Valve Calcification in Aortic Stenosis: Etiology and Diagnostic Imaging Techniques

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María Manuela Izquierdo-Gómez

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aortic stenosis is the most common valvulopathy in the Western world. Its prevalence has increased significantly in recent years due to population aging; hence, up to 8% of westerners above the age of 84 now have severe aortic stenosis (Lindroos et al., 1993. This causes increased morbidity and mortality and therein lies the importance of adequate diagnosis and stratification of the degree of severity which allows planning the best therapeutic option in each case. Long understood as a passive age-related degenerative process, it is now considered a rather more complex entity involving mechanisms and factors similar to those of atherosclerosis (Stewart et al., 1997. In this review, we summarize the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of the disease and analyze the current role of cardiac imaging techniques for diagnosis.

Publication bias in dermatology systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

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Atakpo, Paul; Vassar, Matt

2016-05-01

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in dermatology provide high-level evidence for clinicians and policy makers that influence clinical decision making and treatment guidelines. One methodological problem with systematic reviews is the under representation of unpublished studies. This problem is due in part to publication bias. Omission of statistically non-significant data from meta-analyses may result in overestimation of treatment effect sizes which may lead to clinical consequences. Our goal was to assess whether systematic reviewers in dermatology evaluate and report publication bias. Further, we wanted to conduct our own evaluation of publication bias on meta-analyses that failed to do so. Our study considered systematic reviews and meta-analyses from ten dermatology journals from 2006 to 2016. A PubMed search was conducted, and all full-text articles that met our inclusion criteria were retrieved and coded by the primary author. 293 articles were included in our analysis. Additionally, we formally evaluated publication bias in meta-analyses that failed to do so using trim and fill and cumulative meta-analysis by precision methods. Publication bias was mentioned in 107 articles (36.5%) and was formally evaluated in 64 articles (21.8%). Visual inspection of a funnel plot was the most common method of evaluating publication bias. Publication bias was present in 45 articles (15.3%), not present in 57 articles (19.5%) and not determined in 191 articles (65.2%). Using the trim and fill method, 7 meta-analyses (33.33%) showed evidence of publication bias. Although the trim and fill method only found evidence of publication bias in 7 meta-analyses, the cumulative meta-analysis by precision method found evidence of publication bias in 15 meta-analyses (71.4%). Many of the reviews in our study did not mention or evaluate publication bias. Further, of the 42 articles that stated following PRISMA reporting guidelines, 19 (45.2%) evaluated for publication bias. In

Speech and orthodontic appliances: a systematic literature review.

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Chen, Junyu; Wan, Jia; You, Lun

2018-01-23

Various types of orthodontic appliances can lead to speech difficulties. However, speech difficulties caused by orthodontic appliances have not been sufficiently investigated by an evidence-based method. The aim of this study is to outline the scientific evidence and mechanism of the speech difficulties caused by orthodontic appliances. Randomized-controlled clinical trials (RCT), controlled clinical trials, and cohort studies focusing on the effect of orthodontic appliances on speech were included. A systematic search was conducted by an electronic search in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases, complemented by a manual search. The types of orthodontic appliances, the affected sounds, and duration period of the speech disturbances were extracted. The ROBINS-I tool was applied to evaluate the quality of non-randomized studies, and the bias of RCT was assessed based on the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. No meta-analyses could be performed due to the heterogeneity in the study designs and treatment modalities. Among 448 screened articles, 13 studies were included (n = 297 patients). Different types of orthodontic appliances such as fixed appliances, orthodontic retainers and palatal expanders could influence the clarity of speech. The /i/, /a/, and /e/ vowels as well as /s/, /z/, /l/, /t/, /d/, /r/, and /ʃ/ consonants could be distorted by appliances. Although most speech impairments could return to normal within weeks, speech distortion of the /s/ sound might last for more than 3 months. The low evidence level grading and heterogeneity were the two main limitations in this systematic review. Lingual fixed appliances, palatal expanders, and Hawley retainers have an evident influence on speech production. The /i/, /s/, /t/, and /d/ sounds are the primarily affected ones. The results of this systematic review should be interpreted with caution and more high-quality RCTs with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are

Practice-level quality improvement interventions in primary care: a review of systematic reviews.

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Irwin, Ryan; Stokes, Tim; Marshall, Tom

2015-11-01

To present an overview of effective interventions for quality improvement in primary care at the practice level utilising existing systematic reviews. Quality improvement in primary care involves a range of approaches from the system-level to patient-level improvement. One key setting in which quality improvement needs to occur is at the level of the basic unit of primary care--the individual general practice. Therefore, there is a need for practitioners to have access to an overview of the effectiveness of quality improvement interventions available in this setting. A tertiary evidence synthesis was conducted (a review of systematic reviews). A systematic approach was used to identify and summarise published literature relevant to understanding primary-care quality improvement at the practice level. Quality assessment was via the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool for systematic reviews, with data extraction identifying evidence of effect for the examined interventions. Included reviews had to be relevant to quality improvement at the practice level and relevant to the UK primary-care context. Reviews were excluded if describing system-level interventions. A range of measures across care structure, process and outcomes were defined and interpreted across the quality improvement interventions. Audit and feedback, computerised advice, point-of-care reminders, practice facilitation, educational outreach and processes for patient review and follow-up all demonstrated evidence of a quality improvement effect. Evidence of an improvement effect was higher where baseline performance was low and was particularly demonstrated across process measures and measures related to prescribing. Evidence was not sufficient to suggest that multifaceted approaches were more effective than single interventions. Evidence exists for a range of quality improvement interventions at the primary-care practice level. More research is required to determine the use and impact of quality

Aortic stenosis

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... Images Aortic stenosis Heart valves References Carabello BA. Valvular heart disease. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil ... ACC guideline for the management of patients with valvular heart disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/ ...

Carotid DSA based CFD simulation in assessing the patient with asymptomatic carotid stenosis: a preliminary study.

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Zhang, Dong; Xu, Pengcheng; Qiao, Hongyu; Liu, Xin; Luo, Liangping; Huang, Wenhua; Zhang, Heye; Shi, Changzheng

2018-03-12

Cerebrovascular events are frequently associated with hemodynamic disturbance caused by internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. It is challenging to determine the ischemia-related carotid stenosis during the intervention only using digital subtracted angiography (DSA). Inspired by the performance of well-established FFRct technique in hemodynamic assessment of significant coronary stenosis, we introduced a pressure-based carotid arterial functional assessment (CAFA) index generated from computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation in DSA data, and investigated its feasibility in the assessment of hemodynamic disturbance preliminarily using pressure-wired measurement and arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI as references. The cerebral multi-delay multi-parametric ASL-MRI and carotid DSA including trans-stenotic pressure-wired measurement were implemented on a 65-year-old man with asymptomatic unilateral (left) ICA stenosis. A CFD simulation using simplified boundary condition was performed in DSA data to calculate the CAFA index. The cerebral blood flow (CBF) and arterial transit time (ATT) of ICA territories were acquired. CFD simulation showed good correlation (r = 0.839, P = 0.001) with slight systematic overestimation (mean difference - 0.007, standard deviation 0.017) compared with pressure-wired measurement. No significant difference was observed between them (P = 0.09). Though the narrowing degree of in the involved ICA was about 70%, the simulated and measured CAFA (0.942/0.937) revealed a functionally nonsignificant stenosis which was also verified by a compensatory final CBF (fronto-temporal/fronto-parietal region: 51.58/45.62 ml/100 g/min) and slightly prolonged ATT (1.23/1.4 s) in the involved territories, together with a normal left-right percentage difference (2.1-8.85%). The DSA based CFD simulation showed good consistence with invasive approach and could be used as a cost-saving and efficient way to study the relationship between

Management of anaphylaxis : a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dhami, S.; Panesar, S. S.; Roberts, G.; Muraro, A.; Worm, M.; Bilo, M. B.; Cardona, V.; Dubois, A. E. J.; DunnGalvin, A.; Eigenmann, P.; Fernandez-Rivas, M.; Halken, S.; Lack, G.; Niggemann, B.; Rueff, F.; Santos, A. F.; Vlieg-Boerstra, B.; Zolkipli, Z. Q.; Sheikh, A.

To establish the effectiveness of interventions for the acute and long-term management of anaphylaxis, seven databases were searched for systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, controlled before-after studies and interrupted

The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health impact of climate change: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

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Maha Bouzid

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Climate change is likely to be one of the most important threats to public health in the coming years. Yet despite the large number of papers considering the health impact of climate change, few have considered what public health interventions may be of most value in reducing the disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the disease burden of high priority climate sensitive diseases. METHODS AND FINDINGS: For each disease, we performed a systematic search with no restriction on date or language of publication on Medline, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane CENTRAL and SCOPUS up to December 2010 to identify systematic reviews of public health interventions. We retrieved some 3176 records of which 85 full papers were assessed and 33 included in the review. The included papers investigated the effect of public health interventions on various outcome measures. All interventions were GRADE assessed to determine the strength of evidence. In addition we developed a systematic review quality score. The interventions included environmental interventions to control vectors, chemoprophylaxis, immunization, household and community water treatment, greening cities and community advice. For most reviews, GRADE showed low quality of evidence because of poor study design and high heterogeneity. Also for some key areas such as floods, droughts and other weather extremes, there are no adequate systematic reviews of potential public health interventions. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we found the evidence base to be mostly weak for environmental interventions that could have the most value in a warmer world. Nevertheless, such interventions should not be dismissed. Future research on public health interventions for climate change adaptation needs to be concerned about quality in study design and should address the gap for floods, droughts and other extreme weather events that pose a risk to health.

The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health impact of climate change: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouzid, Maha; Hooper, Lee; Hunter, Paul R

2013-01-01

Climate change is likely to be one of the most important threats to public health in the coming years. Yet despite the large number of papers considering the health impact of climate change, few have considered what public health interventions may be of most value in reducing the disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the disease burden of high priority climate sensitive diseases. For each disease, we performed a systematic search with no restriction on date or language of publication on Medline, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane CENTRAL and SCOPUS up to December 2010 to identify systematic reviews of public health interventions. We retrieved some 3176 records of which 85 full papers were assessed and 33 included in the review. The included papers investigated the effect of public health interventions on various outcome measures. All interventions were GRADE assessed to determine the strength of evidence. In addition we developed a systematic review quality score. The interventions included environmental interventions to control vectors, chemoprophylaxis, immunization, household and community water treatment, greening cities and community advice. For most reviews, GRADE showed low quality of evidence because of poor study design and high heterogeneity. Also for some key areas such as floods, droughts and other weather extremes, there are no adequate systematic reviews of potential public health interventions. In conclusion, we found the evidence base to be mostly weak for environmental interventions that could have the most value in a warmer world. Nevertheless, such interventions should not be dismissed. Future research on public health interventions for climate change adaptation needs to be concerned about quality in study design and should address the gap for floods, droughts and other extreme weather events that pose a risk to health.

How useful are systematic reviews for informing palliative care practice? Survey of 25 Cochrane systematic reviews

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Hadley Gina

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In contemporary medical research, randomised controlled trials are seen as the gold standard for establishing treatment effects where it is ethical and practical to conduct them. In palliative care such trials are often impractical, unethical, or extremely difficult, with multiple methodological problems. We review the utility of Cochrane reviews in informing palliative care practice. Methods Published reviews in palliative care registered with the Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Group as of December 2007 were obtained from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, issue 1, 2008. We reviewed the quality and quantity of primary studies available for each review, assessed the quality of the review process, and judged the strength of the evidence presented. There was no prior intention to perform any statistical analyses. Results 25 published systematic reviews were identified. Numbers of included trials ranged from none to 54. Within each review, included trials were heterogeneous with respect to patients, interventions, and outcomes, and the number of patients contributing to any single analysis was generally much lower than the total included in the review. A variety of tools were used to assess trial quality; seven reviews did not use this information to exclude low quality studies, weight analyses, or perform sensitivity analysis for effect of low quality. Authors indicated that there were frequently major problems with the primary studies, individually or in aggregate. Our judgment was that the reviewing process was generally good in these reviews, and that conclusions were limited by the number, size, quality and validity of the primary studies. We judged the evidence about 23 of the 25 interventions to be weak. Two reviews had stronger evidence, but with limitations due to methodological heterogeneity or definition of outcomes. No review provided strong evidence of no effect. Conclusion Cochrane reviews

Allergen immunotherapy for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis : A systematic overview of systematic reviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nurmatov, Ulugbek; Dhami, Sangeeta; Arasi, Stefania; Roberts, Graham; Pfaar, Oliver; Muraro, Antonella; Ansotegui, Ignacio J; Calderon, Moises; Cingi, Cemal; Durham, Stephen; van Wijk, Roy Gerth; Halken, Susanne; Hamelmann, Eckard; Hellings, Peter W; Jacobsen, Lars; Knol, Edward; Larenas-Linnemann, Desiree; Lin, Sandra Y; Maggina, Vivian; Oude Elberink, J Hanneke N G; Pajno, Giovanni Battista; Panwankar, Ruby; Pastorello, Elideanna; Pitsios, Constantinos; Rotiroti, Giuseppina; Timmermans, Frans; Tsilochristou, Olympia; Varga, Eva-Maria; Wilkinson, Jamie; Williams, Andrew; Worm, Margitta; Zhang, Luo; Sheikh, Aziz

2017-01-01

Background: The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is developing Guidelines on Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT) for Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). To inform the development of recommendations, we sought to critically assess the systematic review evidence on the

Correlation of Color Doppler with Multidetector CT Angiography Findings in Carotid Artery Stenosis

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Živorad N. Savic

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to examine the correlation between the Color Doppler ultrasound (CD-US and multidetector CT angiography (MDCTA diagnostic methods, and to define the degree and extent of stenosis in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis. This was a cross-sectional study with a consecutive series of patients. All US examinations were always carried out by the same physician-angiologist, while all CT examinations were always carried out by the same physician-radiologist. Both worked independently from each other. The stenosis area was measured at the narrowest point by NASCET criteria for US/CT. Peak systolic velocity (PSV over 210 cm/sec and end diastolic velocity (EDV over 110 cm/sec criteria were applied for stenoses with lumen narrowed over 70%, while PSV under 130 cm/sec and EDV under 100 cm/sec criteria were applied for those with lumen narrowed under 70%. A total of 124 carotid arteries were observed; namely, 89 narrowed and 68 surgically treated. All patients were reviewed by US and then by MDCTA; patients with 70–99% stenosis underwent surgery. The correlation coefficient between stenosis degree measured by US and MDCTA was 0.922; p 0.05. The US and CT matching level for stenoses from 70 to 99% was very high (κ = 0.778, p < 0.01. In conclusion, there is a highly significant statistical correlation among both diagnostic methods when measuring stenosis degree and extent. US is more dependent on the physician, while MDCTA is more objective and independent from the physician. We think it would be appropriate to undertake an MDCTA exam for those patients who are candidates for carotid endarterectomy.

Descriptors Used to Define Running-Related Musculoskeletal Injury: A Systematic Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yamato, T.P.; Saragiotto, B.T.; Hespanhol, L.C.; Yeung, S.S.; Lopes, A.D.

2015-01-01

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review. OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the used to define running-related musculoskeletal injury and to analyze the implications of different definitions on the results of studies. BACKGROUND: Studies have developed their own definitions of running-related

Statistical Multiplicity in Systematic Reviews of Anaesthesia Interventions: A Quantification and Comparison between Cochrane and Non-Cochrane Reviews

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Imberger, Georgina; Vejlby, Alexandra Hedvig Damgaard; Hansen, Sara Bohnstedt

2011-01-01

Systematic reviews with meta-analyses often contain many statistical tests. This multiplicity may increase the risk of type I error. Few attempts have been made to address the problem of statistical multiplicity in systematic reviews. Before the implications are properly considered, the size...... of systematic reviews and aimed to assess whether this quantity is different in Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews....... of the issue deserves clarification. Because of the emphasis on bias evaluation and because of the editorial processes involved, Cochrane reviews may contain more multiplicity than their non-Cochrane counterparts. This study measured the quantity of statistical multiplicity present in a population...

Aromatherapy for health care: an overview of systematic reviews.

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Lee, Myeong Soo; Choi, Jiae; Posadzki, Paul; Ernst, Edzard

2012-03-01

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of essential oil from herbs, flowers, and other plants. The aim of this overview was to provide an overview of systematic reviews evaluating the effectiveness of aromatherapy. We searched 12 electronic databases and our departmental files without restrictions of time or language. The methodological quality of all systematic reviews was evaluated independently by two authors. Of 201 potentially relevant publications, 10 met our inclusion criteria. Most of the systematic reviews were of poor methodological quality. The clinical subject areas were hypertension, depression, anxiety, pain relief, and dementia. For none of the conditions was the evidence convincing. Several SRs of aromatherapy have recently been published. Due to a number of caveats, the evidence is not sufficiently convincing that aromatherapy is an effective therapy for any condition. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Asymptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis and cerebrovascular risk stratification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nicolaides, Andrew N; Kakkos, Stavros K; Kyriacou, Efthyvoulos

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the cerebrovascular risk stratification potential of baseline degree of stenosis, clinical features, and ultrasonic plaque characteristics in patients with asymptomatic internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis.......The purpose of this study was to determine the cerebrovascular risk stratification potential of baseline degree of stenosis, clinical features, and ultrasonic plaque characteristics in patients with asymptomatic internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis....

Accessory Renal Artery Stenosis and Hypertension: Are These Correlated? Evaluation Using Multidetector-Row Computed Tomographic Angiography

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Saba, L.; Sanfilippo, R.; Montisci, R.; Conti, M.; Mallarini, G. (Dept. of Imaging Science and Dept. of Vascular Surgery, Policlinico Universitario, Cagliari (Italy))

2008-04-15

Background: Renal artery stenosis may produce hypertension, and this condition is referred to as renovascular hypertension (RVH). Purpose: To evaluate, by using multidetector-row spiral computed tomographic angiography (MDCTA), whether a relationship between accessory renal artery stenosis and hypertension may be hypothesized. Material and Methods: 214 patients (142 males, 72 females; mean age 66 years) who had previously undergone an MDCTA to study the abdominal vasculature were retrospectively studied. Patients with renal artery stenosis (RAS) were excluded from this analysis. The patients were studied by means of a four-detector-row CT, and scans were obtained after intravenous bolus administration of 110-140 ml of a nonionic contrast material with a 3-6 ml/s flow rate. As a second step, by means of statistical analysis, hypertension data were compared with findings of accessory artery stenosis. Two radiologists first independently reviewed the MDCTA images and then, in case of disagreement, in consensus. Interobserver agreement was calculated for all measurements. Results: The overall number of detected accessory renal arteries was 74 in 56 of the 214 patients. Accessory renal artery stenosis was detected in 21 of the 56 patients. There was a difference in the prevalence of hypertension between patients with (n = 21) and without (n = 35) accessory renal artery stenosis (P = 0.0187). Interobserver agreement was good (kappa value 0.733). Conclusion: Any statistical association between the presence of accessory renal artery stenosis and hypertension could not be disclosed. However, accessory renal artery stenosis, detected by MDCTA, is an important pathological sign that the radiologist has to assess in the light of its possible association with hypertension

Accessory Renal Artery Stenosis and Hypertension: Are These Correlated? Evaluation Using Multidetector-Row Computed Tomographic Angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saba, L.; Sanfilippo, R.; Montisci, R.; Conti, M.; Mallarini, G.

2008-01-01

Background: Renal artery stenosis may produce hypertension, and this condition is referred to as renovascular hypertension (RVH). Purpose: To evaluate, by using multidetector-row spiral computed tomographic angiography (MDCTA), whether a relationship between accessory renal artery stenosis and hypertension may be hypothesized. Material and Methods: 214 patients (142 males, 72 females; mean age 66 years) who had previously undergone an MDCTA to study the abdominal vasculature were retrospectively studied. Patients with renal artery stenosis (RAS) were excluded from this analysis. The patients were studied by means of a four-detector-row CT, and scans were obtained after intravenous bolus administration of 110-140 ml of a nonionic contrast material with a 3-6 ml/s flow rate. As a second step, by means of statistical analysis, hypertension data were compared with findings of accessory artery stenosis. Two radiologists first independently reviewed the MDCTA images and then, in case of disagreement, in consensus. Interobserver agreement was calculated for all measurements. Results: The overall number of detected accessory renal arteries was 74 in 56 of the 214 patients. Accessory renal artery stenosis was detected in 21 of the 56 patients. There was a difference in the prevalence of hypertension between patients with (n = 21) and without (n = 35) accessory renal artery stenosis (P = 0.0187). Interobserver agreement was good (kappa value 0.733). Conclusion: Any statistical association between the presence of accessory renal artery stenosis and hypertension could not be disclosed. However, accessory renal artery stenosis, detected by MDCTA, is an important pathological sign that the radiologist has to assess in the light of its possible association with hypertension

Clinical and echocardiographic features of primary infundibular stenosis with intact ventricular septum in dogs.

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Minors, Sandra L; O'Grady, Michael R; Williams, Regan M; O'Sullivan, M Lynne

2006-01-01

Primary infundibular stenosis is a rare congenital defect in which the right ventricle is divided into a proximal "high-pressure" chamber and a distal "low-pressure" chamber. The condition can be misdiagnosed as ventricular septal defect or valvular pulmonic stenosis and the disease severity underestimated. The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed clinical and echocardiographic description of this anomaly in a series of dogs. Several anatomic forms of infundibular stenosis exist. High resolution two-dimensional echocardiography could differentiate 3 gross anatomic substrates. Knowledge of the anatomy of the obstructing lesion could influence options for corrective interventions. Thirteen dogs examined at the Ontario Veterinary College teaching hospital from 1994 to 2005 with an ultrasound diagnosis of subpulmonic stenasis. A retrospective review was made of case records from 1994 to 2005. Thirteen dogs were identified as having primary infundibular stenosis, with apparent increased prevalence in Golden Retrievers (8/13, 62%) and Siberian Huskies (3/13, 23%). Three types of infundibular lesions were identified by ultrasound in 11/13 dogs: a fibrous diaphragm (6), fibromuscular (4), and muscular obstruction (1). Two dogs with a fibrous diaphragm underwent direct surgical dilation without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass or inflow occlusion, resulting in substantial reduction of the severity of stenosis. Accurate determination of the severity of the stenosis and the anatomy of the obstructing lesion are important in devising a treatment strategy. Recognition of the fibrous diaphragm by echocardiography identifies a subset of dogs potentially amenable to surgical dilation without the need for cardiopulmonary bypass.

Self-injury and externalizing pathology: a systematic literature review

OpenAIRE

Meszaros, Gergely; Horvath, Lili Olga; Balazs, Judit

2017-01-01

Background During the last decade there is a growing scientific interest in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). The aim of the current paper was to review systematically the literature with a special focus on the associations between self-injurious behaviours and externalizing psychopathology. An additional aim was to review terminology and measurements of self-injurious behaviour and the connection between self-injurious behaviours and suicide in the included publications. Methods A systematic l...

Nitinol stents in the treatment of benign proximal tracheal stenosis or tracheomalacia.

Science.gov (United States)

Isa, A Y; Macandie, C; Irvine, B W

2006-01-01

Nitinol stents have been used in the treatment of benign tracheal stenosis. A retrospective review of five patients treated at Stobhill Hospital over the last six and a half years is presented. Age at presentation ranged from 17 to 76 years. The minimum follow-up period was 23 months and the maximum was 78 months. All our patients were successfully decannulated, with none requiring recannulation. Four patients developed granulation tissue related to the stent at intervals ranging from three weeks to 41 months post stenting. Topical mitomycin C application has been useful after resection of granulations using the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. Stent migration occurred in one patient three weeks after insertion. Nitinol stents are easy to insert and effective in the treatment of tracheal stenosis, but can have associated morbidity. Their use should be considered carefully, as insertion should be regarded as permanent. Publications reporting experience and outcome with the use of Nitinol stents in the trachea are reviewed.

Methodologic quality of meta-analyses and systematic reviews on the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular disease outcomes: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Huedo-Medina, Tania B; Garcia, Marissa; Bihuniak, Jessica D; Kenny, Anne; Kerstetter, Jane

2016-03-01

Several systematic reviews/meta-analyses published within the past 10 y have examined the associations of Mediterranean-style diets (MedSDs) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, these reviews have not been evaluated for satisfying contemporary methodologic quality standards. This study evaluated the quality of recent systematic reviews/meta-analyses on MedSD and CVD risk outcomes by using an established methodologic quality scale. The relation between review quality and impact per publication value of the journal in which the article had been published was also evaluated. To assess compliance with current standards, we applied a modified version of the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTARMedSD) quality scale to systematic reviews/meta-analyses retrieved from electronic databases that had met our selection criteria: 1) used systematic or meta-analytic procedures to review the literature, 2) examined MedSD trials, and 3) had MedSD interventions independently or combined with other interventions. Reviews completely satisfied from 8% to 75% of the AMSTARMedSD items (mean ± SD: 31.2% ± 19.4%), with those published in higher-impact journals having greater quality scores. At a minimum, 60% of the 24 reviews did not disclose full search details or apply appropriate statistical methods to combine study findings. Only 5 of the reviews included participant or study characteristics in their analyses, and none evaluated MedSD diet characteristics. These data suggest that current meta-analyses/systematic reviews evaluating the effect of MedSD on CVD risk do not fully comply with contemporary methodologic quality standards. As a result, there are more research questions to answer to enhance our understanding of how MedSD affects CVD risk or how these effects may be modified by the participant or MedSD characteristics. To clarify the associations between MedSD and CVD risk, future meta-analyses and systematic reviews should not only follow methodologic

Non-surgical interventions for adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis: an overview of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Płaszewski, Maciej; Bettany-Saltikov, Josette

2014-01-01

Non-surgical interventions for adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis remain highly controversial. Despite the publication of numerous reviews no explicit methodological evaluation of papers labeled as, or having a layout of, a systematic review, addressing this subject matter, is available. Analysis and comparison of the content, methodology, and evidence-base from systematic reviews regarding non-surgical interventions for adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. Systematic overview of systematic reviews. Articles meeting the minimal criteria for a systematic review, regarding any non-surgical intervention for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, with any outcomes measured, were included. Multiple general and systematic review specific databases, guideline registries, reference lists and websites of institutions were searched. The AMSTAR tool was used to critically appraise the methodology, and the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine and the Joanna Briggs Institute's hierarchies were applied to analyze the levels of evidence from included reviews. From 469 citations, twenty one papers were included for analysis. Five reviews assessed the effectiveness of scoliosis-specific exercise treatments, four assessed manual therapies, five evaluated bracing, four assessed different combinations of interventions, and one evaluated usual physical activity. Two reviews addressed the adverse effects of bracing. Two papers were high quality Cochrane reviews, Three were of moderate, and the remaining sixteen were of low or very low methodological quality. The level of evidence of these reviews ranged from 1 or 1+ to 4, and in some reviews, due to their low methodological quality and/or poor reporting, this could not be established. Higher quality reviews indicate that generally there is insufficient evidence to make a judgment on whether non-surgical interventions in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis are effective. Papers labeled as systematic reviews need to be considered in terms

Determinants of patient satisfaction: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Batbaatar, Enkhjargal; Dorjdagva, Javkhlanbayar; Luvsannyam, Ariunbat; Savino, Matteo Mario; Amenta, Pietro

2017-03-01

A large number of studies have addressed the detection of patient satisfaction determinants, and the results are still inconclusive. Furthermore, it is known that contradicting evidence exists across patient satisfaction studies. This article is the second part of a two-part series of research with a goal to review a current conceptual framework of patient satisfaction for further operationalisation procedures. The aim of this work was to systematically identify and review evidence regarding determinants of patient satisfaction between 1980 and 2014, and to seek the reasons for contradicting results in relationships between determinants and patient satisfaction in the literature to design a further robust measurement system for patient satisfaction. This systematic review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. The search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus in October 2014. Studies published in full in peer reviewed journals between January 1980 and August 2014 and in the English language were included. We included 109 articles for the synthesis. We found several number of determinants of patient satisfaction investigated in a wide diversity of studies. However, study results were varied due to no globally accepted formulation of patient satisfaction and measurement system. Health care service quality indicators were the most influential determinants of patient satisfaction across the studies. Among them, health providers' interpersonal care quality was the essential determinant of patient satisfaction. Sociodemographic characteristics were the most varied in the review. The strength and directions of associations with patient satisfaction were found inconsistent. Therefore, person-related characteristics should be considered to be the potential determinants and confounders simultaneously. The selected studies were not able to show all potential characteristics which may have had

A Systematic Method for Search Term Selection in Systematic Reviews

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Jenna; Davis, Jacqueline; Mazerolle, Lorraine

2014-01-01

The wide variety of readily available electronic media grants anyone the freedom to retrieve published references from almost any area of research around the world. Despite this privilege, keeping up with primary research evidence is almost impossible because of the increase in professional publishing across disciplines. Systematic reviews are a…

Accuracy of 3 T MR angiography in vertebral artery stenosis and coincidence with other cerebrovascular stenoses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Hyun Seok; Kim, Dong Ik; Kim, Dong Joon; Kim, Jinna; Kim, Eun Soo; Lee, Seung-Koo

2010-01-01

Ostium of vertebral artery (VA) is a common site of pseudostenosis on contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA). The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of CE-MRA at 3 T in the evaluation of ostial stenosis of VA and to find associated coincidental stenoses using logistic regression analysis. One hundred and thirty-five VA ostial regions from 72 patients who received CE-MRA of neck vessels, intracranial time of flight (TOF) MRA, and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were retrospectively reviewed. The sensitivity and specificity of the CE-MRA in detection of ostial stenosis were calculated with reference standard of DSA. Ostial stenosis on MRA was correlated with coincidental lesions in intracranial and cervical arteries by logistic regression analysis. The sensitivity and specificity of the CE-MRA were 100% and 80.4% for detection of significant stenosis. In case of significant stenoses, CE-MRA showed a tendency of overestimation with a false-positive rate of 52.5%. Logistic regression analysis showed that the stenoses of middle cerebral artery (MCA) on TOF MRA was associated with significant stenoses of VA ostia (OR = 5.84, 95% confidence intervals 1.41-24.17). CE-MRA is sensitive in detection of VA ostial stenosis although it has high false-positive rate. True positive ostial stenosis should be considered in cases of coincidental stenoses of MCA on TOF MRA. (orig.)

Help Options in CALL: A Systematic Review

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Cardenas-Claros, Monica S.; Gruba, Paul A.

2009-01-01

This paper is a systematic review of research investigating help options in the different language skills in computer-assisted language learning (CALL). In this review, emerging themes along with is-sues affecting help option research are identified and discussed. We argue that help options in CALL are application resources that do not only seem…

Quality of reviews on sugar-sweetened beverages and health outcomes: a systematic review123

Science.gov (United States)

Weed, Douglas L; Mink, Pamela J

2011-01-01

Background: Medical and public health decisions are informed by reviews, which makes the quality of reviews an important scientific concern. Objective: We systematically assessed the quality of published reviews on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and health, which is a controversial topic that is important to public health. Design: We performed a search of PubMed and Cochrane databases and a hand search of reference lists. Studies that were selected were published reviews and meta-analyses (June 2001 to June 2011) of epidemiologic studies of the relation between SSBs and obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and coronary heart disease. A standardized data-abstraction form was used. Review quality was assessed by using the validated instrument AMSTAR (assessment of multiple systematic reviews), which is a one-page tool with 11 questions. Results: Seventeen reviews met our inclusion and exclusion criteria: obesity or weight (16 reviews), diabetes (3 reviews), metabolic syndrome (3 reviews), and coronary heart disease (2 reviews). Authors frequently used a strictly narrative review (7 of 17 reviews). Only 6 of 17 reviews reported quantitative data in a table format. Overall, reviews of SSBs and health outcomes received moderately low–quality scores by the AMSTAR [mean: 4.4 points; median: 4 points; range: 1–8.5 points (out of a possible score of 11 points)]. AMSTAR scores were not related to the conclusions of authors (8 reviews reported an association with a mean AMSTAR score of 4.1 points; 9 reviews with equivocal conclusions scored 4.7 points; P value = 0.84). Less than one-third of published reviews reported a comprehensive literature search, listed included and excluded studies, or used duplicate study selection and data abstraction. Conclusion: The comprehensive reporting of epidemiologic evidence and use of systematic methodologies to interpret evidence were underused in published reviews on SSBs and health. PMID:21918218

Diabetes-related information-seeking behaviour: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuske, Silke; Schiereck, Tim; Grobosch, Sandra; Paduch, Andrea; Droste, Sigrid; Halbach, Sarah; Icks, Andrea

2017-10-24

Information-seeking behaviour is necessary to improve knowledge on diabetes therapy and complications. Combined with other self-management skills and autonomous handling of the disease, it is essential for achieving treatment targets. However, a systematic review addressing this topic is lacking. The aims of this systematic review were to identify and analyse existing knowledge of information-seeking behaviour: (1) types information-seeking behaviour, (2) information sources, (3) the content of searched information, and (4) associated variables that may affect information-seeking behaviour. The systematic review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) requirements. MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CCMed, ERIC, Journals@OVID, Deutsches Ärzteblatt and Karlsruher virtueller Katalog (KvK) databases were searched. Publications dealing with information-seeking behaviour of people with diabetes mellitus published up to June 2015 were included. A forward citation tracking was performed in September 2016 and June 2017. Additionally, an update of the two main databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL) was conducted, considering studies published up to July 2017. Studies published in languages other than English or German were excluded, as well as letters, short reports, editorials, comments and discussion papers. A study selection and the critical appraisal of the selected studies were performed independently by two reviewers. A third reviewer was consulted if any disagreement was found. Data extraction and content analysis were performed using selected dimensions of Wilson's 'model of information behaviour'. Twenty-six studies were included. Five 'types of information-seeking behaviour' were identified, e.g. passive and active search. The 'Internet' and 'healthcare professionals' were the most frequently reported sources. 'Diet', 'complications', 'exercise' and 'medications and

Customer Journeys: A Systematic Literature Review

OpenAIRE

Følstad, Asbjørn; Kvale, Knut

2018-01-01

Purpose – Customer journeys has become an increasingly important topic in service management and design. The study reviews customer journey terminology and approaches within the research literature prior to 2013, mainly from the fields of design, management, and marketing. Design/methodology/approach - The study was conducted as a systematic literature review. Searches in Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, ACM Digital Library, and ScienceDirect identified 45 papers for analysis. The pa...

Recording and accounting for stakeholder involvement in systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Saan, Marieke C; Boeije, Hennie R; Sattoe, Jane N T; Bal, Marjolijn I; Missler, Marjolein; van Wesel, Floryt

2015-06-01

The use of stakeholders in systematic reviews is increasingly valued, but their influence on the systematicity of the review is often unclear. The aim of this study was to describe some of the processes of involvement of stakeholders and to demonstrate a Tool for Recording and Accounting for Stakeholder Involvement (TRASI). We demonstrate the TRASI in two worked examples. In one project, the reviewers collaborated with the end-user and an expert during the literature search. In the other project, experts were consulted to generate keywords before searching the literature. In the first project, disagreements about keywords to identify studies for the research topic were solved by informal discussion. In the second project, difficulties arose in reaching agreement between experts and reviewers about the core construct and the meaningful keywords associated with it. The TRASI aids researchers to systematically and transparently account for the decisions taken. The TRASI supports information specialists and librarians to shape the search strategy to match the objectives of the review. We propose the TRASI as a first step in resolving the challenges of detecting and reconstructing stakeholder influences. Potential new applications of the TRASI are discussed. © 2015 Health Libraries Group.

Systematic reviews of herbal medicines--an annotated bibliography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Linde, K.; ter Riet, G.; Hondras, M.; Vickers, A.; Saller, R.; Melchart, D.

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To provide a comprehensive collection and a summary of systematic reviews of clinical trials on herbal medicines. METHODS: Potentially relevant reviews were searched through the register of the Cochrane Complementary Medicine Field, the Cochrane Library, Medline, and bibliographies of