scholarly journals Fetal intra-abdominal umbilical vein varix: retrospective cohort study and systematic review and meta-analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 580-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. di Pasquo ◽  
M. Kuleva ◽  
N. O'Gorman ◽  
Y. Ville ◽  
L. J. Salomon
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Umbilical Vein Varix

scholarly journals Low blood sodium increases risk and severity of COVID-19: a systematic review, meta-analysis and retrospective cohort study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Luo ◽  
Yirong Li ◽  
Jiapei Dai
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Serum Sodium ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Sodium Concentration ◽  
The Body ◽  
Serum Sodium Concentration ◽  
The Mean

Background Novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infects human lung tissue cells through angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), and the body sodium is an important factor for regulating the expression of ACE2. Through a systematic review, meta-analysis and retrospective cohort study, we found that the low blood sodium population may significantly increase the risk and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods We extracted the data of serum sodium concentrations of patients with COVID-19 on admission from the articles published between Jan 1 and April 28, 2020, and analyzed the relationship between the serum sodium concentrations and the illness severity of patients. Then we used a cohort of 244 patients with COVID-19 for a retrospective analysis. Results We identified 36 studies, one of which comprised 2736 patients.The mean serum sodium concentration in patients with COVID-19 was 138.6 mmol/L, which was much lower than the median level in population (142.0). The mean serum sodium concentration in severe/critical patients (137.0) was significantly lower than those in mild and moderate patients (140.8 and 138.7, respectively). Such findings were confirmed in a retrospective cohort study, of which the mean serum sodium concentration in all patients was 137.5 mmol/L, and the significant differences were found between the mild (139.2) and moderate (137.2) patients, and the mild and severe/critical (136.6) patients. Interestingly, such changes were not obvious in the serum chlorine and potassium concentrations. Conclusions The low sodium state of patients with COVID-19 may not be the consequence of virus infection, but could be a physiological state possibly caused by living habits such as low salt diet and during aging process, which may result in ACE2 overexpression, and increase the risk and severity of COVID-19. These findings may provide a new idea for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

scholarly journals The Prognostic Significance of NEK2 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis and Retrospective Cohort Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 2746-2759 ◽  
Author(s):  
YuSheng Cheng ◽  
XiaoLong Chen ◽  
LinSen Ye ◽  
YinCai Zhang ◽  
Jing Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Normal Liver ◽  
Hazard Ratio ◽  
Free Survival

Background/Aims: Numerous studies have shown that NIMA-related kinase 2 (NEK2) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue is associated with survival and clinicopathological features; however, the evidence remains inconclusive. Thus, we aimed to further explore the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of NEK2 expression in HCC using a two-part study consisting of a retrospective cohort study and a meta-analysis. Methods: In the cohort study, NEK2 expression in 206 HCC samples and adjacent normal liver tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Patients were divided into a high NEK2 expression group and a low NEK2 expression group by the median value of the immunohistochemical scores. The Kaplan–Meier method with the log-rank test was used to analyze survival outcomes in the two groups, and multivariate analysis based on Cox proportional hazard regression models was applied to identify independent prognostic factors. In the meta-analysis, eligible studies were searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CNKI databases. STATA version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX) was used for statistical analyses. Results: The IHC results of our cohort study showed higher NEK2 expression in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal liver tissues. Multivariate analysis revealed that high NEK2 expression was an independent risk factor for poor overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.763; 95% CI, 1.060–2.935; P = 0.029] and disease-free survival (DFS) [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.687; 95% CI, 1.102–2.584; P = 0.016] in HCC patients. A total of 11 studies with 1,698 patients were enrolled in the meta-analysis, consisting of 10 studies from the database search and our cohort study. The pooled results revealed that high NEK2 expression correlated closely with poor OS among HCC patients (HR = 1.47; 95% CI, 1.21–1.80; P < 0.01), and DFS/recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.41–2.63; P < 0.01). Additionally, our meta-analysis also showed that the proportion of HCC patients with high NEK2 expression was greater in the group with larger tumors (> 5 cm) than in the group with smaller tumors (≤ 5 cm) [odds ratio (OR) = 2.02; 95% CI, 1.13–3.64; P < 0.01). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that high NEK2 expression is a risk factor for poor survival in HCC patients. More prospective, homogeneous, and multiethnic studies are required to validate our findings.

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