scholarly journals Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Ectoine Nasal Spray in Patients with Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Eichel ◽  
Andreas Bilstein ◽  
Nina Werkhäuser ◽  
Ralph Mösges

Objectives. The meta-analysis aims to investigate the efficacy of ectoine nasal spray and eye drops in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms. Design and Methods. This meta-analysis is based on yet unpublished data of four studies. Both nasal and eye symptoms were documented in patient diary cards. All scales were transformed into a 4-point scale: 0 = no, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe symptoms. Each symptom was analysed individually in a meta-analysis of the area under the curve values as well as in a meta-analysis of pre- and posttreatment comparison. Results. After seven days of treatment with ectoine nasal spray both nasal and ocular symptoms decreased significantly. A strong reduction of symptom severity was shown for the parameters rhinorrhoea (31.76% reduction) and nasal obstruction (29.94% reduction). Furthermore, the meta-analyses of individual symptoms to investigate the strength of effect after seven days of medication intake showed significant improvement for nasal obstruction, rhinorrhoea, nasal itching, sneezing, itching of eyes, and redness of eyes. The improvement of the symptom nasal obstruction was associated with a strong effect 0.53 (±0.26). Conclusions. The ectoine nasal spray and eye drops seem to be equally effective as guideline-recommended medication in the treatment of rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Werkhäuser ◽  
Andreas Bilstein ◽  
Uwe Sonnemann

Objectives. Allergic rhinitis is a common disease with increasing prevalence and high impact on economic burden and comorbidities. As treatment with pharmacological drugs is not always satisfactory due to side effects and incomplete efficacy, alternative treatment strategies are needed. Ectoine is an osmolyte with membrane stabilizing and inflammation reducing capacities. Nasal spray and eye drops containing ectoine are promising new treatment regimens for allergic rhinitis sufferers. Design and Methods. The current two noninterventional trials evaluated the efficacy and safety of ectoine containing nasal spray and eye drops for treating allergic rhinitis in comparison with either azelastine or cromoglycic acid containing products. Nasal and ocular symptom developments as well as judgment of tolerability and efficacy were assessed both by investigators and patients over a time period of one to two weeks. Results. Both trials confirmed that ectoine containing products reduced nasal and ocular symptoms in allergic rhinitis patients. Results clearly demonstrated good safety profiles of the ectoine products comparable to those of azelastine and even better to those of cromoglycate products. Conclusion. Ectoine containing nasal spray and eye drops are interesting new treatment strategies for sufferers of allergic rhinitis, combining both good efficacy and absence of side effects.


Author(s):  
Bonnie A Armstrong ◽  
Natalie Ein ◽  
Brenda I Wong ◽  
Sara N Gallant ◽  
Lingqian Li

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesThe effect bilingualism has on older adults’ inhibitory control has been extensively investigated, yet there is continued controversy regarding whether older adult bilinguals show superior inhibitory control compared with monolinguals. The objective of the current meta-analysis was to examine the reliability and magnitude of the bilingualism effect on older adults’ inhibitory control as measured by the Simon and Stroop tasks. In addition, we examined whether individual characteristics moderate the bilingual advantage in inhibition, including age (young–old vs old–old), age of second language acquisition, immigrant status, language proficiency, and frequency of language use.Research Design and MethodsA total of 22 samples for the Simon task and 14 samples for the Stroop task were derived from 28 published and unpublished articles (32 independent samples, with 4 of these samples using more than 1 task) and were analyzed in 2 separate meta-analyses.ResultsAnalyses revealed a reliable effect of bilingualism on older adults’ performance on the Simon (g = 0.60) and Stroop (g = 0.27) tasks. Interestingly, individual characteristics did not moderate the association between bilingualism and older adults’ inhibitory control.Discussion and ImplicationsThe results suggest there is a bilingual advantage in inhibitory control for older bilinguals compared with older monolinguals, regardless of the individual characteristics previously thought to moderate this effect. Based on these findings, bilingualism may protect inhibitory control from normal cognitive decline with age.


1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. S5-S10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel A. Drouin ◽  
William H. Yang ◽  
Frederick Horak

This international multicentre, open-label, parallel-group trial was undertaken to compare the therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of topical levocabastine and oral cetirizine in patients with perennial allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, with particular reference to the comparative onset of action of the two drugs. A total of 207 patients were randomized to receive either levocabastine nasal spray (0.5 mg/ml, two sprays in each nostril twice daily) plus levocabastine eye drops as required (0.5 mg/ml, one drop in each eye twice daily p.r.n.) or cetirizine orally (10 mg once daily) with a treatment duration of 2 weeks. Onset of action was found to be significantly more rapid with levocabastine than with cetirizine for both nasal and ocular symptoms (p < 0.001). Within 15 min of study drug administration, 36% of levocabastine-treated patients reported relief from nasal symptoms and 32% relief from ocular symptoms compared with 10% and 17% of patients on cetirizine, respectively. At 1 h, the percentages of patients reporting relief were 76% and 38% for nasal symptoms, and 81% and 48% for ocular symptoms in the levocabastine and cetirizine treatment groups, respectively. At 8 h there were no differences between the two treatments. Overall therapeutic efficacy was found to be comparable in the two treatment groups over the 2-week study period with no significant intergroup differences in symptom severity or global therapeutic efficacy. Both drugs were well tolerated with no significant differences in the incidence or type of adverse reactions between the two groups. In conclusion, levocabastine eye drops and nasal spray are as effective and well tolerated as oral cetirizine for the treatment of perennial allergic rhinoconjunctivitis with the advantage of a significantly faster onset of action for both nasal and ocular symptoms.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257220
Author(s):  
Guocan Yu ◽  
Fangming Zhong ◽  
Yanqin Shen ◽  
Hong Zheng

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of Xpert MTB/RIF for tuberculous pericarditis (TBP). Methods We searched relevant databases for Xpert MTB/RIF for TBP diagnosis until April 2021 and screened eligible studies for study inclusion. We evaluated the effectiveness of Xpert MTB/RIF when the composite reference standard (CRS) and mycobacterial culture were the gold standards, respectively. We performed meta-analyses using a bivariate random-effects model, and when the heterogeneity was obvious, the source of heterogeneity was further discussed. Results We included seven independent studies comparing Xpert MTB/RIF with the CRS and six studies comparing it with culture. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve of Xpert MTB/RIF were 65% (95% confidence interval, 59–72%), 99% (97–100%), and 0.99 (0.97–0.99) as compared with the CRS, respectively, and 75% (53–88%), 99% (90–100%), and 0.94 (0.92–0.96) as compared with culture, respectively. There was no significant heterogeneity between studies when CRS was the gold standard, whereas heterogeneity was evident when culture was the gold standard. Conclusions The sensitivity of Xpert MTB/RIF for diagnosing TBP was moderate and the specificity was good; thus, Xpert MTB/RIF can be used in the initial diagnosis of TBP.


Author(s):  
Naser Nasiri ◽  
Hamid Sharifi ◽  
Azam Bazrafshan ◽  
Atefeh Noori ◽  
Mohammad Karamouzian ◽  
...  

Several studies have reported the characteristics of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet there is a gap in our understanding of the ocular manifestations of COVID-19. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigated the prevalence of ocular manifestations in COVID-19 patients. We searched Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and medRxiv from December 1, 2019 to August 11, 2020. Two independent reviewers screened the articles, abstracted the data, and assessed the quality of included studies in duplicate. Thirty-eight studies were eligible after screening of 895 unique articles, with a total of 8,219 COVID-19 patients (55.3% female; n = 3,486 out of 6,308 patients). Using data extracted from cross-sectional studies, we performed randomeffects meta-analyses to estimate the pooled prevalence of ocular symptoms along with 95% confidence interval (CI). The prevalence of ocular manifestations was estimated to be 11.03% (95% CI: 5.71–17.72). In the studies that reported the details of observed ocular symptoms, the most common ocular manifestations were dry eye or foreign body sensation (n = 138, 16%), redness (n = 114, 13.3%), tearing (n = 111, 12.8%), itching (n = 109, 12.6%), eye pain (n = 83, 9.6%) and discharge (n = 76, 8.8%). Moreover, conjunctivitis had the highest rate among reported ocular diseases in COVID-19 patients (79 out of 89, 88.8%). The results suggest that approximately one out of ten COVID-19 patients show at least one ocular symptom. Attention to ocular manifestations, especially conjunctivitis, can increase the sensitivity of COVID-19 detection among patients.


Allergy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 686-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bielory ◽  
Y. Chun ◽  
B. P. Bielory ◽  
G. W. Canonica

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 617
Author(s):  
Yoon-A Park ◽  
Yu-bin Song ◽  
Jeong Yee ◽  
Ha-Young Yoon ◽  
Hye-Sun Gwak

This study aimed to investigate the influence of CYP2C9 genetic polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics of losartan and its active metabolite, E-3174, through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eight studies published before March 2021 were included in this study. We used PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The data analysis was conducted through Review Manager (RevMan), version 5.3, and R software. We found that healthy volunteers with CYP2C9*2 or *3 carriers had higher area under the curve (AUC0-∞) of losartan (mean difference (MD) 0.17 μg·h/mL; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.04, 0.29) and lower AUC0-∞ of E-3174 (MD −0.35 μg·h/mL; 95% CI: −0.62, −0.08) than those with CYP2C9*1/*1. Subjects with CYP2C9*2 or *3 carriers showed lower maximum concentration (Cmax) of E-3174 than those with CYP2C9*1/*1 (MD −0.13 μg/mL; 95% CI: −0.17, −0.09). For half-life, subjects with CYP2C9*2 or *3 carriers had longer half-lives of losartan and E-3174 than those with CYP2C9*1/*1 (MD 0.47 h; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.61 and MD 0.68 h; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.92, respectively). This meta-analysis suggests that the pharmacokinetics of losartan and E-3174 are associated with the CYP2C9 polymorphisms


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 157-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip L. Roth ◽  
Allen I. Huffcutt

The topic of what interviews measure has received a great deal of attention over the years. One line of research has investigated the relationship between interviews and the construct of cognitive ability. A previous meta-analysis reported an overall corrected correlation of .40 ( Huffcutt, Roth, & McDaniel, 1996 ). A more recent meta-analysis reported a noticeably lower corrected correlation of .27 ( Berry, Sackett, & Landers, 2007 ). After reviewing both meta-analyses, it appears that the two studies posed different research questions. Further, there were a number of coding judgments in Berry et al. that merit review, and there was no moderator analysis for educational versus employment interviews. As a result, we reanalyzed the work by Berry et al. and found a corrected correlation of .42 for employment interviews (.15 higher than Berry et al., a 56% increase). Further, educational interviews were associated with a corrected correlation of .21, supporting their influence as a moderator. We suggest a better estimate of the correlation between employment interviews and cognitive ability is .42, and this takes us “back to the future” in that the better overall estimate of the employment interviews – cognitive ability relationship is roughly .40. This difference has implications for what is being measured by interviews and their incremental validity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 228 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kossmeier ◽  
Ulrich S. Tran ◽  
Martin Voracek

Abstract. Currently, dedicated graphical displays to depict study-level statistical power in the context of meta-analysis are unavailable. Here, we introduce the sunset (power-enhanced) funnel plot to visualize this relevant information for assessing the credibility, or evidential value, of a set of studies. The sunset funnel plot highlights the statistical power of primary studies to detect an underlying true effect of interest in the well-known funnel display with color-coded power regions and a second power axis. This graphical display allows meta-analysts to incorporate power considerations into classic funnel plot assessments of small-study effects. Nominally significant, but low-powered, studies might be seen as less credible and as more likely being affected by selective reporting. We exemplify the application of the sunset funnel plot with two published meta-analyses from medicine and psychology. Software to create this variation of the funnel plot is provided via a tailored R function. In conclusion, the sunset (power-enhanced) funnel plot is a novel and useful graphical display to critically examine and to present study-level power in the context of meta-analysis.


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