scholarly journals Moxibustion for Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Meta-Analysis

Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yuanen Huang ◽  
Jingping Wu ◽  
Hongbin Cheng ◽  
Yanling Liu

Background. Herpes zoster (HZ) is a disease that mainly causes severe segmental neuralgia and vesicles after infection with herpes zoster virus (VZV). At the same time, more than 9 to 34 percent of patients have postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) present with chronic pain for months or even years. Moxibustion has been used to treat herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia for many years; however, there has been no comprehensive study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of moxibustion in the treatment of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. More studies evaluated the combined effects of acupuncture and moxibustion. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate their efficacy and safety, so as to provide an evidence-based basis for the clinical application of moxibustion in the treatment of HZ and PHN. Method. The literature search was conducted in nine Chinese and English databases, and randomized controlled trials were pooled from their inceptions to June 2020. The included literature was screened, and data were extracted. RevMan 5.3 software and Stata software were used for statistical analysis. The primary outcome was the total effect. The secondary outcomes include VAS, NRS, and time of analgesia. Outcomes. From a total of 1957 identified studies, 31 were included in analysis (N = 2334 cases). 31 RCTs contained the experimental sample of 1185 cases and the control sample of 1149 cases reported efficiency of different moxibustions in the treatment of herpes zoster, statistical heterogeneity inspection without heterogeneity. So, we used the fixed-effects model, merge effect quantity OR = 3.89 (95% CI: 2.88∼5.25), Z = 8.86, and it suggested sample merger analysis was statistically significant. Also, the moxibustion, compared to other methods in the treatment of herpes zoster and herpes zoster neuralgia efficiency, increased significantly. The VAS scales, WMD = 1.69 (95% CI: 1.17∼2.22), and the time of analgesia, WMD = 2.41 (95% CI: 3.26∼1.73), indicated that moxibustion surpassed others in the relief of pain. NRS was just reported in one study. It was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in adverse effects OR = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.33∼1.13), Z = 1.56 ( P  = 0.12). Conclusion. Moxibustion has obvious advantages over other therapies in the treatment of HZ and PHN. However, due to the obvious publication bias, the interpretation of the results should be cautious, and more rigorous randomized controlled clinical studies should be included to further confirm the results in the future.

2020 ◽  
pp. 112972982095099
Author(s):  
Xiaohong Wu ◽  
Tiantian Zhang ◽  
Lichan Chen ◽  
Xisui Chen

Background: Recently, some studies have shown that prolonging flush interval is safe and feasible for patients who complete chemotherapy. However, there is no consensus about the optimal flush interval for those patients. Objective: The purpose of this review was to evaluate whether the flush interval could be prolonged based on monthly interval for regular maintenance and to explore the optimal flush interval. Data sources: We searched the following databases for articles published between 1 January 1982 and 21 February 2020: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Ovid. Study eligibility criteria: Randomized controlled trials, retrospective and prospective cohort studies of flush interval less than 4 weeks versus longer than 4 weeks for patients who completed chemotherapy, were included. Results: Two reviewers extracted information and assessed the quality of the articles independently. In total, 389 articles were retrieved, and 4 studies including 862 cases fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There was no statistical heterogeneity ( I2 = 0, p > 0.05) among the included studies. Hence, the fixed-effects model was used for the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that the total complication rate associated with longer than 4-week interval was higher than that associated with less than 4-week interval. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference between the two groups (7.2% vs 7.6%, p = 0.83). Moreover, the meta-analysis showed that the total complication and catheter occlusion rates associated with the 4-week interval were higher than those associated with the 8-week interval. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups (total complications: 11.4% vs 9.5%, p = 0.68; catheter occlusions: 4.9% vs 4.1%, p = 0.89). Limitations: Only four non-randomized controlled studies were included, and the outcomes of the included studies were reported incompletely. Conclusion: Extending the flush interval to longer than 4 weeks is safe and feasible. Based on previous studies, extending the flush interval to 8 weeks might not increase the incidence of total complications and catheter occlusions. However, there is no conclusion on whether the flush interval could be extended to 3 months or longer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Haihong Zuo ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Yuqing Yan

Objective. To analyze efficacy and safety of immunosuppressant therapy for noninfectious uveitis. Methods. A network search of PubMed, ResearchGate, and EMBASE databases was conducted for relative literature and studies from the inception of each database to April 2021. Primary outcomes were efficacy and time to treatment failure of immunosuppressant for noninfectious uveitis. Secondary outcome was incidence of adverse events (AEs). Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess risk of bias of included studies. Fixed effects model or random effects model was implemented to assess statistical heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis was employed to analyze heterogeneous sources. Results. Eight studies were deemed eligible for inclusion with a total of 848 patients. Six studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Among them, a single-blind RCT had relatively high measurement bias and performance bias. Immunosuppressant presented favorable efficacy for noninfectious uveitis than placebo, and RR was 1.43 (95% CI: 1.12-1.82). Immunosuppressant for noninfectious uveitis prolonged the time before failure, and HR was 0.43 (95% CI: 0.32-0.54). AEs increased after immunosuppressant was applied. Compared with immunosuppressant, RR of AEs with placebo was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.71-1.08). Conclusion. Immunosuppressant contributed to controlling progression of noninfectious uveitis to some extent. Compared with placebo, it increased incidence of AEs. More studies with low heterogeneity are warranted for stronger evidence in clinical.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammed Rashid ◽  
Madhan Ramesh ◽  
K. Shamshavali ◽  
Amit Dang ◽  
Himanshu Patel ◽  
...  

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the sixth primary cause of cancer death. However, conflicts are present about the efficacy and safety of Non-steroidal anti-androgens (NSAA) for its treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of NSAAs versus any comparator for the treatment of advanced or metastatic PCa (mPCa). Methodology: MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were searched. References of included studies and clinicaltrials.gov were also searched for relevant studies. Only English language studies after 1990 were considered for review. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the efficacy and safety of NSAAs as compared with any other comparator including surgery or chemotherapy in mPCa patients were included. The outcomes include efficacy, safety and the tolerability of the treatment. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool was used for quality assessment. Two authors were independently involved in the selection, extraction and quality assessment of included studies and disagreements were resolved by discussion or by consulting a third reviewer. Results: Fifty-eight out of 1307 non-duplicate RCTs with 29154 patients were considered for the review. NSAA showed significantly better progression-free survival [PFS] (Hazard ratio [HR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46-0.78; P=0.0001), time to distant metastasis or death [TTD] (HR, 0.80; 95% CI 0.73-0.91; p<0.0001), objective response (Odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% CI 1.06-2.54; P=0.03) and clinical benefits (OR, 1.33; 95% CI 1.08-1.63; P=0.006) as compared to the control group. There was no significant difference observed between the groups in terms of overall survival (HR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.87-1.03; P=0.18) and time to progression (HR, 0.93; 95% CI 0.77-1.11; P=0.43). Treatment-related adverse events were more with the NSAA group, but the discontinuation due to lack of efficacy reason was 43% significantly lesser than the control group in patients with mPCa. Rest of the outcomes were appeared to be non-significant. Conclusion: Treatment with NSAA was appeared to be better efficacious with respect to PFS, TTD, and response rate with considerable adverse events when compared to the control group in patients with metastatic PCa.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248524
Author(s):  
Rui Li ◽  
Zhiyong Tang ◽  
Fu Liu ◽  
Ming Yang

Background Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) has a significant impact on the mortality of immunocompromised patients. It is not known whether the prophylactic application of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) can reduce the incidence of PCP and mortality in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative immunodeficient population. The safety profile is also unknown. There have been few reports on this topic. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of the use of TMP-SMZ for the prevention of PCP in this population of patients from the perspective of evidence-based medicine. Methods A comprehensive search without restrictions on publication status or other parameters was conducted. Clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or case-control trials (CCSs) of TMP-SMZ used for the prevention of PCP in HIV-negative immunocompromised populations were considered eligible. A meta-analysis was performed using the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effects model or Mantel-Haenszel random-effects model, and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and reported. Results Of the 2392 records identified, 19 studies (n = 4135 patients) were included. The efficacy analysis results indicated that the PCP incidence was lower in the TMP-SMZ group than in the control group (OR = 0.27, 95% CI (0.10, 0.77), p = 0.01); however, the rate of drug discontinuation was higher in the TMP-SMZ group than in the control group (OR = 14.31, 95% CI (4.78, 42.91), p<0.00001). In addition, there was no statistically significant difference in the rate of mortality between the two groups (OR = 0.54, 95% CI (0.21, 1.37), p = 0.19). The safety analysis results showed that the rate of adverse events (AEs) was higher in the TMP-SMZ group than in the control group (OR = 1.92, 95% CI (1.06, 3.47), p = 0.03). Conclusions TMP-SMZ has a better effect than other drugs or the placebo with regard to preventing PCP in HIV-negative immunocompromised individuals, but it may not necessarily reduce the rate of mortality, the rate of drug discontinuation or AEs. Due to the limitations of the research methodologies used, additional large-scale clinical trials and well-designed research studies are needed to identify more effective therapies for the prevention of PCP.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranhel C. De Roxas ◽  
Roland Dominic G. Jamora

Introduction. Coenzyme Q10, also known as Ubiquinone, is a substance now being used as a dietary supplement in many countries including the Philippines. It has also been the focus of several researches as treatment for several diseases including Parkinson’s Disease. Several studies have shown that Coenzyme Q10 inhibits mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease, hence delaying its progression. Objectives. The objective of this study is to assess and summarize the available evidence on the efficacy and safety of Coenzyme Q10 administration in the prevention of the progression of early Parkinson’s Disease. Methods. This is meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on the use of Coenzyme Q10 in Parkinson’s Disease. A literature search in several databases was conducted for relevant studies. Three randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. The efficacy of Coenzyme Q10 were measured using the total and the component scores of the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale on follow-up. On the other hand, safety were measured using the withdrawal rate and the associated adverse reactions during the therapy of CoQ10. The Review Manager Software was utilized for the meta-analysis. Results. Compared to Placebo, treatment of CoQ10 did not show any significant difference in the mean scores of the UPDRS mental and ADL scores. Interestingly, the UPDRS motor score showed a significant difference between Coenzyme Q10 and placebo, but no significant difference when a subgroup analysis between high-dose (-4.03 [-15.07-7.01], p-value 0.47, I2 67%, P for heterogeneity 0.08) and low-dose Coenzyme Q10 (0.53 [-0.891.94], p-value 0.47, I2 34%, P for heterogeneity 0.22) was done. Overall, there was no significant difference in the total UPDRS score (0.68 [-0.61-1.97], p-value 0.30, I2 0%, P for heterogeneity 0.70). The most common side effects of the use of Coenzyme Q10 are anxiety, back pain, headache, sore throat, nausea, dizziness and constipation. Conclusion. Contrary to some animal and human studies, this meta-analysis showed that the use of CoQ10 results to nonsignificant improvement in all components of the UPDRS scores as opposed to placebo. However, the use of CoQ10 is tolerated and seems to be safe but further studies are needed to validate this finding.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089719002110382
Author(s):  
Lu Cheng ◽  
Tianrui Yang ◽  
Xiang Ma ◽  
Yuling Han ◽  
Yongtai Wang

Background Omalizumab is currently approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe allergic asthma in patients 6 years and older. Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of subcutaneous omalizumab as an add-on therapy option for moderate–severe allergic asthma in patients aged 6—20 years old. Methods The studies published from July, 1970 to May, 2021 were searched from the electronic databases which followed keywords: (“anti-IgE” OR “anti-immunoglobulin E” OR “anti-IgE antibody” OR “omalizumab” OR “rhuMAb-E25” OR “Xolair”) AND “asthma” AND (“child” OR “children” OR “adolescents” OR “youth” OR “teenager” OR “kids” OR “pediatric”). Thirteen studies were pooled to determine the effectiveness and safety of omalizumab. Efficacy endpoints were evaluated using a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model depending on heterogeneity. Safety endpoints were evaluated by odds ratio. Results Thirteen studies were included. In this meta-analysis, our results showed that fractional exhaled nitric oxide and asthma control test scores were significantly improved with omalizumab treatment. Serum immunoglobulin E was also decreased in children with moderate-to-severe asthma after treatment with omalizumab. The analysis found that there was no significant difference between pre-and post-treatment in forced expiratory volume in one second/ forced vital capacity ratio, forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of vital capacity, or FEV1. Overall, more adverse events occurred with omalizumab compared to placebo. However, the degree was mild to moderate. Conclusion This meta-analysis indicates that omalizumab is safe and effective to treat children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe asthma.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Shan-Shan Lin ◽  
Chun-Xiang Liu ◽  
Jun-Hua Zhang ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Jing-Bo Zhai ◽  
...  

Objectives. To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of sinomenine preparation (SP) for treating ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods. Clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of SP for treating AS were systematically identified in six electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and Wanfang Databases from the inception up to 31 October 2019. Cochrane’s risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality and Review Manager 5.3 software was used to analyze data. Results. A total of 12 RCTs involving 835 patients were finally included. According to interventions, RCTs were divided into two types. The intervention in 10 RCTs was SP combined with conventional pharmacotherapy (CPT) versus CPT and that in 2 RCTs was SP alone versus CPT. The results of the meta-analysis showed that, compared with CPT alone, SP combined with oral CPT has better improvement in BASDAI (WMD = −1.84, 95% CI [−3.31, −0.37], P=0.01), morning stiffness time (WMD = −13.46, 95% CI [−16.12, −10.79], P<0.00001), the Schober test (WMD = 1.26, 95% CI [0.72, 1.80], P<0.00001), the occipital wall test (WMD = −0.55, 95% CI [−0.96, −0.14], P=0.009), the finger-to-ground distance (WMD = −3.28, 95% CI [−5.64, −0.93], P=0.006), 15 m walking time (WMD = −8.81, 95% CI [−13.42, −4.20], P=0.0002), the C-reactive protein (CRP) (WMD = −1.84, 95% CI [−3.24, −0.45], P=0.01), and the total effective rate (RR = 1.10, 95% CI [1.01, 1.20], P=0.03). Besides, it also showed that oral SP alone may be more effective in improving morning stiffness time (WMD = −31.89, 95% CI [−34.91, −28.87], P<0.00001) compared with CPT alone. However, this study cannot provide evidence that loading the injectable SP based on CPT can significantly increase the efficacy due to the insufficient number of studies included. In terms of adverse events, there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental group and the control group. Conclusions. This study shows that oral SP may be effective and safe in the treatment of AS. Due to the low methodological quality of the included RCTs and the limitations of the meta-analysis, it is still necessary to carry out more multicenter, large-sample, and high-quality RCTs to further verify the conclusions. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42018099170), and the review was constructed following the PRISMA guidelines (Annex 1).


2020 ◽  
pp. 204748732093058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Dai ◽  
Yuyue Zuo ◽  
Qiqi You ◽  
Hesong Zeng ◽  
Shiyi Cao

Aim Bempedoic acid is a novel oral drug, which has been increasingly researched to play an important role in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia recently. However, results from original studies were inconsistent and inconclusive. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to quantitatively appraise the efficacy and safety of bempedoic acid. Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus were searched from inception to 30 January 2020. We included randomized controlled trials that compared the efficacy and safety of bempedoic acid with placebo in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Results from trials were presented as mean differences or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and were pooled by random or fixed effects model. The risk of bias and heterogeneity among trials were also assessed and analyzed. Results Pooled analysis of 10 eligible trials showed that bempedoic acid treatment resulted in greater lowering of the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level than the placebo group (mean difference –23.16%, 95% CI –26.92% to –19.04%). We also found that improvements in lipid parameters and biomarkers were still maintained at weeks 24 and 52 from the long-term trials. As for safety, bempedoic acid did not increase the risk of overall adverse events (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.18). However, the incidence of adverse events leading to discontinuation was higher in the bempedoic acid group (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.82). Conclusions Available evidence from randomized controlled trials suggests that bempedoic acid provides a well-tolerated and effective therapeutic option for lipid lowering in patients with hyperlipidemia


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 4290-4290
Author(s):  
Guoqing Wei ◽  
Delong Liu

Abstract Abstract 4290 Background: Current therapy is still unsatisfactory in elderly patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). CAG regimen (cytarabine, aclarubicin, G-CSF) has been commonly used in China and Japan for the treatment of elderly AML pts. The aim of this study is to summarize the data and to analyze the efficacy as well as the toxic effects of CAG regimen in elderly AML pts. Methods: The databases of PubMed, Wanfang Data, as well as American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting abstracts were searched for articles published in English, Chinese and Japanese languages from January 1995 to December 2010. Eligible studies were relevant clinical trials of elderly AML pts treated with CAG regimen. Complete remission (CR) rate, odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of chemotherapy were compared through a meta-analysis using a random-effects or fixed-effects model. Results: 19 trials with a total of 367 elderly AML pts were identified and included for analysis. Among the 367 AML pts treated with CAG, 266 pts were newly diagnosed AML, 54 pts were relapsed/refractory (R/R) AML. The AML status was not specified in the rest 47 pts. The CR rate for the 367 elderly AML pts was 52.0% (95% CI 46.8%-57.2%). Interestingly, no significant difference in CR rates was noted between the newly diagnosed (54.7%, 95% CI 48.6%-60.7%) and R/R AML pts (45.7%, 95% CI 32.4%-59.6%) (Q=1.332, p=0.248). Three studies compared the CR rates of elderly AML pts according to the karyotype. The CR rate was significantly higher in pts with intermediate (72.4%, 95% CI 58.0%-83.3%) cytogenetics than those with unfavorable one (35.7%, 95% CI 18.7%-57.2%) (Q=7.803, p=0.005). These elderly AML pts tolerated CAG well with low cardiotoxicity (0.73%, 2/273) and ED (8.48%, 29/342). Conclusions: CAG regimen induced high CR rates in elderly pts with new and relapsed/ refractory AML. This regimen was well tolerated with low cardiotoxicity and early death rate. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e20611-e20611
Author(s):  
Bilal Iqbal ◽  
Shenhong Wu

e20611 Background: Fatigue is one of the major side effects associated with targeted therapeutic agents in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and has negatively affected the optimal use of these drugs. Currently the risk of fatigue has not been well defined. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT) to determine the risk of fatigue in RCC patients treated with targeted therapy. Methods: Databases including PUBMED, Web of Science, and abstracts presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meetings up to October, 2012 were searched to identify relevant studies. Eligible studies included prospective RCTs in which a targeted therapy was compared to a control of non-targeted therapy (placebo or interferon) with data available. Incidences and relative risk (RR) were calculated using a random- or fixed-effects model depending on the heterogeneity of the included studies. Results: A total of 5,192 RCC patients (targeted therapy: 3023, control: 2092) from 11 RCTs were selected for analysis. The overall incidences of all-grade and high-grade (ie, grade 3 or above) fatigue were 45.4% (95% CI: 33.0-58.5%) and 7.6% (95% CI: 4.1-13.5%) respectively. The incidences varied significantly among different agents (P<0.001). In comparison with overall controls, the targeted therapy did not significantly increase the risk of all-grade (RR=1.07, 95% CI: 1.0-1.35, p=0.055) or high-grade fatigue (RR= 1.01, 95% CI: 0.68-1.50, P=0.95). However, the targeted therapy significantly increased the risk of all-grade fatigue (RR 1.60, 95% CI: 1.40-2.32; P<0.001), but not high-grade fatigue (RR 1.74, 95% CI: 0.91-3.32; P=0.095) when compared to placebo. There was no significant difference between the targeted therapy and interferon in the risk of all-grade (RR 1.02, 95% CI: 0.90-1.14; P=0.90) or high-grade fatigue (RR 0.86, 95% CI: 0.55-1.36; P=0.53). Conclusions: The targeted therapy may significantly increase the risk of fatigue in a magnitude comparable to interferon.


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