Search results for "bias"
showing 10 items of 654 documents
A systematic review on regenerative alveolar graft materials in clinical trials
2021
Abstract Background Alveolar cleft grafting is a necessary procedure to restore bone defects. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are regarded as a golden standard for investigating the efficacy of treatments. Nevertheless, risk of bias (RoB) can still affect the validity of these trials. We aimed to conduct a systemic review of all control trials (CTs) using regenerative materials for alveolar cleft reconstructions to evaluate their RoB and perform a meta-analysis of new bone formation. Methods Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE AND Google Scholar were searched up to October 2020. Thereafter, th…
Industrial odour pollution and human health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
2021
Abstract Objective To conduct a systematic review to evaluate the association between residential or occupational short- and long–term exposure to odour pollution from industrial sources and the health status of the exposed population. Methods The searches were conducted in Medline, EMBASE and Scopus in April 2021. Exposure to an environmental odour from industrial sources in population resident near the source or in workers was considered. We considered outcomes for which there was a biological plausibility, such as wheezing and asthma, cough, headache, nausea and vomiting (primary outcomes). We also included stress-related symptoms and novel outcomes (e.g. mood states). Risk of bias was e…
Women in Neurosurgery: From a Matter of Fortuitous Occasions Toward a Conscious Choice.
2021
Background Medicine has made progress toward gender equality and has achieved almost equal distribution between men and women among graduates. However, more still needs to be done because most surgical subspecialties are still lacking adequate female representation and this persisting gender gap is particularly evident in both practical neurosurgery and the academic world. Gradual advancements have enabled a few women to pursue a successful career in neurologic surgery, pairing clinical practice with mentoring and involvement in academic research. These efforts show that more needs to be done to bridge the historic and current gap, which has recently aroused increasing interest among the ne…
Coffee is protective against oral and pharyngeal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2017
Objectives: Certain Coffee is one of the most popular and consumable drinks worldwide. However, there are conflicting results on the influence of this drink in oral and pharyngeal cancer risk. To clarify this, we aimed to systemically review and carry out a meta-analysis of the relevant literature on the association between coffee and oral and pharyngeal cancer. Study Design: We carried out an electronic search of publications up to August 2016 from PubMed, National Library of Medicines Medline, Embase, Science Direct and the Cochrane Central Register. The Newcastle–Ottawa scale was used to address the quality of the studies a meta-analysis was carried out using random-effects models. Resul…
Association between night/after-hours surgery and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis
2020
Abstract Background The association between night/after-hours surgery and patients' mortality is unclear. Methods The protocol of this systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019128534). We searched Medline, PubMed, and EMBASE from inception until August 29, 2019 for studies examining an association between timing of surgical procedures (time of anaesthesia induction or surgery start) and mortality (within 30 days or in-hospital) in adult patients. Studies reporting patients' mortality after surgery performed during the weekend only were excluded. All analyses were done using the random-effects model. Results We included 40 observational studies (36 retrospective and four prospec…
Media intervention program for reducing unrealistic optimism bias: The link between unrealistic optimism, well-being, and health.
2021
Unrealistic optimism is the tendency to perceive oneself as safer than others in situations that equally threaten everybody. By reducing fear, this bias boosts one's well-being; however, it is also a deterrent to one's health. Three experiments were run in a mixed-design on 1831 participants to eliminate unrealistic optimism (measured by two items-probability of COVID-19 infection for oneself and for others; within-subjects) toward the probability of COVID-19 infection via articles/videos. A between-subject factor was created by manipulation. Ostensibly, daily newspaper articles describing other people diligently following medical recommendations (experiment 1) and videos showing people who…
Methodology for high-quality studies on course and prognosis of inflammatory bowel disease.
2012
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are characterized by a chronic course with an alternation of relapses and remissions. Questions about prognosis are important for the patient who wants to know how the disease will affect his/her life and also for clinicians to make management decisions. Correct selection of the patients is the basis for good methodological studies on the course of IBD. A great proportion of data on the course of IBD is derived from a limited number of cohort studies. Studies help to define the endpoints for clinical trials and to identify subsets of patients in whom the prognosis of the disease can be stratified according to clinical features. Specific scientific requirem…
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of statins on plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine concentrations.
2015
AbstractThe impact of statin therapy on plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels has not been conclusively studied. Therefore the aim of the meta-analysis was to assess the effect of statins on circulating ADMA levels. We searched selected databases (up to August 2014) to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigate the effect of statins on plasma ADMA concentrations. A weighted meta-regression (WMD) using unrestricted maximum likelihood model was performed to assess the impact of statin dose, duration of statin therapy and baseline ADMA concentrations as potential variables on the WMD between statin and placebo group. In total, 1134 participants in 9 selected RCTs …
Can chemotherapy concomitantly delivered with radiotherapy improve survival of patients with resectable rectal cancer? A meta-analysis of literature …
2010
Summary Background There is clear evidence from two systematic reviews that radiotherapy (RT) reduces the risk of local recurrence in patients with resectable rectal cancer, though the data on survival are still equivocal. Objective To assess the effects of chemotherapy combined concomitantly with radiotherapy (CRT) on the increase of overall survival, and on the prevention of local recurrence and distant metastases. Data sources Computerized bibliographic searches of MEDLINE and CANCERLIT (1970–2008) were supplemented with hand searches of reference lists. Study selection Studies were included if they were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing preoperative or postoperative CRT to p…