Search results for "randomized controlled trials"
showing 10 items of 449 documents
Prognostic value of cardiac CT
2020
In the past decades, coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) has become a powerful tool in the management of coronary artery disease. The diagnostic and prognostic value of CCTA has been extensively demonstrated in both large observational studies and clinical trials among stable chest pain patients. The quantification of coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is a well-established predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in asymptomatic subjects. Besides CACS, the main strength of CCTA is the accurate assessment of the individual total atherosclerotic plaque burden, which holds important prognostic information. In addition, CCTA, by providing detailed information on corona…
Iron Chelation Therapy in thalassaemia major: a sistematic review with meta-analyses of 1520 patients included on randomized clinical trials
2011
The effectiveness of deferoxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP), or deferasirox (DFX) in thalassemia major was assessed. Outcomes were reported as means±SD, mean differences with 95% CI, or standardized mean differences. Statistical heterogeneity was tested using χ2 (Q) and I2. Sources of bias and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system (GRADE) were considered. Overall, 1520 patients were included. Only 7.4% of trials were free of bias. Overall measurements suggest low trial quality (GRADE). The meta-analysis suggests lower final liver iron concentrations during associated versus monotherapy treatment (p<0.0001), increases in serum ferritin levels during DFX 5, 1…
Is arthrocentesis of temporomandibular joint with corticosteroids beneficial? A systematic review
2018
Background Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are musculoskeletal conditions that can inhibit the normal function of temporomandibular joints (TMJs) and affect the patient’s quality of life, negatively. Arthrocentesis (AC) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used for treating TMDs. The aim of present paper is to evaluate the advantages of administrating corticosteroid (CS) during AC by reviewing high quality released articles. Material and Methods Searching on Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, and Scopus databases were performed with focusing on proper key words. Related titles and abstracts, up to December 2017, were screened and selected based on i…
Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity: The New Frontier of Gluten Related Disorders
2013
Non Celiac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS) was originally described in the 1980s and recently a “re-discovered” disorder characterized by intestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms related to the ingestion of gluten-containing food, in subjects that are not affected with either celiac disease (CD) or wheat allergy (WA). Although NCGS frequency is still unclear, epidemiological data have been generated that can help establishing the magnitude of the problem. Clinical studies further defined the identity of NCGS and its implications in human disease. An overlap between the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and NCGS has been detected, requiring even more stringent diagnostic criteria. Several studies sug…
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 …
A meta-analysis of the role of statins on renal outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease. Is the duration of therapy important?
2013
article i nfo Introduction: The efficacy of statin treatment in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients remains controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate whether statins modulate renal function in patients with CKD. Methods: Data from Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of randomized controlled trials for years 1966-December 2012 were searched for appropriate studies. Results: Twenty trials with 6452 CKD subjects randomized to receive either statin or placebo were included. Statin therapy significantly influenced high sensitivity C-reactive protein levels in patients on or off dialysis (−0.28 mg/dl, 95%CI: −0.93 to −0.37; p b 0.05 and …
Recommendations for the management of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
2005
After SAH, primary and secondary complications are frequent and often require neurosurgical interventions to avoid secondary brain damage. The authors of the present paper have summarized the available data about the treatment modalities often used for patients with SAH. The present recommendations have been developed as a neurosurgical and neuroanestesiological consensus. Evidence from prospective, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled studies support grade A recommendations (standard) for the prophylaxis and treatment of cerebral vasospasm with oral Nimodipine in good grade patients. For intravenous Nimodipine or for oral nimodipine treatment in poor grade patients, available data …
The impact of radiotherapy on survival in resectable gastric carcinoma: A meta-analysis of literature data.
2007
Summary Background The benefit of external radiotherapy for gastric carcinoma has been extensively studied, but data on survival are still equivocal. Objective To assess the effectiveness of surgery combined with preoperative radiotherapy or postoperative chemoradiotherapy in the reduction of all-cause mortality in patients with resectable gastric carcinoma. Methods Computerised bibliographic searches of MEDLINE and CANCERLIT (1970–2006) were supplemented with hand searches of reference lists. Study selection Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing mortality of surgery combined with preoperative radiotherapy or postoperative chemoradiotherapy to surg…
ESH position paper: renal denervation - an interventional therapy of resistant hypertension
2012
Experts from the European Society of Hypertension prepared this position paper in order to summarize current evidence, unmet needs and practical recommendations on the application of percutaneous transluminal ablation of renal nerves [renal denervation (RDN)] as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of resistant hypertension. The sympathetic nervous activation to the kidney and the sensory afferent signals to the central nervous system represent the targets of RND. Clinical studies have documented that catheter-based RDN decreases both efferent sympathetic and afferent sensory nerve traffic leading to clinically meaningful systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) reductions in pa…
A decade of trials of interferon-alpha for chronic hepatitis C. A meta-regression analysis
2003
The most relevant randomized controlled trials of interferon-alpha (IFN) for naive patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) published in a decade, just before appearance of pegylated IFN trials in 2000, were included in this paper. Its purpose is to review the relationship between sustained biochemical response in active versus control group versus usual clinical variables as IFN regimens, cirrhosis, genotype and versus less frequently addressed variables as funding, methodological quality or location of principal author. Meta-analysis estimates of global treatment effect varied according to trial design: group 1=IFN versus placebo/no treatment, 32 RCTs, 2499 pts, OR 9.5 (6.3-14.2); group 2a…