Clinics
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The objectives of the study were to identify the factors that limit diaphragmatic mobility and evaluate the therapeutic results of the monitoring methods previously used in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and LILACS databases were used. A gray literature search was conducted with Google scholar. ⋯ However, the methods used to monitor diaphragm excursion should be adapted to the conditions of the patients, and additional investigations of their characteristics should be performed. More selective inclusion criteria and better matching in the samples are very important. In addition, more narrow age, sex and weight categories are important, especially in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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Observational Study
Association between antioxidant vitamins and oxidative stress among patients with a complete hydatidiform mole.
This study aimed to evaluate the potential relationship between oxidative stress, dietary intake, and serum levels of antioxidants in patients with a complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) compared with controls. ⋯ All groups exhibited high levels of oxidative stress, as evaluated by gamma-glutamyl transferase levels, and had inadequate intake of antioxidant vitamins. Therefore, the high exposure to oxidative stress found in our study, even in healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women, may increase the incidence of CHM in this region.
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Meta Analysis
Serum interleukin-6 level is correlated with the disease activity of systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a crucial role in systemic autoimmunity and pathologic inflammation. Numerous studies have explored serum IL-6 levels in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their correlation with disease activity. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to quantitatively assess the correlation between the serum IL-6 levels and SLE activity. ⋯ Furthermore, the pooled Fisher's z values (pooled Fisher's z=0.36, 95% CI: 0.26-0.46, p<0.01) showed that there was a positive correlation between the serum IL-6 levels and SLE activity. This study suggested that serum IL-6 levels were higher in patients with SLE than in healthy controls, and they were positively correlated with disease activity when Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index>4 was defined as active SLE. More homogeneous studies with large sample sizes are warranted to confirm our findings due to several limitations in our meta-analysis.
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Meta Analysis
Outcomes after rotator cuff repair in the elderly as assessed by the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons shoulder score.
Rotator cuff tears are common among the elderly, and studies on the outcomes after rotator cuff repair in the elderly are limited. We carried out this meta-analysis with systematic literature search, aiming to clarify the outcomes after rotator cuff repair in the elderly as assessed by the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) shoulder score. We conducted a literature search through October 2019 in PubMed and EMBASE databases and performed meta-analysis to calculate the summary mean difference comparing the post- and pre-operation ASES scores under both fixed-effect and random-effect models. ⋯ The ASES scores on average increased by 39.7 (95% confidence interval 28.3-51.1, p<0.001) after rotator cuff repair, in both fixed-effect and random-effect models. No substantial publication bias was indicated. Our findings suggest improved outcomes after rotator cuff repair in the elderly population as measured by the ASES score, and such improvements have been consistent in previous studies.