Postgraduate medical journal
-
Review Meta Analysis
Efficacy and safety of low dose ticagrelor in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Our aim was to examine clinical trials, provide guidance to practitioners and estimate the efficacy and safety of two agents by comparing low dose ticagrelor with standard dose clopidogrel in patients with acute coronary syndrome. We systematically looked through Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Wanfang data and CNKI for trials comparing low dose ticagrelor with standard dose clopidogrel for the treatment of patients with ACS since the database was created. The primary endpoint for efficacy was the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). ⋯ Platelet reaction units for low dose ticagrelor were much lower than those for standard dose clopidogrel (SMD -2.46, 95% CI -2.85 to -2.07) (p<0.01). In comparison with standard dose clopidogrel, low dose ticagrelor significantly lowered the incidence of MACEs, improved left ventricular ejection fraction, decreased left ventricular end diastolic dimension and did not expand the risk of major bleeding events or minor or minimal bleeding events in ACS patients with a considerable safety and efficacy profile. In addition, low dose ticagrelor was associated with dramatically lower platelet aggregation compared with standard dose clopidogrel.
-
Meta Analysis
Intravenous thrombolysis with 0.9 mg/kg alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke: a network meta-analysis of treatment delay.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of alteplase in intravenous thrombolysis of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) regarding the different time windows of treatment (<3 hours, 3-4.5 hours, >4.5 hours). ⋯ Alteplase within 3 hours should be recommended as the best treatment delay for its best efficacy among all the intervention and equivalent safety compared with placebo. Alteplase beyond 3 hours was less effective compared with that within 3 hours and increased the risk of mortality on 3 months as well as symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage at 36 hours. More head-to-head clinical trials are needed to confirm those findings.
-
Meta Analysis
Diagnostic accuracy of E-cadherin for malignanteffusions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The differential diagnosis of malignant effusion remains a clinical challenge. We aim to summarise all relevant literature studies in order to determine the overall clinical value of E-cadherin in the diagnosis of malignant effusion by meta-analysis. ⋯ E-cadherin exhibits very good diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis for malignant effusion; thus, it can be helpful in the process of clinical decisions.
-
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the association between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and mortality in patients with COVID-19. ⋯ Elevated NT-proBNP level was associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 pneumonia.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Prognostic significance of LINC00460 overexpression in solid tumours: a meta-analysis.
The prognostic value of long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 460 (LINC00460) overexpression in human solid malignant tumours remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted the meta-analysis to systematically review and assess the evidence for the correlation between LINC00460 overexpression and clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) of patients with solid malignant tumour. An electronic search of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNKI, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biological Medical Literature database and WanFang database was applied to select eligible articles. ⋯ Furthermore, according to subgroup analysis and meta-regression results, the heterogeneity of current meta-analysis may be attributed to the differences of cancer type and follow-up months. High expression of LINC00460 could predict poor prognosis in patients with solid malignant tumour. LINC00460 may serve as potential prognostic biomarker for clinical outcomes in various human solid malignant tumours.