Medicine
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Owing to reports of recurrent cardiac events in some catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) patients using β-blockers, safer alternatives are being investigated. Flecainide is an alternative adjunctive anti-arrhythmic agent known to provide incomplete protection to CPVT patients. ⋯ Flecainide is an effective and safe anti-arrhythmic agent, and its use as a monotherapy might be a good alternative for CPVT patients with β-blocker intolerance. Combination therapy was superior to β-blocker monotherapy. More randomized clinical trials are required to explore the long-term efficacy and safety of flecainide in these patients.
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Meta Analysis
Timing of continuous renal replacement therapy in patients with septic AKI: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
The effects of early continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) on mortality in patients with septic acute kidney injury (AKI) remain controversial. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to investigate the impact of timing of CRRT on clinical outcomes in patients with septic AKI. ⋯ Our meta-analysis revealed that early initiation of CRRT could not reduce mortality in patients with septic AKI. The study also showed no significant difference in ICU length of stay or hospital length of stay between early and late CRRT group. To achieve optimal timing of CRRT for septic AKI, large multicenter randomized trials with better design are still needed.
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Meta Analysis
Acupuncture for the postcholecystectomy syndrome: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Postcholecystectomy syndrome (PCS) is a term used to describe the persistence of biliary colic or right upper quadrant abdominal pain with a variety of postoperative gastrointestinal symptoms. Acupuncture and related treatments have shown clinical effects for PCS in many studies. But the systematic reviews and meta-analyses for them are lacking. We aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture on the treatment of PCS. ⋯ Since this article does not involve patients' private data, no ethical approval is required. The agreement will be disseminated by peer-reviewed journals or conference reports.
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Meta Analysis
Association between CYP1A1 rs4646903 T > C genetic variations and male infertility risk: A meta-analysis.
Number of studies have been performed to investigate the relationship between the CYP1A1 rs4646903 polymorphism and male infertility risk, but the sample size was small and the results were conflicting. A meta-analysis was performed to assess these associations. ⋯ Our meta-analysis supports that the CYP1A1 rs4646903 polymorphism might contribute to individual susceptibility to male infertility in Asians.
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Meta Analysis
Acupuncture and weight loss in Asians: A PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis.
Acupuncture is effective for reducing body weight; however, evidence in Asian populations is lacking. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture for body weight reduction in Asians. ⋯ Our study demonstrates that acupuncture is effective in the intervention of overweight/obesity in Asians; however, compared with exercise alone, acupuncture combined with exercise had no effect on the BMI or waist circumstance in the short term. Long-term studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in weight reduction in Asians.