Medicine
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Meta Analysis
Effectiveness of self-management of dry and wet cupping therapy for low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Low back pain (LBP) can significantly affect a person's quality of life. Cupping has been used to treat LBP. However, various cupping methods are typically included in evaluating the efficacy of cupping therapy. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the evidence from the literature regarding the effects of dry and wet cupping therapy on LBP in adults. Dry and wet cupping therapy are analyzed categorically in this study. ⋯ The present meta-analysis shows that wet cupping therapy effectively reduces the pain intensity of LBP. Furthermore, both dry wet cupping therapy improved patients with LBP quality of life.
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Review Meta Analysis
Efficacy of intense pulsed light and meibomian gland expression treatments in meibomian gland dysfunction: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
This review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intense pulsed light treatment combined with meibomian gland expression treatments in meibomian gland dysfunction. ⋯ IPL-MGX is safer and more efficacious as compared to the MGX alone in the treatment of patients with meibomian gland dysfunction-related dry eye. We recommend discussing the decision with the ophthalmologist for an appropriate choice.
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There is a myriad of microwave ablation (MWA) systems used in clinical settings worldwide for the management of liver cancer that offer a variety of features and capabilities. However, an analysis on which features and capabilities result in the most favorable efficacy and safety results has never been completed due to a lack of head-to-head comparisons. The aim of this study is to compare single-antenna and multiple-antenna MWA using radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as a common comparator in the treatment of very-early, early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and ≤5 cm liver metastases. ⋯ Multi-antenna and single-antenna MWA showed similar effectiveness for local treatment of liver tumors, but synchronous multi-antenna MWA exhibited better LTPF compared to other MWA approaches, particularly for larger liver tumors (≥2 cm). Large-scale RCTs should be further conducted.
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To evaluate the efficacy and safety of strengthening the body's resistance to eliminate pathogenic factors in Chinese medicinal formulas combined with chemotherapy (hereafter referred to as combined therapy [CT]) in triple-negative breast cancer. ⋯ This study suggests that CT appears to be an effective and safe treatment approach. Although this conclusion requires further confirmation owing to insufficient quality of the included trials.
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Pre-diabetes is an intermediate state between normoglycaemia and type 2 diabetes (T2D). This condition has been shown to be asymptomatic thus making it hard to investigate the changes that occur in the body during this state. Recent findings stipulate that in this state, there are changes that are often associated with T2D. These include changes in concentration of immune cells and inflammatory markers. This systematic review will provide a synthesis of the data that is available reporting on the changes in the concentration of immune cells and selected markers during prediabetes. It will also give clarity of the variation of the complications of the condition among the various demographic groups. ⋯ This systematic review will give an indication on the available data on this research area and lay a foundation for future studies.