Plos One
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Antibiotic prophylaxis with norfloxacin, intravenous ciprofloxacin, or ceftriaxone has been recommended for cirrhotic patients with gastrointestinal hemorrhage but little is known about intravenous cefazolin. This study aimed to compare the outcome of intravenous cefazolin and ceftriaxone as prophylactic antibiotics among cirrhotic patients at different clinical stages, and to identify the associated risk factors. The medical records of 713 patients with acute variceal bleeding who had received endoscopic procedures from were reviewed. ⋯ The risk factors associated with rebleeding were history of bleeding and use of prophylactic cefazolin among Child's B and C patients. In conclusion, this study suggests that prophylactic intravenous cefazolin may not be inferior to ceftriaxone in preventing infections and reducing rebleeding among Child's A cirrhotic patients after endoscopic interventions for acute variceal bleeding. Prophylactic intravenous ceftriaxone yields better outcome among Child's B and C patients.
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Meta Analysis
Association between transforming growth factor-beta 1 T869C polymorphism and ischemic stroke: a meta-analysis.
To explore the association between transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) T869C polymorphism and risk of ischemic stroke (IS) by performing a meta-analysis based on published articles. ⋯ This meta-analysis suggested that current epidemiological studies of TGF-β1 T869C polymorphism are too inconsistent to draw a conclusion on the association with IS susceptibility. Given the small sample size and remarkable between-study heterogeneity, further well-designed prospective large-scale studies are warranted.
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To assess the efficacy of pregabalin by showing differences in the neuronal activities of fibromyalgia (FM) patients before and after longitudinal treatment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). ⋯ Our findings confirm that pregabalin influences aspects of the whole pain matrix, using fMRI, inducing longitudinal changes in neuronal activity during the pain state, and that it reduces pain and other core symptoms of FM. This method could be applied to other longitudinal clinical trials of pharmacological treatments for FM.
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Enteral nutrition is increasingly advocated in the treatment of acute pancreatitis, but its timing is still controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to find out the feasibility of early enteral nutrition within 48 hours of admission and its possible advantages. ⋯ Enteral nutrition within 48 hours of admission is feasible and improves the clinical outcomes in acute pancreatitis as well as in predicted severe or severe acute pancreatitis by reducing complications.
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Transcutaneous neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can be applied as a complementary intervention to regular exercise training programs. A distinction can be made between high-frequency (HF) NMES and low-frequency (LF) NMES. In order to increase understanding of the mechanisms of functional improvements following NMES, the purpose of this study was to systematically review changes in enzyme activity, muscle fiber type composition and muscle fiber size in human lower-limb skeletal muscles following only NMES. ⋯ NMES seems to be a training modality resulting in changes in oxidative enzyme activity, skeletal muscle fiber type and skeletal muscle fiber size. However, considering the small sample sizes, the variance in study populations, the non-randomized controlled study designs, the variance in primary outcomes, and the large heterogeneity in NMES protocols, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the effects of stimulation frequencies on muscular changes.