Plos One
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Review Meta Analysis
Postoperative pain treatment after total knee arthroplasty: A systematic review.
The aim of this systematic review was to document efficacy, safety and quality of evidence of analgesic interventions after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). ⋯ A low quality of evidence, small sample sizes and heterogeneity of trial designs prohibit designation of an optimal procedure-specific analgesic regimen after TKA.
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Review Meta Analysis
Head Injury as a Risk Factor for Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 32 Observational Studies.
Head injury is reported to be associated with increased risks of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in many but not all the epidemiological studies. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the relative effect of head injury on dementia and AD risks. ⋯ The findings from this meta-analysis indicate that head injury is associated with increased risks of dementia and AD.
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Review Meta Analysis
Maternal vitamin D insufficiency and risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.
Three previous reviews on the association of vitamin D insufficiency in pregnancy with preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth were limited in scope and deemed inconclusive. With important new evidence accumulating, there is the need to update the previous estimates and assess evidence on other clinically important outcomes such as spontaneous abortion and Apgar score. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the quality and strength of the available evidence on the relations between vitamin D nutritional status, and pregnancy and birth outcomes. ⋯ We found vitamin D insufficiency to be associated with risk of PTB. Regarding spontaneous abortion and stillbirth, the available evidence suggest no association with low vitamin D levels. The evidence on vitamin D nutrition and Apgar score is conflicting and controversial. Overall, the experimental evidence uncovered was small and weak. Hence, the benefits of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy should be further evaluated through rigorous intervention studies.
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Review Meta Analysis
Diffusion-weighted MRI distinguishes Parkinson disease from the parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Putaminal diffusivity in brain magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is increased in patients with the parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P) compared to Parkinson disease (PD) patients. ⋯ Putaminal diffusivity yields high sensitivity and specificity to distinguish clinically diagnosed patients with MSA-P from PD. The confidence intervals indicate substantial variability. Further multicenter studies with harmonized protocols are warranted particularly in early disease stages when clinical diagnosis is less certain.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effects and safety of oral tolvaptan in patients with congestive heart failure: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Several studies reported treatment benefits of tolvaptan in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). However, the optimal dosage remains unclear. We aimed to compare different dosage of tolvaptan to determine the optimal dosage in terms of the efficacy and safety. ⋯ These findings suggest that tolvaptan 30 mg and 45 mg may be the optimum dosage for CHF patients, because of its ability to provide favourable clinical results without greater adverse effects. However, tolvaptan is not beneficial for reducing all-cause mortality in CHF patients.