ObjectivesTo evaluate the methodological bias and the reliability of the conclusions of systematic reviews (SRs) on the treatment for acute gout.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect published systematic reviews and meta-analyses evaluating drug interventions therapy in acute gout from inception to April 8th 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, assessed the methodological quality of included SRs by the AMSTAR tool, and assessed the quality of the body of evidence for each outcome by the GRADE approach.ResultsA total of seven relevant SRs were included, which contains three main outcome measures. Four SRs contained non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), three SRs contained colchicine and two SRs contained glucocorticoids. All SRs assessed risk of bias of included original studies. Two used the Jadad scale or modified Jadad scale in this assessment while others used the " assessing risk of bias” tool recommended by Cochrane Collaboration. The assessment results of AMSTAR tool suggested that: three SRs were considered high quality (scores≥9), and the other four were considered moderate quality. GRADE results showed: the quality of the evidence of 11 outcomes was low or very low, and five outcomes was moderate.ConclusionsThe current evidence confirms the effectiveness and safety of several drug interventions in the treatment of acute gout, however, the priority of these drugs is still unclear. We suggest conducting new SRs and updating relevant SRs, to systematically compare different drug interventions therapy in acute gout with the latest evidence. In addition, we still expect to put more efforts in conducting high-quality original studies, in order to fill the gap of relevant fields and improve the level of evidence quality.
Objectives To evaluate the methodological bias and the reliability of the conclusions of systematic reviews on acupuncture for polycystic ovary syndrome. Methods We comprehensively searched PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI and WanFang Data to collect systematic reviews on acupuncture for polycystic ovary syndrome from the establishment time of databases to January 5th, 2018. The AMSTAR tool was applied for methodological quality assessment of included studies and the GRADE system was applied for evidence quality assessment of included outcomes of systematic reviews. Results A total of 11 systematic reviews were included. The results of assessment using AMSTAR showed that, among the 11 items, most problems occurred in Item 5 " Were there any lists of research articles included and excluded”, followed by Item 1" Was an‘a prior’design provided?”and Item 11" Were potential conflict of interest included?”. GRADE grading results showed that quality of evidence for the outcome measure were" low”or" very low”. Conclusions Current acupuncture treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome has a certain effect, however, the quality of evidence is low. Thus, physicians should apply the evidence to make decision on acupuncture for polycystic ovary syndrome with caution in clinical practice and consider the actual situation, combined with the patient’s value preferences and economic factors.
ObjectiveTo overview the systematic reviews on the timing of different surgical interventions for severe multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis patients.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI databases were searched for systematic reviews about the timing of different surgical interventions for severe multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis patients from inception to December, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, evaluated the reporting and methodological qualities using the PRISMA checklist and the AMSTAR tool. After re-extraction of individual RCT data from included systematic reviews, meta-analysis was performed by Stata10.0 software.ResultsA total of 11 systematic reviews were included. The average methodological quality score was 8.13 in AMSTAR , the reporting quality score was from 19.5 to 25 in PRISMA. Re-performed meta-analysis showed that, the total success rate of operation was 93.3% (95%CI 92.9 to 93.8), the failure rate was 3.7% (95%CI 3.3 to 4.0), the mortality rate was 2.0% (95%CI 1.8 to 2.2), and the loss rate was 1.0% (95%CI 0.8 to 1.2). The cure rates of different surgical methods were all over 80%, among which single lobectomy (98.47%) and compound lobectomy (98.94%) had the higher cure rates than others. For the time of different surgical interventions, cure rate could be improved obviously in patients receiving surgery treatment after 1 months (OR=1.58, 95%CI 1.29 to 1.94, P=0.000 12), 1-8months (OR=1.66, 95%CI 1.30 to 2.12, P=0.000 05) and 9-24 months (OR=1.48, 95%CI 1.15 to 1.90, P=0.002) of anti-tuberculosis therapy compared with 0 month.There were significant differences between two groups.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that operation is an effective way for severe multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis. Operative opportunity should be selected after 1-24 months of anti-tuberculosis drug treatment when the operation time depending on whether the tuberculosis has turned negative or not. Operative mode should be decided by the location and the scope of the lesion, which ensures the maximum excision of lesions and retention of lung function.
Objectives To overview the systematic reviews/meta-analyses of safety of femoral nerve block (FNB) used as a postoperative analgesic technique in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods We searched databases including The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase, CNKI, WanFang Data, and VIP from inception to July, 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and used AMSTAR to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. The major indexes used to evaluate the safety of FNB were the incidence rates of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, sedation, retention of urine, dizziness, pruritus, hypotension, falls, nenous thromboembolism and deep infection. Results A total of 12 systematic reviews/meta-analyses were included.They assessed the safety of FNB compared with local infiltration analgesia (LIA), periarticular multimodal drug injection (PMDI), epidural analgesia (EA), patient-controlled intravenous analgesia of opioids (PCA) and adductor canal block (ACB), respectively. The methodological quality of included studies were medium, with the scores between 3 to 10. The results of overview indicated that: FNB had lower incidence rates of nausea and vomiting compared with EA and PCA, but had higher than ACB. FNB had lower incidence rates of sedation and retention of urine compared with EA and PCA. FNB had lower incidence rates of dizziness compared with EA and PCA, and lower incidence rate of hypotension compared with EA. Conclusion Current evidence suggests that FNB is safer than EA and PCA. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusions are needed to be verified by more high-quality studies.
ObjectiveTo overview of systematic reviews (SRs) of Yiqi Fumai (YQFM) injection in the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF). MethodsThe PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect SRs of YQFM injection in the treatment of CHF from January 1, 2007 to October 31, 2022. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed methodological quality, risk of bias, report quality and evidence quality by using AMSTAR-2, ROBIS scale, PRISMA, and GRADE system. ResultsA total of 7 SRs were included. The evaluation results showed that the quality of all SRs was low, a few SRs were assessed as having a low risk of bias, and all SRs were relatively completely reported. A total of 46 results were extracted from the included SRs, including 3 with moderate quality evidence, 12 with low quality evidence and 31 with very low quality evidence. ConclusionYQFM may be an effective and safe treatment, but current evidence quality is low.
ObjectivesTo overview the systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) of effectiveness and safety of spinal manipulation for low back pain or neck pain. MethodsWe electronically searched databases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2015), CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP to collect SRs/MAs of spinal manipulation for low back pain or neck pain from inception to January 30th, 2015. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and then AMSTAR tool was used to assess the methodological quality of included SRs/MAs. ResultsA total of 21 SRs/MAs were included. Twenty of them assessed the methodological quality of included original randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with different tools:2 used Jadad scale, 5 used PEDro scale, 6 used Cochrane bias risk assessment tool and 7 used other tools. The assessment results of AMSTAR tool suggested that:among 11 items, the item 1 of "Was an ‘a priori’ design provided" (18 SRs/MAs did not provide) and item 4 of "Was a list of studies (included and excluded) provided" (18 SRs/MAs did not provide) appeared to be the most problematic, followed by item 10 of "Was the likelihood of publication bias assessed" (14 SRs/MAs did not assess the publication bias) and item 11 of "Was the conflict of interest stated" (14 SRs/MAs did not provide the conflict of interest and 4 were incomplete). ConclusionThe methodological quality of included SRs/MAs is poor. The limited evidence showed that spinal manipulation is more effective for acute low back pain than chronic low back pain, and the short term effect is better than the long term one. Different spinal manipulation techniques have various effects but are all safe. Chiropractic manipulation may have the best effect. Due to the limitation of quality and quantity of included SRs/MAs, there may be potential bias in the above conclusion that needs more high quality studies to verify.
ObjectivesTo conduct an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) on Tuina from 2013 to 2017, and to explore recent research improvements on Tuina.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, SpringerLink e-book database, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data and CBM databases were searched to collect SRs including randomized controlled clinical trials on Tuina from January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and used AMSTAR 2 tool and PRISMA statement to assess methodology quality and reporting quality of included studies, respectively. The R 3.4.3 software was used to analyze data.ResultsA total of 8 SRs studies were included in the overview. The studied diseases involved radiculopathy cervical spondylotic, myelopathy cervical spondylotic, constipation, child anorexia, child diarrhea and external humeral epicondylitis. The results of above SRs showed that massage might be superior to other interventions in clinical efficacy, curative effects or total effective rate. However, due to the low quality of included studies of SRs, further evidence from high-quality clinical studies is required to verify above conclusions. For the results of AMSTAR 2 assessment, all 8 SRs were rated as very low quality. The quantity of items accomplished for each SR ranged from 7 to 13, 2 SRs had low methodological quality (percentage of accomplishment or partial accomplishment <50.0%) and 6 SRs with high methodological quality (percentage of accomplishment or partial accomplishment ≥50.0%). All 8 SRs did not report item 2 "Whether to declare research methods", item 10 "Whether reports have included funding sources for each study" and item 11 "Whether reports used the correct statistical method". The results of PRISMA assessment showed that all SR had good quality of reporting. The accomplished items number of each SR ranged from 22 to 26. However, there were defects in item 5(0), item 16(25.0%) and item 23(25.0%). All SRs did not report item 5 "Whether to declare research program".ConclusionsThis study finds that Tuina has supportive evidence-based medical evidence for treating anorexia, cervical spondylosis and other diseases, however, the SRs of Tuina are yet needed to be improved in terms of standardized degree. Therefore, establishing a reporting consolidated standard for evidence-based medicine on Tuina in order to improve the quality of clinical studies so as to provide clinicians with high-quality evidence is the focus of our further research.
ObjectiveTo conduct an overview of systematic reviews on the impact of evidence-based learning (EBL) method on medical education. MethodsThe CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were electronically searched to collect the relevant systematic reviews or meta-analyses of the application of EBL method in medical education from inception to May, 2024. Two researchers conducted the literature screening and data extraction independently. The AMSTAR 2, ROBIS tool, PRISMA 2020, and GRADE system were separately used to evaluate the methodological quality, the risk of bias, the quality of reporting, and the quality of evidence of included studies. ResultsA total of 16 systematic reviews/meta-analyses were included. The methodological quality evaluation by AMSTAR 2 showed that the quality level of 16 studies was very low. The results of ROBIS tool showed that 1 study was low risk of bias and 15 studies were high risk of bias. The GRADE evaluation of the evidence quality for 36 outcome indicators in the included studies revealed that 6 were of moderate quality, 12 were of low quality, and the rest were of very low quality. ConclusionEBL method has demonstrated significant effects in improving theoretical performance, practical skills, and critical thinking abilities among medical students. However, the methodological and evidence quality of the current systematic reviews/meta-analyses are low.
Objective To overview the systematic reviews of the effectiveness and safety of the charged-particle radiation therapy. Methods Databases including CNKI, WanFang Data, PubMed, and EMbase were electronically searched from January 2007 to November 2020. Two investigators independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies by AMSTAR 2, and then reported results through a narrative synthesis of outcomes. Results A total of 6 systematic reviews were identified. One systematic review demonstrated moderate quality and the other 5 demonstrated critically low quality. The charged-particle radiation therapy had a wide range of applications. Its effectiveness was superior to traditional radiotherapy methods on various types of tumors in various regions of the body, with acceptable side effects. Specifically, the effectiveness and safety outcomes of carbon ion radiotherapy was superior to those of proton radiotherapy. Conclusions Current evidence shows that the charged-particle radiation therapy has superior effectiveness and limited toxicity, though the studies are of relatively low quality. High quality and larger sample size researches are required in the future.
ObjectiveTo overview the systematic reviews of the efficacy of cancer patient decision aids (PDAs) for treatment decision-making. MethodsThe PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, JBI, CNKI, VIP, CBM and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect the systematic reviews relevant to the objective from inception to September 2023. Literature screening, data extraction, methodological quality assessment of the included literature, and summary and grading of the evidence were carried out independently by two researchers, and duplication of original studies in the included systematic evaluations was investigated using the corrected covered area (CCA). ResultsA total of 17 systematic reviews were included, of which 13 (76.47%) were low- or very low-quality studies. A total of 64 pieces of evidence were included, of which only 26 (40.62%) were of moderate quality, and the original studies included in the included literature had a low degree of overlap (CCA=0.05). The results of meta-analysis showed that PDAs could increase decision-related knowledge, reduce decision conflict and regret in cancer patients' treatment decision (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in decision satisfaction, anxiety or depression (P>0.05). ConclusionPDAs can improve cancer patients' knowledge related to treatment decision, reduce decision conflicts and regrets, and have no significant negative effects on decision preparation, satisfaction, anxiety, and depression. However, the existing systematic reviews are of low quality and limited to a few cancer types.