Objective To examine whether treatment of periodontal disease with scaling and root planing during pregnancy is associated with a reduction in the preterm birth rate.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Data sources Cochrane Central Trials Registry, ISI Web of Science, Medline, and reference lists of relevant studies to July 2010; hand searches in key journals.Study selection Randomised controlled trials including pregnant women with documented periodontal disease randomised to either treatment with scaling and root planing or no treatment.Data extraction Data were extracted by two independent investigators, and a consensus was reached with the involvement a third. Methodological quality of the studies was assessed with the Cochrane’s risk of bias tool, and trials were considered either high or low quality. The primary outcome was preterm birth (<37 weeks). Secondary outcomes were low birthweight infants (<2500 g), spontaneous abortions/stillbirths, and overall adverse pregnancy outcome (preterm birth <37 weeks and spontaneous abortions/stillbirths).Results 11 trials (with 6558 women) were included. Five trials were considered to be of high methodological quality (low risk of bias), whereas the rest were low quality (high or unclear risk of bias). Results among low and high quality trials were consistently diverse; low quality trials supported a beneficial effect of treatment, and high quality trials provided clear evidence that no such effect exists. Among high quality studies, treatment had no significant effect on the overall rate of preterm birth (odds ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 0.95 to 1.40; P=0.15). Furthermore, treatment did not reduce the rate of low birthweight infants (odds ratio 1.07, 0.85 to 1.36; P=0.55), spontaneous abortions/stillbirths (0.79, 0.51 to 1.22; P=0.28), or overall adverse pregnancy outcome (preterm births <37 weeks and spontaneous abortions/stillbirths) (1.09, 0.91 to 1.30; P=0.34).Conclusion Treatment of periodontal disease with scaling and root planing cannot be considered to be an efficient way of reducing the incidence of preterm birth. Women may be advised to have periodical dental examinations during pregnancy to test their dental status and may have treatment for periodontal disease. However, they should be told that such treatment during pregnancy is unlikely to reduce the risk of preterm birth or low birthweight infants.

This meta-analysis investigates the oncological safety of breast-conserving therapy BCT in BRCA-mutation carriers and the risk for contralateral breast cancer (CBC) compared with non-carriers, potential risk factors for ipsilateral breast recurrence (IBR) or CBC and grades these factors based on the level of evidence. A PubMed search was conducted through April 2013 to identify studies that described the risk for IBR and CBC after BCT in BRCA-mutation carriers versus non-carriers as well as studies that investigated risk factors for IBR and CBC in BRCA-mutation carriers. Results were summarized using meta-analysis when sufficient studies were available. Ten studies investigated the oncological safety of BCT in BRCA-mutation carriers versus non-carriers. There was no significant difference in IBR between carriers and controls (RR 1.45, 95 % CI 0.98-2.14). However, a significant higher risk for IBR in BRCA-mutation carriers was observed in studies with a median follow-up ≥7 years (RR 1.51, 95 % CI 1.15-1.98). CBCs were significantly greater in carriers versus controls (RR 3.56, 95 % CI 2.50-5.08). Use of adjuvant chemotherapy and oophorectomy were associated with a significantly lower risk for IBR in BRCA-mutation carriers. Three factors were associated with a lower risk for CBC in BRCA-mutation carriers: oophorectomy, use of tamoxifen, and age at first breast cancer. Based on current evidence, the use of BCT in BRCA-mutation carriers can be considered a reasonable option since it does not seem to increase the risk for IBR. However, several aspects should be taken into account before the final decision-making.

Objectives: Infection is a common cause of death among hemodialysis patients. The study investigated incidence, risk factors, clinical features and outcome of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in haemodialysis patients.Methods: The records of haemodialysis patients from 1999 to 2005 were reviewed. Risk factors were investigated by multivariate analysis.Results: There were identified 148 bacteremic episodes, in 102 patients. The BSI rate was 0.52 per 1000 patient-days. Of the 148 episodes, 34 occurred in patients with permanent fistulae (0.18/1000 patient-days); 19 in patients with grafts (0.39/1000 patient-days); 28 in patients with permanent tunneled central catheters (1.03/1000 patient-days); and 67 in those with temporary-catheter (3.18/1000 patient-days). With fistula as reference, the BSI ratio was 1.84 with arteriovenous graft (P=.029), 4.85 with permanent central venous catheter (P<.001), and 14.88 with temporary catheter (P <.001). Catheter related were 41 episodes (28%). Gram positive organism were responsible for 96 episodes (65%), with S. aureus ( 55%) the most frequent, followed by S. epidermidis (26%) and Gram-negative for 36 (23%), with E. coli (39%) the most frequent. Infection was polymicrobial in 14 (9.5%). Diabetes (p<0.001), low serum albumin (p=0.040) and low hemoglobin (p<0.001) were significant risk factors. During hospitalization 18 patients (18%) died. Septic shock (p<0.001) and polymicrobial infection (p=0.041) were associated with in-hospital mortality.Conclusion: The risk of BSI in patients undergoing hemodialysis is related to the catheter type and vascular access. Septic shock and polymicrobial infection predispose to unfavourable outcome.

Based on the present results and awaiting further evidence from randomized trials, aerosolized colistin is associated with improved outcome in the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia although the level of evidence was low.

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The addition of trastuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting improves the probability of achieving higher pCR with no additional toxicity. Based on the available evidence, the use of trastuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemothetherapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer seems to offer substantial benefit in terms of pCR.

In experimental studies, statins have been shown to lower blood pressure through increased nitric oxide bioavailability and improved arterial compliance. The clinical significance of this effect remains poorly documented. The authors performed a meta-analysis of the effect of statins on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) including prospective randomized, controlled trials of statin therapy. EMBASE and MEDLINE searches for studies in which patients were randomized to treatment with a statin plus standard treatment (or placebo) vs standard treatment (or placebo) were conducted. Studies that provided data on SBP and DBP values before the initiation of the treatment and at the end of the follow-up period were included. A total of 40 studies with 51 comparison groups examining 22,511 controls and 22,602 patients taking statins were examined. Mean SBP in the statin group decreased by 2.62 mm Hg (95% confidence interval [CI], À3.41 to À1.84; P<.001) and DBP by 0.94 mm Hg (95% CI, À1.31 to À0.57; P<.001). In studies including hypertensive patients, the decrease in blood pressures with statins was slightly greater (SBP, À3.07 mm Hg; 95% CI, À4.00 to À2.15 and DBP, 1.04; 95% CI, À1.47 to À0.61). Similarly, statins effectively reduced SBP in diabetic patients. In this large meta-analysis of prospective controlled studies, the authors found a small but statistically significant reduction of SBP in patients taking statins. The decrease in blood pressure may contribute to the pleiotro-pic effect of statins in reducing cardiovascular risk. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2013;15:310-320. ª2013 Wiley Periodicals Inc. Statins have pleiotropic effects such as improving endothelial-dependent vasodilation, increasing bio-availability of nitric oxide, and reducing levels of endothelin-1 (potent vasoconstrictor). 1 Statins also downregulate expression of angiotensin type 1 receptors , decrease expression of NAD(P)H oxidase subunit p22phox, and reduce free radical release in the vasculature 2 and have been shown to improve arterial compliance. 3 These pleiotropic effects may directly lower blood pressure (BP) in addition to lowering cholesterol levels. 3 Previous studies report a positive correlation between BP and cholesterol levels. Indirect evidence from several trials investigating cholesterol-lowering regimens suggests that lowering cholesterol may simultaneously reduce BP by between 2 mm Hg and 5 mm Hg. 4 However, conflicting results have been reported with respect to BP-lowering effects of statins in humans. 4 The present study was designed to systematically review prospective random-ized trials and assess the antihypertensive effects of statins. MATERIALS AND METHODS Search Strategy We systematically searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for Central Register of Clinical Trials using the MESH terms statins, HMG-CoA enzyme inhibitors, hypertension, blood pressure, and the names of individual statin agents. We limited our search to studies in humans and pee...

Background: The aim of the study was to calculate the rate of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) after treatment with different adjuvant therapies in patients with breast cancer and to evaluate the risk factors for CIA based on the quality of evidence. Patient and methods: A search of PubMed and ISI Web of Science was performed. All published trials with female breast cancer patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy and presented data on the rate of CIA were considered eligible. The pooled rates of CIA were calculated by random effects model. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for each potential risk factor for CIA by using the generic inverse weighted method. Results: We identified 580 potentially relevant studies, of which 75 were included in the analysis. Among 75 eligible studies, 19 different definitions of CIA have been used. The pooled rate of CIA was 55% (95% CI 50-60%) including 23 673 patients from 74 studies. The rate of CIA was increased by age with an estimate of 26% (95% CI 12-43%), 39% (95% CI 31-58%), and 77% (95% CI 71-83%) for women <35, 35-40, and >40 years old, respectively. Two risk factors were associated with the occurrence of CIA and were supported by strong level of evidence: older age (>40 years old), and the use of tamoxifen. Conclusions: This meta-analysis summarized the updated evidence on the impact of different adjuvant treatment regimens for breast cancer in menstruation and could serve as a helpful guide for oncologists during the discussion with their patients on fertility issues before decision on adjuvant therapy is made. A uniform definition of CIA is essential in future studies to make the interpretation of results more reliable.