Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Overall, RCT evidence strongly supported omalizumab efficacy and safety as add-on treatment in children 6 to 11 years old with moderate-to-severe persistent allergic asthma. RWS data confirmed these findings in an extended patient population of children and adolescents that is more generalizable to the actual day-to-day management of these patients.

The greatest burden to caregivers of AF patients occurs due to schedule disruption.

Prolonged prophylaxis decreases the risk for venous thromboembolism, PE, and DVT while increasing the risk for minor bleeding in patients undergoing total hip replacement.

Ascorbic acid did not attenuate the rise in inflammatory markers after CTS when compared with placebo. The use of off-pump surgery did not significantly change the levels of CRP and fibrinogen or the WBC count postoperatively when compared with on-pump surgery with a biocompatible polymer coating.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by deoxygenation-induced polymerization of hemoglobin in red blood cells, leading to hemolytic anemia, vaso-occlusion, and the development of multiple clinical complications. To characterize the clinical burden associated with differences in hemoglobin concentration and hemolysis measures, a systematic literature review of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and related meta-analyses was undertaken. For quantitative analyses related to hemoglobin concentration, pooled results were analyzed using random effects models to control for within-and between-study variability. To derive risk ratios associated with hemoglobin concentration change, we combined ratios of means from select studies, which reported hazard and odds ratios in meta-analyses for hemoglobin concentration-related outcomes and changes between groups. Forty-one studies were identified for inclusion based on relating hemoglobin concentration to clinical outcomes. Meta-analyses demonstrated that mean hemoglobin concentration was significantly lower in patients with cerebrovascular disease (0.4 g/dL), increased transcranial Doppler velocity in cerebral arteries (0.6 g/dL), albuminuria (0.6 g/dL), elevated estimated pulmonary artery systolic pressure (0.9 g/dL), and in patients that subsequently died (0.6 g/dL). In a risk reduction meta-analysis, modeled increased hemoglobin concentrations of 1 g/dL or greater resulted in decreased risk of negative clinical outcomes of 41% to 64%. In conclusion, chronic anemia is associated with worse clinical outcomes in individuals with SCD and even modest increases in hemoglobin concentration may be beneficial in this patient

Patients with AF receiving warfarin may have less favorable feelings regarding thromboprophylaxis versus those receiving non-warfarin thromboprophylaxis. Patients report having more limitations and having greater feelings of burden on warfarin.

All anti-VEGF agents are effective in improving visual acuity in comparison to laser photocoagulation. Evidence is insufficient to distinguish the performance of any single anti-VEGF agent over others. The safety of bevacizumab remains the greatest element of uncertainty.