Study Design: A network meta-analysis. Objectives: Lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD) is an important issue in aging population, for which lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is a feasible management in cases refractory to conservative therapy. There are various techniques available to perform LIF, including posterior (PLIF), transforaminal (TLIF), and anterior (ALIF) approaches. However, the comparative safety profile of these procedures remains controversial. Our study aimed to evaluate comparative adverse events of the LIF procedures in patients with LDDD. Methods: We searched 5 databases for relevant prospective cohort studies and randomized clinical trials. After quality assessments, we extracted neural, spinal, vascular, and wound events for conducting contrast-based network meta-analysis. Results were reported in risk ratio (RR), 95% confidence interval (CI), and surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA). Results: We identified 14 studies involving 921 participants with LDDD. Pooled result showed that open PLIF (OPLIF) leads to significantly higher overall adverse event rate than does open TLIF (OTLIF; RR = 3.43, 95% CI = 1.21-9.73). OTLIF confers the highest SUCRA in neural (78.7) and spinal (80.8) event rates. Minimally invasive TLIF has the highest SUCRA in vascular event (84.2), and minimally invasive PLIF has the highest SUCRA in wound event (88.1). No inconsistency or publication bias was detected in the results. Conclusions: Based on our results, perhaps OPLIF should be avoided in the management of LDDD due to the inferiority of overall complications. Specifically, TLIF seems to have the safest profile in terms of neural, spinal, and vascular events. Nevertheless, shared decision making is still mandatory when choosing the proper LIF procedure for patients with LDDD in clinical practice.
BACKGROUND No consensus exists regarding the appropriate timing of adjuvant radiotherapy administration after surgical excision of keloids. OBJECTIVE This study investigated the appropriate timing of adjuvant radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational cohort studies was performed. A pooled estimate of the incidence rate was performed using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses based on different anatomic region, biologically effective dose, keloid length, and radiotherapy regimen were also conducted. RESULTS Sixteen observational cohort studies (1,908 keloid lesions) met the inclusion criteria. The incidence rate was significantly lower in the group treated with electron beam therapy more than 24 hours after surgery (3.80%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.78%–8.13%) than that in the group treated with the same therapy within 24 hours of surgery (37.16%; 95% CI, 20.80%–66.37%; p < .0001), but no significant difference was observed between the groups regarding brachytherapy and x-ray treatments. CONCLUSION Immediate adjuvant radiotherapy did not significantly reduce the incidence rate of recurrent keloids.
(1) Although emerging evidence suggests that proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-induced dysbiosis negatively alters treatment response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer patients, no study systematically investigates the association between PPIs, ICIs, and chemotherapy; (2) Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, and PubMed were searched from inception to 20 May 2022, to identify relevant studies involving patients receiving ICIs or chemotherapy and reporting survival outcome between PPI users and non-users. Survival outcomes included overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Network meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models. p-scores, with a value between 0 and 1, were calculated to quantify the treatment ranking, with a higher score suggesting a higher probability of greater effectiveness. We also conducted pairwise meta-analyses of observational studies to complement our network meta-analysis; (3) We identified 62 studies involving 26,484 patients (PPI = 8834; non-PPI = 17,650), including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), urothelial carcinoma (UC), melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the neck and head. Eight post-hoc analyses from 18 randomized–controlled trials were included in our network, which demonstrated that, in advanced NSCLC and UC, patients under ICI treatment with concomitant PPI (p-score: 0.2016) are associated with both poorer OS (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.37 to 1.67) and poorer PFS (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.25 to 1.61) than those without PPIs (p-score: 1.000). Patients under ICI treatment with concomitant PPI also had poorer OS (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.31) and poorer PFS (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.48) in comparison with those receiving chemotherapy (p-score: 0.6664), implying that PPIs may compromise ICI’s effectiveness, making it less effective than chemotherapy. Our pairwise meta-analyses also supported this association. Conversely, PPI has little effect on patients with advanced melanoma, RCC, HCC, and SCC of the neck and head who were treated with ICIs; (4) “PPI-induced dysbiosis” serves as a significant modifier of treatment response in both advanced NSCLC and UC that are treated with ICIs, compromising the effectiveness of ICIs to be less than that of chemotherapy. Thus, clinicians should avoid unnecessary PPI prescription in these patients. “PPI-induced dysbiosis”, on the other hand, does not alter the treatment response to ICIs in advanced melanoma, RCC, HCC, and SCC of the head and neck.
A common problem in meta-analyses is the unavailability of mean and standard deviation (SD). Unfortunately, only having values of the median, interquartile range (IQR), or range cannot be directly utilized for meta-analysis. Although some estimation and conversion methods have been proposed in the past two decades, there were no published and user-friendly tools developed based on multiple scenarios of missing SD. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a collection of possible circumstances of missing sample means or SD with solutions for teaching and research. A total of 10 common circumstances of missing SD or mean could have available statistics of p value, t value, z score, confidence interval, standard error, median, IQR, and range. Teachers and investigators can use relevant formulas for finding the sample mean and SD according to the available circumstance. Due to the complicated computations, our team provides a free available spreadsheet. With ever-evolving statistical methods, some formulas may be further improved in the future; therefore, it is recommended to involve statisticians in evidence-based practice or systematic reviews.
Study design Systematic review. Objectives Surgical procedures for lumbar degenerative diseases (LDD), which have emerged in the 21-century, are commonly practiced worldwide. Regarding financial burdens and health costs, readmissions within 30days following surgery are inconvenient. We performed a systematic review to integrate real-world evidence and report the current risk factors associated with 30-day readmission following surgery for LDD. Methods The Cochrane Library, Embase, and Medline electronic databases were searched from inception to April 2022 to identify relevant studies reporting risk factors for 30-day readmission following surgery for LDD. Results Thirty-six studies were included in the review. Potential risk factors were identified in the included studies that reported multivariate analysis results, including age, race, obesity, higher American Society of Anesthesiologists score, anemia, bleeding disorder, chronic pulmonary disease, heart failure, dependent status, depression, diabetes, frailty, malnutrition, chronic steroid use, surgeries with anterior approach, multilevel spinal surgeries, perioperative transfusion, presence of postoperative complications, prolonged operative time, and prolonged length of stay. Conclusions There are several potential perioperative risk factors associated with unplanned readmission following surgery for LDD. Preoperatively identifying patients that are at increased risk of readmission is critical for achieving the best possible outcomes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.