D-dimer, one of the canonical markers of hypercoagulability, was reported to be a potential prognostic marker of colorectal cancer. However, an inconsistent conclusion existed in several published studies. Thus, we performed this meta-analysis to provide a comprehensive insight into the prognostic role for pretreatment D-dimer in colorectal cancer. Six databases (English: Pubmed, Embase and Web of Science; Chinese: CNKI, Wangfang and VIP) were utilized for the literature retrieval. Hazard ratio (HR) was pooled by Stata 12.0. A total of fifteen studies (2283 cases) corresponded to this meta-analysis and provided available data to evaluate the prognostic role of D-dimer for colorectal cancer. The pooled HR reached 2.167 (95%. CI (confidence interval): 1.672–2.809, P < 0.001) utilizing random effect model due to obvious heterogeneity among the included studies (I2: 73.3%; P < 0.001). To explore the heterogeneity among the studies, we conducted a sensitivity analysis and found a heterogeneous study. After removing it, the heterogeneity reduced substantially (I2: 0%; P = 0.549) and we obtained a more convincing result by fixed effect model (HR = 2.143, 95% CI = 1.922–2.390, P < 0.001, 14 studies with 2179 cases). In summary, high pretreatment plasma D-dimer predicts poor survival of colorectal cancer based on the current evidence. Further prospective researches are necessary to confirm the role of D-dimer in colorectal cancer.
Lipid metabolism disorder is a common metabolic disorder characterized by abnormal lipid levels in blood. Erchen decoction (ECD) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, which is used for the treatment of diseases caused by retention of phlegm dampness. It has been reported to ameliorate the disorder of lipid metabolism. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of ECD in lipid metabolism disorder induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in rats. ECD (4.35g/kg/d) and atorvastatin (10mg/kg/d, positive control) were orally administered to HFD-fed rats for four weeks. The parameters, food, water consumption, body weight, body length, liver, and visceral fat weight and the content of serum lipids and lipid transporters were assessed. The effects of ECD on the mRNA and protein expression levels of lipid transport factors were measured by real-time PCR and western blotting. The present study demonstrated that ECD improved the disorders of serum lipid and lipid transporters in HFD-fed rats, TG (0.70±0.08 mmol/L, p<0.01), LDL-C (1.50±0.19 mmol/L, p<0.01), LDL (1.38±0.21 mmol/L, p<0.05), and oxLDL (1.77±0.39 ng/mL, p<0.05) were downregulated, while HDL-C (0.87±0.13 mmol/L, p<0.01), FFA (0.62±0.13 mmol/L, p<0.05), HDL (38.8±4.0 mg/dL, p<0.05), and CETP (903.6±120.0 ng/mL, p<0.05) were upregulated. But ECD obviously had no effects on the indices food/water/energy intake, body/tissue (liver and fat) weight, and BMI (p>0.05). Concomitantly, ECD reversed the abnormal expressions of those lipid transport factors in the liver and visceral fat.
Objective This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of aspirin-heparin treatment for un-explained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA). Methods Literatures reporting the studies on the aspirin-heparin treatment of un-explained recurrent miscarriage with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were collected from the major publication databases. The live birth rate was used as primary indicator, preterm delivery, preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, and adverse reactions (thrombocytopenia ) were used as the secondary indicators. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using RCT bias risk assessment tool in the Cochrane Handbook (v5.1.0). Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan (v5.3) software. Subgroup analyses were conducted with an appropriately combined model according to the type of the treatments if heterogeneity among the selected studies was detected. Results Six publications of RCTs were included in this study. There were a total of 907 pregnant women with diagnosis of URSA, 367 of them were pooled in the study group with aspirin-heparin therapy and 540 women in the control group with placebo, aspirin or progesterone therapy. Meta-analysis showed that the live birth rate in the study group was significantly different from that in the control group [RR = 1.18, 95% CI (1.00-1.39), P=0.04]. Considering the clinical heterogeneity among the six studies, subgroup analysis were performed. Live birth rates in the aspirin-heparin treated groups and placebo groups were compared and no significant difference was found. There were no significant differences found between the two groups in the incidence of preterm delivery [RR=1.22, 95% CI (0.54-2.76), P=0.64], preeclampsia [RR=0.52, 95% CI (0.25-1.07), P=0.08], intrauterine growth restriction [RR=1.19, 95% CI (0.56-2.52), P=0.45] and thrombocytopenia [RR=1.17, 95% CI (0.09-14.42), P=0.90]. Conclusion This meta-analysis did not provide evidence that aspirin-heparin therapy had beneficial effect on un-explained recurrent miscarriage in terms of live birth rate, but it was relatively safe for it did not increase incidence of adverse pregnancy and adverse events. More well-designed and stratified double-blind RCT, individual-based meta-analysis regarding aspirin-heparin therapy are needed in future.
Objective: To identify variability in reported hearing outcomes for intratympanic (IT) steroid treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) by comparing outcomes using the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) guideline with other published criteria. Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Tertiary otology practice. Patients: Patients with ISSNHL treated with IT steroid between April 2003 and December 2020. Interventions: IT steroid injection and audiometric evaluation. Main Outcome Measures: 1) Rates of full, partial, or no recovery using the AAO-HNS guideline versus other reported criteria, and 2) correlation analyses of demographic and clinical variables with response to IT steroid. Results: Using AAO-HNS reporting criteria, full recovery of the pure-tone average was noted in 25.68% of patients. Applying eight other published outcomes criteria to this patient cohort classified full recovery in 14.87 to 40.54% of patients. Similarly, AAO-HNS criteria classified "no recovery" in 51.35% of our patients, whereas applying the other reported criteria showed an average rate of 62.16% no recovery and as high as 82.43% of patients without recovery. Younger age ( p = 0.003; effect size, 0.924) and IT injection within a week of onset ( p < 0.001; effect size, 1.099) positively correlated with full recovery. There was no impact of prior or concurrent oral steroids, or number of steroid injections on outcome. Conclusion: Great variability exists in the literature for assessment of IT steroid outcomes in ISSNHL. Standard reporting of outcomes as per the AAO-HNS SSNHL guideline is recommended to consistently characterize IT steroid efficacy and allow comparison across studies.
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.