No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Objective. We performed a meta-analysis on adverse events seen with bevacizumab to combine the existing evidence about its safety in patients with advanced cancer.Methods. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify published, randomized controlled trials of bevacizumab in cancer patients with data on adverse events available. The primary endpoint was "severe adverse event," a composite of grade 3 and 4 adverse events. Secondary endpoints for the exploratory analysis were individual adverse events. We used random-effects meta-analysis to combine data.Results. Thirteen eligible publications were identified and eight trials reported the primary endpoint. Compared with the control group, the bevacizumab group had a slightly higher risk for any severe adverse event (pooled relative risk, 1.10; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.01-1.19). The pooled risk difference was 7% (95% CI, 1%-13%), with a number needed to harm of 14 treated patients. Exploratory analyses showed a

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Estimation of incidence, prevalence and disease burden through routine insurance data is challenging because of under-diagnosis and under-treatment, particularly for early stage disease in health care systems where outpatient International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnoses are not collected. This poses the question of which criteria are commonly applied to identify COPD patients in claims datasets in the absence of ICD diagnoses, and which information can be used as a substitute. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize previously reported methodological approaches for the identification of COPD patients through routine data and to compile potential criteria for the identification of COPD patients if ICD codes are not available.MethodsA systematic literature review was performed in Medline via PubMed and Google Scholar from January 2000 through October 2018, followed by a manual review of the included studies by at least two independent raters. Study characteristics and all identifying criteria used in the studies were systematically extracted from the publications, categorized, and compiled in evidence tables.ResultsIn total, the systematic search yielded 151 publications. After title and abstract screening, 38 publications were included into the systematic assessment. In these studies, the most frequently used (22/38) criteria set to identify COPD patients included ICD codes, hospitalization, and ambulatory visits. Only four out of 38 studies used methods other than ICD coding. In a significant proportion of studies, the age range of the target population (33/38) and hospitalization (30/38) were provided. Ambulatory data were included in 24, physician claims in 22, and pharmaceutical data in 18 studies. Only five studies used spirometry, two used surgery and one used oxygen therapy.ConclusionsA variety of different criteria is used for the identification of COPD from routine data. The most promising criteria set in data environments where ambulatory diagnosis codes are lacking is the consideration of additional illness-related information with special attention to pharmacotherapy data. Further health services research should focus on the application of more systematic internal and/or external validation approaches.