Drug-eluting stents have transformed the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD), and there are two types: polymer-free and polymer-coated stents. Polymer-free stents have a coating that is quickly absorbed by the body, whereas polymer-coated stents have a coating that remains on the stent surface. This meta-analysis and systematic review aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of these two stent types in patients with coronary artery disease. The literature and abstracts from significant databases were reviewed to compare polymer-free drug-eluting stents (PF-DES) and polymer-coated drug-eluting stents (PC-DES) for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). The primary efficacy endpoints of the study were all-cause mortality and deaths from cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular causes. Among the secondary outcomes were incidences of myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel revascularization (TVR), stent thrombosis, stroke, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). In terms of the primary outcomes, the combined analysis revealed a marginally lower risk of all-cause mortality (relative risk, RR (95% CI) = 0.92 (0.85, 1.00), p = 0.05, I
2
= 0%) with the use of PF-DES versus PC-DES. Nonetheless, there was no significant difference in cardiovascular mortality (RR (95% CI) = 0.97 (0.87, 1.08)) or non-cardiovascular mortality (RR (95% CI) = 0.87 (0.69, 1.10), p = 0.25, I
2
= 9%) between the groups. Furthermore, univariate meta-regression revealed that male gender and prior myocardial infarction were independently associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease. According to the current meta-analysis, no statistically significant differences existed in PF-DES and PC-DES outcomes. More extensive research is needed to investigate these findings further and establish their validity.
Stress urine incontinence (SUI) is most common in middle-aged women and the second most common in those over 75. SUI causes significant discomfort and suffering for patients and has a considerable financial impact on the healthcare system. Conservative approaches are recommended as the first step in treatment. However, surgery is often necessary to improve a patient's quality of life due to the high failure rate of conservative treatments. A thorough literature review of studies published before March 2023 was conducted on the safety and effectiveness of single-incision mini slings (SIMS) and standard mid-urethral slings (MUS). PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Elsevier's ScienceDirect were used to retrieve the studies. Two reviewers independently searched and evaluated the data based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Review Manager 5.4 software was used for meta-analysis. Included were seventeen studies involving 3,503 female SUI patients without intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD) or mixed urinary incontinence. According to the results of our meta-analysis, the clinical efficacy of SIMS is comparable to that of MUS in terms of objective cure rate (RR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.95 to 1.03, p: 0.66, I2: 29%). In contrast, it increases the post-procedure International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ) score (WMD: 0.08; 95%
Patients diagnosed with cancer often experience an abnormal occurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and its related complications. In order to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of both treatment approaches, we conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis within the realm of cancer-associated thromboembolism. A thorough search was conducted across PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase databases to find studies comparing direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) with low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) for the treatment of VTE in patients with malignancy. The analyses utilized the random-effects model. This meta-analysis included 11 studies. The results showed that DOACs were associated with a significantly reduced risk of VTE recurrence (RR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.55, 0.81, p<0.0001; I2: 0%) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (RR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.86, p<0.0001; I2: 0%) compared to LMWHs. However, there was no significant difference in the risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) (RR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.54, 1.06, p=0.11; I2: 11%) between the two groups. The use of DOACs was also associated with a nonsignificant increase in the risk of major bleeding events (RR: 1.
Electrocardiography (ECG) parameters are significant in the prognosis of ischemia and other cardiovascular conditions. Reperfusion or revascularization techniques are essential in reestablishing blood flow to ischemic tissues. This study aims to demonstrate the association between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a revascularization technique, and the electrocardiography (ECG) parameter, QT dispersion (QTd). We conducted a systematic review of the association between PCI and QTd through a literature search in three electronic databases, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar, for empirical studies published in English. Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4 (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, England) was used for statistical analysis. Of 3,626 studies, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria, enrolling a total of 1,239 patients. After a successful PCI procedure, QTd and corrected QT (QTc) tremendously reduced at various time intervals with statistical significance in most of the studies. There was a clear association between ECG parameters QTd, QTc, and corrected QT dispersion (QTcd), and PCI, in that there is a considerable reduction in these ECG parameters after PCI treatment.
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