Random allocation to intervention groups remains the best method of ensuring that the groups being compared are similar at the onset of study and of avoiding removing selection bias between groups of patients. The success of randomization depends on two interrelated processes. First, an unpredictable allocation sequence must be generated based on a random procedure. Second, strict implementation of that sequence must be secured through an assignment mechanism called allocation concealment to prevent those involved in a trial from knowing upcoming assignments. Inadequate allocation concealment can lead to clinicians scheduling patient’s assignment and compromising the unpredictable allocation sequence.
Health technological innovation has helped to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes. However, the proliferation of health care technology has accompanied burgeoning health care costs and evoked social, ethical, legal, and political concerns. Health technology assessment (HTA) is the systematic evaluation of properties, effects and/or other impacts of health care technology. The main purpose of HTA is to inform persons of technology-related policy making in health care. There is great variation in the scope, selection of methods and level of detail in the practice of HTA. This paper will introduce the basic concepts and methods of HTA in order to help those who are interested in conducting HTA.
This article illustrates the development, current status and future prospects of knowledge translation. Its importance and necessity are introduced and some measurements or approaches to promote knowledge translation are discussed.
Objective To investigate the impact of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation on a rat model of experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) and analyze its immune regulatory mechanisms in vivo.Methods Eighteen Lewis rats were randomly divided into three groups: model control group, intervention group and normal control group, six animals in each group. Human retinal S-antigen peptide (HS-AgP35, 1 mg/ml) was mixed and emulsified with complete Freundprime;s adjuvant and injected into hind foot pad of rats on the first and eighth day to establish the animal model of EAU. For bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation, 1 ml of cell suspension (2times;106 cells/ml) was injected into tail vein of the intervention group rats on the first day when the emulsified S-antigen was injected. EAU manifestation, pathological change and IFN-gamma; level were evaluated and compared among those three groups after two weeks. Results No abnormal signs were found in the eyes of rats in normal control group. The manifestation grading of the intervention group (two rats at grade 0, three rats at grade 0.5, one rat at grade one) was significantly different from the model control group (one rat at grade one, one rat at grade two, three rats at grade three, one rat at grade four) (P=0.015). The retina of rats in normal control group was ordinary under light microscope. The histopathologrical grading of the intervention group (one rat at grade 0, four rats at grade 0.5,one rat at grade one) and the model control group (four rats at grade three, two rats at grade four) was also statistically different (P＜0.01). Furthermore, the IFN-gamma; level in peripheral blood of the intervention group rats declined significantly compared to the model control group (t=9.0574, P=0.01). Conclusions Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can inhibit EAU significantly, possibly by lowering the level of IFN－gamma;, thereby reduce the severity of uveitis and improve the condition of uveitis in rats.
Objective To investigate the application and advancement of hepatocyte t ransplantation ( HCT) .Methods Literatures about the advancement of HCT were reviewed and analyzed. Results There have been manynovel technologies and advancement s in the application of HCT. For example , gene modified cell can be used as seedcell , subcutaneous t ransplantation can be taken when combined with giant molecule material and the encap sulationpreconditioning technique can also carried before operation to improve the rate of survival. Conclusion With moreand deeper understanding of hepatocyte t ransplantation and the development of advanced techniques such as the application of giant molecule , HCT will be extensively used in the clinical t reatment of acute and chronic hepatic diseases.
Interstitial lung disease is the most common pulmonary complication in patients with inflammatory myopathy, with a high case fatality rate, unknown pathogenesis, and complex clinical manifestations, and the treatment is difficult. Early and timely treatment can improve the patient’s clinical symptoms and inhibit the development of the disease. The present treatment protocols can be mainly summarized as the commonly used drugs (corticosteroids, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, and intravenous immunoglobulin) and new drugs (cyclosporin A, tacrolimus, biological agents, and anti-fibrosis drug), etc. In this paper, the treatment progress of inflammatory myopathy-related interstitial lung disease and different myositis antibody-related interstitial lung disease in recent years at home and abroad is reviewed, so as to provide a basis for clinical treatment.
Bone tumor surgery involves tumor resection and subsequent reconstruction. With the development of surgical technique and new material, there is a great step toward bone and joint reconstruction in bone tumor surgery. Generally speaking, there are two major reconstructive methods including bio-reconstruction and mechanical reconstruction. In addition, three-dimensional printed prosthesis has been widely applied in the field of bone tumor surgery. The short-term result is encouraged; however, long-term results and related complications are seldom reported.
Objective To explore the influencing factors and improving measures of hand hygiene among healthcare workers. Methods From June to August 2016, several healthcare workers from clinical departments and nosocomial infection control department in Chengdu were selected by purposive sampling method. Data was collected by individual in-depth interviews, and was three-rank coded by Nvivo 8 software based on Grounded Theory. Results After three-rank coding, 6 important influencing factors were generalized which were re-categorized into 3 levels: personal cognition, behavior capacity and social support. At the last, the whole framework of the theory was constructed through core coding. Conclusion In clinical practice, we should take reasonable measures to strengthen the training of hand hygiene, improve the hand hygiene facilities, strengthen supervision and management, and effectively improve the implementation rate of hand hygiene.
Objective To evaluate the robustness of cardiovascular meta-analysis with use of fragility index. Methods By searching PubMed, EMbase, and Web of Science databases from 2018 to 2022, relevant literature on cardiovascular meta-analysis was systematically collected and the fragility indexes were calculated; Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between fragility index and sample size, total number of events, effect size and its confidence interval width. Results A total of 212 meta-analyses from 29 articles were included, with a median fragility index of 11 (5, 25), a median sample size of 10301 (3384, 48330), and a median total number of events of 360 (129, 1309). Most meta-analyses chose relative risk as the effect measure (179/212), and chose Mantel-Haenszel method (102/212) and random effects model (153/212). The fragility index was positively correlated with the sample size (rs=0.56, P<0.05) and the total number of events (rs=0.61, P<0.05), and negatively correlated with confidence interval width of the effect size (rs=−0.52, P<0.05). No statistically significant results were obtained in the correlation between the fragility index and effect size. Conclusion The fragility indexes of cardiovascular meta-analyses published in comprehensive journals of high impact factors and professional cardiovascular journals are generally low, and therefore lack robustness. Fragility index is suggested to be reported in medical researches, assisting in explaining the P-value.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of drug-eluting stents in treating patients with coronary artery disease compared with bare metal stents. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, CBMdisc and other databases of clinical trials were searched for meta-analysis and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) both in Chinese and English language. Conference abstracts, personal reference lists, reference lists of retrieved studies and some websites were also searched. Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 4.2 software. Results Meta-analysis was performed on the results of 25 RCTs with 5 different drug-eluting stents. Seven trials evaluated efficacy and safety of sirolimus-eluting stent, the results of meta-analysis indicated that SES decreased rates in stent restenosis compared with bare metal stent, and therefore the target lesion revascularization and adverse cardiac event rates, no “catch up” were found. Eight trials compared a paclitaxel-eluting stent with bare metal stent, similar results were found, i.e. decreased stent restenosis rate, target lesion revascularization and adverse cardiac event rates in patients receiving paclitaxel-eluting stent compared with bare metal stent. Three trials compared CYPHERTM and TAXUS stents head to head, and the combined analysis showed a superiority of CYPHERTM to TAXUS. But available data can not draw a conclusion with regard to the effect of drug-eluting stents on mortality, occurrence of MI or stent thrombosis. Everolimus-eluting stent had the same performance as these two drug-eluting stents above, but because of a small sample size, no further conclusion can be made. Actinomycin D eluting stents and 7-hexanoyltaxol-eluting stents increased restenosis rate and stent thrombosis rate respectively. Poor performance limited further clinical trials of these two stents. Conclusions Sirolimus-eluting stent and polymetric paclitaxel-eluting stent are efficient and safe in patients with coronary artery atherosclerosis. Sirolimus eluting stent CYPHERTM seems better than paclitaxel eluting stent TAXUS.