Patients with brain metastases are more prone to developing life-threatening neurological symptoms. Initial therapies include surgery, whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), and stereotactic radiotherapy. With the progress of stereotactic radiotherapy, the indication of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is gradually expanding, and the indications for surgery and WBRT gradually narrowed. The existing studies have shown that SRS can significantly benefit patients who are <50 years old with single brain metastasis, but the specific scope of the application with SRS is still controversial, and a large number of the phase Ⅲ randomized multicenter trials designed around the controversies are also developing. This review summarizes the results of clinical research and came to the conclusion. Firstly, postoperative adjuvant SRS in the treatment of brain metastases is superior to postoperative adjuvant WBRT. Secondly, using SRS in the elderly patients with multiple brain metastases are safe and effective. Thirdly, the use of targeted therapy in patients with brain metastases thereby delaying SRS may lead to poor prognosis. The focus of future research include selection of optimal timing for adjuvant targeted therapy after SRS and the appropriate patient population, as well as prevention of recurrence and metastasis after lacal treatment.
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common type of valvular heart disease. Mitral valve repair/replacement can improve the prognosis of patients with severe MR, but a large proportion of patients cannot tolerate surgical procedures due to comorbidities and surgical risks. Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) is a kind of treatment for mitral valve disease in which an artificial valve is delivered to the mitral valve annulus through a catheter and released into place, with the advantages of no thorax opening, less trauma and high safety. Early clinical studies of TMVR have shown good results, but still face many challenges. Strict indications are effective measures to reduce surgical risks and postoperative complications. This article explores the relevant indications of TMVR by analyzing several studies at home and abroad.
The increasing deteriorative trend of doctor-patient relationship (DPR) have destroyed patient safety, doctor safety and social stability in China. DPR is a complicated social problem related to multidisciplinary and multi-factor interactions. A series of researches providing different views on how to improve DPR in China have been published in recently years. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) aims to deal with massive information by producing, synthesizing and disseminating evidence from complex interventions. We tried to explore the trait of DPR by EBM methods. We provided evidence on research trends, topics and methods by systematic database retrieval, classification by screening, and quality assessment. Through dissection, attribution, and visualization of interactions and relationships between factors, we provided an evidence-supported framework for improvement of DPR. We identified gaps, defects or deficiencies in existing research, and promoted further research. We continued to follow up the research and faced a challenge: Reflection and frustration in the process of establishing the quality evaluation system of qualitative research. We found that the study of complex humanities and social sciences by reference to evidence-based methodology might be: providing a structured, panoramic perspective for complex social problems on " de-fragmentation”, providing a framework for social governance through classification and hierarchy, and calling for a more tolerant attitude and more comprehensive application of methodologies.
Objectives To assess the effectiveness and safety of any form of therapy compared with glucocorticoid for the treatment of oral lichen planus. Method The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2007), MEDLINE (1966-2007), EMbase (1966-2007), CBM (1978-2005), CNKI (1989-2007), and VIP (1989-2007) were searched for randomized controlled trials or quasi-randomized controlled trials. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed by two reviewers independently. Meta-analysis was performed for the results of homogeneous studies by RevMan 4.2.9 software.Results Finally, 14 studies involving 9 therapy methods were included. Four studies were concerned with cyclosporine.We performed a meta-analysis of 3 studies. The results showed there was no statistically significant difference in the curative effect of cyclosporine and the steroid with RR 2.94 and 95%CI 1.03 to 9.97. The results showed that the curative effect of total glucosides of paenia plus topical application of triamcinolone acetonide (RR0.21, 95%CI 0.10 to 0.44),tacrolimu (RR 0.18 and 95%CI 0.05 to 0.72), and pimecrolimus (WMD –0.50 and 95%CI –0.85 to –0.15) were better than glucocorticoid. There was a statistically significant difference between fluocinolone acetonide and retinoic acid in terms of curative effect with RR 3.20 and 95%CI 1.03 to 9.97. The curative effect of mesalazine (RR 0.42 and 95%CI 0.05 to 3.54), Mycostatin paste plus desamethasone paste (RR 1.23 and 95%CI 0.93 to 1.61), triamcinolone acetonide plus vitamin B12 ( RR 0.50 and 95%CI 0.05 to 4.94), chitin (RR 1.30 and 95%CI 0.86 to 1.96) was similar with that of glucocorticoid.Conclusion Statistical analysis showed the curative effect of total glucosides of paenia combined with triamcinoloneacetonide is better than glucocorticoid. Due to the mistakes of theincluded studies designs,,further high-quality,largescale randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the effectiveness and safety of this therapy method.
The majority of problems are comprehensive and complex in the modern society, which leads to the increasing contradictions in the specialization and comprehensiveness of knowledge. Interdisciplinary cooperation is one approach to improve the effectiveness and transferability. The primary principle of evidence-based medicine is its scientific and transparent procedures. It combines the patient’s preferences with clinical experience and the best evidence. Meanwhile, evidence-based medicine is focused on how to transfer research outcomes into practice and the re-evaluation of the result of practice in order to striving for perfections. Combining this practical pattern of evidence-based medicine with other disciplines can have a significant improvement on scientific methods and thinking patterns, and become an effective way to improve the quality of scientific research and promote the transformation.
Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of disodium cantharidinate and vitamin B6 injection plus chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone, in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2011), MEDLINE (1966 to November 2011), EMbase (1984 to November 2011), CBM (1978 to November 2011), CNKI (1995 to November 2011) and VIP (1989 to November 2011) were searched electronically, and the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about disodium cantharidinate and vitamin B6 injection plus chemotherapy for NSCLC were included. The quality of the included studies was assessed and crosschecked by two reviewers independently, and meta-analyses were performed for homogeneous studies by using Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.1 software. Results Eight RCTs involving 539 patients met inclusion criteria were included in meta-analyses. The quality of all studies was in Grade B. The results of meta-analyses showed that disodium cantharidinate and vitamin B6 injection plus chemotherapy, compared with chemotherapy alone, could increase effective rate (RR=1.32, 95%CI 1.07 to 1.62) and clinical benefit rate (RR=1.24, 95%CI 1.12 to 1.37), improve quality of life (RR=2.23, 95%CI 1.55 to 3.19) and clinical symptoms (RR=1.55, 95%CI 1.24 to 1.95), increase body weight (RR=2.72, 95%CI 1.74 to 4.25), and decrease bone marrow suppression (leucocyte reduction rate) (RR=0.36, 95%CI 0.21 to 0.61). Conclusion The evidence available indicates that the treatment regimen of disodium cantharidinate and vitamin B6 injection plus chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy alone in increasing effects and decreasing toxicity for the patients with NSCLC. More high-quality and multi-center RCTs with larger sample and longer follow-up are proposed.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rather common in Southeast Asia and Southern China. The standard treatment for NPC is intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). A large number of the NPC survivors benefit from the IMRT, while some suffer from the late toxicities which can be life-threatening or significantly erode the patients’ quality of life and functional status, especially in the locally advanced NPC. Nowadays the late radiotherapy-related toxicities have been the most important concern for the radiotherapists and patients, who look forward to the better long-term tumor local control and overall survival. Therefore, we carried out a review about the late radiotherapy-related toxicities of the vital organs at risk after IMRT for NPC patients.
Objective To explore the influencing factors of inhalation medication compliance in Chinese asthma patients, and to provide evidence for improving the compliance of patients with inhalation therapy. Methods PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Chongqing VIP, and SinoMed were searched for literature on factors influencing inhalation medication compliance in Chinese asthma patients from the establishment of databases to December 2021. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. Results A total of 16 studies were included, with a sample size of 2 600 cases, 1 084 cases of good compliance with inhalation administration, 1 516 cases of poor compliance with inhalation administration, and good compliance with inhalation administration accounted for 41.69%. The literature quality evaluation scores were all ≥4 points, all of which were of medium quality and above. Meta-analysis showed that the factors affecting inhalation compliance of asthma patients included age [odds ratio (OR)=0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.32, 0.91), P=0.02], educational level [OR=0.57, 95%CI (0.36, 0.90), P=0.02], doctor-patient relationship [OR=0.42, 95%CI (0.19, 0.93), P=0.03], disease severity [OR=0.25, 95%CI (0.11, 0.58), P=0.001], degree of mastery of asthma knowledge [OR=2.51, 95%CI (1.11, 5.65), P=0.03], degree of mastery of inhalation technique [OR=8.66, 95%CI (3.20, 23.40), P<0.0001], adverse drug reaction [OR=0.23, 95%CI (0.13, 0.41), P<0.00001]. Conclusion The compliance of inhaled dosing in Chinese asthma patients needs to be improved urgently. Age, education level, doctor-patient relationship, disease severity, mastery of asthma knowledge, mastery of inhalation technology, and adverse drug reactions are the important influencing factors of inhaled medication compliance.
Ultrasound guided percutaneous interventional therapy has been widely used in clinic. Aiming at the problem of soft tissue deformation caused by probe contact force in robot-assisted ultrasound-guided therapy, a real-time non-reference ultrasound image evaluation method considering soft tissue deformation is proposed. On the basis of ultrasound image brightness and sharpness, a multi-dimensional ultrasound image evaluation index was designed, which incorporated the aggregation characteristics of the organization. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, ultrasound images of four different models were collected for experiments, including prostate phantom, phantom with cyst, pig liver tissue, and pig liver tissue with cyst. In addition, the correlation between subjective and objective evaluations was analyzed based on Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Experimental results showed that the average evaluation time of a single image was 68.8 milliseconds. The evaluation time could satisfy real-time applications. The proposed method realizes the effective evaluation of real-time ultrasound image quality in robot-assisted therapy, and has good consistency with the evaluation of supervisors.