Mammography in combination with breast ultrasonography versus mammography for breast cancer screening in women at average risk.

BACKGROUND: Screening mammography can detect breast cancer at an early stage. Supporters of adding ultrasonography to the screening regimen consider it a safe and inexpensive approach to reduce false-negative rates during screening. However, those opposed to it argue that performing supplemental ultrasonography will also increase the rate of false-positive findings and can lead to unnecessary biopsies and treatments. OBJECTIVES: To assess the comparative effectiveness and safety of mammography in combination with breast ultrasonography versus mammography alone for breast cancer screening for women at average risk of breast cancer. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group's Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP), and ClinicalTrials.gov up until 3 May 2021. SELECTION CRITERIA: For efficacy and harms, we considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled non-randomised studies enrolling at least 500 women at average risk for breast cancer between the ages of 40 and 75. We also included studies where 80% of the population met our age and breast cancer risk inclusion criteria. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors screened abstracts and full texts, assessed risk of bias, and applied the GRADE approach. We calculated the risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) based on available event rates. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis. MAIN RESULTS: We included eight studies: one RCT, two prospective cohort studies, and five retrospective cohort studies, enrolling 209,207 women with a follow-up duration from one to three years. The proportion of women with dense breasts ranged from 48% to 100%. Five studies used digital mammography; one study used breast tomosynthesis; and two studies used automated breast ultrasonography (ABUS) in addition to mammography screening. One study used digital mammography alone or in combination with breast tomosynthesis and ABUS or handheld ultrasonography. Six of the eight studies evaluated the rate of cancer cases detected after one screening round, whilst two studies screened women once, twice, or more. None of the studies assessed whether mammography screening in combination with ultrasonography led to lower mortality from breast cancer or all-cause mortality. High certainty evidence from one trial showed that screening with a combination of mammography and ultrasonography detects more breast cancer than mammography alone. The J-START (Japan Strategic Anti-cancer Randomised Trial), enrolling 72,717 asymptomatic women, had a low risk of bias and found that two additional breast cancers per 1000 women were detected over two years with one additional ultrasonography than with mammography alone (5 versus 3 per 1000; RR 1.54, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.94). Low certainty evidence showed that the percentage of invasive tumours was similar, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (69.6% (128 of 184) versus 73.5% (86 of 117); RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.09). However, positive lymph node status was detected less frequently in women with invasive cancer who underwent mammography screening in combination with ultrasonography than in women who underwent mammography alone (18% (23 of 128) versus 34% (29 of 86); RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.86; moderate certainty evidence). Further, interval carcinomas occurred less frequently in the group screened by mammography and ultrasonography compared with mammography alone (5 versus 10 in 10,000 women; RR 0.50, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.89; 72,717 participants; high certainty evidence). False-negative results were less common when ultrasonography was used in addition to mammography than with mammography alone: 9% (18 of 202) versus 23% (35 of 152; RR 0.39, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.66; moderate certainty evidence). However, the number of false-positive results and necessary biopsies were higher in the group with additional ultrasonography screening. Amongst 1000 women who do not have cancer, 37 more received a false-positive result when they participated in screening with a combination of mammography and ultrasonography than with mammography alone (RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.37 to 1.50; high certainty evidence). Compared to mammography alone, for every 1000 women participating in screening with a combination of mammography and ultrasonography, 27 more women will have a biopsy (RR 2.49, 95% CI 2.28 to 2.72; high certainty evidence). Results from cohort studies with methodological limitations confirmed these findings. A secondary analysis of the J-START provided results from 19,213 women with dense and non-dense breasts. In women with dense breasts, the combination of mammography and ultrasonography detected three more cancer cases (0 fewer to 7 more) per 1000 women screened than mammography alone (RR 1.65, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.72; 11,390 participants; high certainty evidence). A meta-analysis of three cohort studies with data from 50,327 women with dense breasts supported this finding, showing that mammography and ultrasonography combined led to statistically significantly more diagnosed cancer cases compared to mammography alone (RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.56; 50,327 participants; moderate certainty evidence). For women with non-dense breasts, the secondary analysis of the J-START study demonstrated that more cancer cases were detected when adding ultrasound to mammography screening compared to mammography alone (RR 1.93, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.68; 7823 participants; moderate certainty evidence), whilst two cohort studies with data from 40,636 women found no statistically significant difference between the two screening methods (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.49; low certainty evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Based on one study in women at average risk of breast cancer, ultrasonography in addition to mammography leads to more screening-detected breast cancer cases. For women with dense breasts, cohort studies more in line with real-life clinical practice confirmed this finding, whilst cohort studies for women with non-dense breasts showed no statistically significant difference between the two screening interventions. However, the number of false-positive results and biopsy rates were higher in women receiving additional ultrasonography for breast cancer screening. None of the included studies analysed whether the higher number of screen-detected cancers in the intervention group resulted in a lower mortality rate compared to mammography alone. Randomised controlled trials or prospective cohort studies with a longer observation period are needed to assess the effects of the two screening interventions on morbidity and mortality.

A Choosing Wisely top-5 list to support general practitioners in Austria.

From a pool of 147 reliable recommendations, ten experts from the Austrian Society of General Practice and Family Medicine selected 21 relevant recommendations as the basis for the Delphi process. In two Delphi rounds, eleven experts established a top­5 list of recommendations designed for Austrian family practice to reduce medical overuse. Three of the chosen recommendations address the issue of antibiotic usage in patients with viral upper respiratory tract infections, in children with mild otitis media, and in patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria. The other two "do not do" recommendations concern imaging studies for nonspecific low back pain and routine screening to detect prostate cancer. A subsequent survey identified the reasons for selecting these top­5 recommendations: the frequency of the issue, potential harms, costs, and patients' expectations. Experts hope the campaign will save time in educating patients and provide legal protection for omitting measures.

[Evidence-based recommendations for the revision of the Austrian periodic health examination]. / Evidenzbasierte Empfehlungen zur Überarbeitung der österreichischen Vorsorgeuntersuchung.

The Austrian periodic health examination (PHE) was introduced in 1974 as a health insurance benefit and was redesigned for the last time in 2005. Therefore, the aim of this work was to revise the scientific basis of the PHE using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach. We updated the scientific evidence of examinations and consultations that are currently part of the PHE and searched and integrated new examinations. We assessed the expectations of the population towards the PHE in three focus groups. A panel of experts developed evidence-based recommendations for the revised PHE. They formulated 26 recommendations on 20 target diseases or risk factors. In comparison to the previous PHE, the panel added screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm, osteoporotic fracture risk, and chronic kidney disease to the recommendations, while screening for asymptomatic bacteriuria, screening for iron deficiency/pernicious anaemia, and risk identification of glaucoma should no longer be included.

Sex-specific differences in diabetes prevention: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: In people with prediabetes, lifestyle interventions and glucose-lowering medications are effective in preventing the progression to type 2 diabetes. It is unclear whether differences in treatment effects between men and women need to be taken into consideration when choosing a preventive strategy for an individual person. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and reference lists of pertinent review articles from 1980 to June 2013. We conducted random effects meta-analyses of published and unpublished data to determine differences of treatment effects between men and women. RESULTS: Twelve randomised control trials (RCTs) provided sex-specific information on treatment effects. Compared with usual care, men and women who received lifestyle interventions had a lower rate of progression to type 2 diabetes (RR 0.60 [95% CI 0.35, 1.05] after 1 year; RR 0.63 [95% CI 0.51, 0.79] after 3 years); greater weight reduction (-2.45 kg; [95% CI -3.56, -1.33 kg] after 3 years); and greater reductions of fasting plasma glucose (-0.31 mmol/l [95% CI -0.48, -0.15] after 3 years) and 2 h post-challenge-glucose (-0.68 mmol/l [95% CI -1.03, -0.34] after 3 years). No statistically significant differences in treatment effects between men and women were apparent for any outcomes (p values of all comparisons ≥ 0.09). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our study emphasises the importance of preventive interventions in people with prediabetes and indicates no differences of beneficial preventive effects on the incidence of type 2 diabetes and weight gain between men and women.

[Perioperative anemia management: a systematic review and meta-analysis]. / Perioperatives Anämiemanagement - Systematischer Review und Meta-Analyse.

Anemia is a risk factor for increased postoperative morbidity and mortality. International guidelines, therefore, recommend preoperative diagnostic work up and causal treatment of anemia. Iron therapy, however, is suspected to negatively affect disease progression in patients with cancer-associated anemia. The objective of our systematic review was to assess the efficacy and safety of perioperative diagnosis and causal therapy of anemia, and to determine the effect of iron supplement on disease progression of cancer.We systematically searched multiple electronic databases. Two persons independently reviewed abstracts and full-text articles. We rated the risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and assessed the quality of the evidence using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). Meta-Analyses were performed using the DerSimonian&Laird random effects method. Results indicate that preoperative therapy of anemia could reduce the need for blood transfusions (relative risk: 0,78; 95% confidence interval 0,61-1,02; number needed to treat: 6) For other patient-relevant outcomes the number of events were too small to detect clinically relevant differences. We could not find any evidence that iron supplements have an influence on the progression of tumors.

The importance of additional intracranial injuries in epidural hematomas: detailed clinical analysis, long-term outcome, and literature review in surgically managed epidural hematomas.

Objective: Epidural hematomas (EDH) occur in up to 8.2% of all traumatic brain injury patients, with more than half needing surgical treatment. In most patients suffering from this perilous disease, good recovery with an excellent clinical course is possible. However, the clinical course is mainly dependent on the presence of additional intracerebral injuries. Few studies comparing isolated and combined EDH in detail exist. Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center study from April 2002 to December 2014. The mean follow-up time was more than 6 years. In addition to analyzing diverse clinicoradiological data, we performed a systematic literature review dealing with a detailed comparison of patients with (combined) and without (isolated) additional intracerebral injuries. Results: We included 72 patients in the study. With increasing age, combined EDH had a higher incidence than isolated EDH. The mortality rate of the patients in the cohort was 10%, of which 0% had isolated EDH and 10% had combined EDH. Good recovery was achieved in 69% of patients, of which 91% had isolated EDH and 50% had combined EDH. A subgroup analysis of the different additional intracerebral injuries in combined EDH demonstrated no significant difference in outcome. A systematic literature review only identified six studies. Patients with isolated EDH had a statistically significantly lower mortality risk [relative risk (RR): 0.22; 95% CI: 0.12-0.39] and a statistically significantly lower risk of unfavorable Glasgow outcome scale score (RR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.14-0.31) than patients with combined EDH. Conclusions: An excellent outcome in patients with surgically treated isolated EDH is possible. Furthermore, patients with combined EDH or isolated EDH with a low Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score may have favorable outcomes in 50% of the cases. Therefore, every possible effort for treatment should be made for this potentially lethal injury.

Risk of Contrast-Associated Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Peripheral Angiography with Carbon Dioxide Compared to Iodine-Containing Contrast Agents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The aim of this systematic review was to summarise the comparative evidence on the risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) with CO2 or iodinated contrast medium (ICM) for peripheral vascular interventions. We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, Epistemonikos, PubMed-similar-articles, clinical trial registries, journal websites, and reference lists up to February 2022. We included studies comparing the risk of CA-AKI in patients who received CO2 or ICM for peripheral angiography with or without endovascular intervention. Two reviewers screened the references and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. We extracted data on study population, interventions and outcomes. For the risk of CA-AKI as our primary outcome of interest, we calculated risk ratios (RRs) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and performed random-effects meta-analyses. We identified three RCTs and five cohort studies that fully met our eligibility criteria. Based on a random-effects meta-analysis, the risk of CA-AKI was lower with CO2 compared to ICM (8.6% vs. 15.2%; RR, 0.59; 95% CI 0.33-1.04). Only limited results from a few studies were available on procedure and fluoroscopy time, radiation dose and CO2-related adverse events. The evidence suggests that the use of CO2 for peripheral vascular interventions reduces the risk of CA-AKI compared to ICM. However, due to the relevant residual risk of CA-AKI with the use of CO2, other AKI risk factors must be considered in patients undergoing peripheral vascular interventions.

Aromatherapy in Palliative Care: A Single-Institute Retrospective Analysis Evaluating the Effect of Lemon Oil Pads against Nausea and Vomiting in Advanced Cancer Patients.

Aromatherapy is regularly used in the University Hospital Krems's palliative care unit. In a retrospective analysis, we investigated whether there were improvements in nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced cancers over a time span of 24 months. Data collection used the medical records of patients who were institutionally approved to receive routine aroma applications for alleviating nausea and vomiting. The efficacy of using lemon oil pads was tested with one-dimensional chi-squared tests. Sixty-six patients received 222 applications of lemon oil on cotton pads; no data were available for 17 applications. The adequate relief of nausea and vomiting was reported for 149 (73%) applications, whereas no symptom control was seen for 56 (27%) applications. For the 56 applications without symptom control, first- and second-line rescue medications were successful in 53 and 3 cases, respectively. The use of aromatherapy with lemon oil pads against nausea and vomiting was feasible for 73% of all applications. All patients who did not benefit from aromatherapy had effective symptom control with a rescue medication. Large randomized prospective trials are necessary to evaluate the benefit of the use of lemon oil pads against nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced cancer.

Paracoccidioidomycosis Diagnosed in Europe-A Systematic Literature Review.

Paracoccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis that is endemic in geographical regions of Central and South America. Cases that occur in nonendemic regions of the world are imported through migration and travel. Due to the limited number of cases in Europe, most physicians are not familiar with paracoccidioidomycosis and its close clinical and histopathological resemblance to other infectious and noninfectious disease. To increase awareness of this insidious mycosis, we conducted a systematic review to summarize the evidence on cases diagnosed and reported in Europe. We searched PubMed and Embase to identify cases of paracoccidioidomycosis diagnosed in European countries. In addition, we used Scopus for citation tracking and manually screened bibliographies of relevant articles. We conducted dual abstract and full-text screening of references yielded by our searches. To identify publications published prior to 1985, we used the previously published review by Ajello et al. Overall, we identified 83 cases of paracoccidioidomycosis diagnosed in 11 European countries, published in 68 articles. Age of patients ranged from 24 to 77 years; the majority were male. Time from leaving the endemic region and first occurrence of symptoms considerably varied. Our review illustrates the challenges of considering systemic mycosis in the differential diagnosis of people returning or immigrating to Europe from endemic areas. Travel history is important for diagnostic-workup, though it might be difficult to obtain due to possible long latency period of the disease.

Retrospective analysis of the prevalence of specialised palliative care services for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) have a considerable symptom burden and may require extensive care for a long period of time. Palliative care (PC) has the potential to improve their quality of care and reduce their use of medical services. However, the role of specialised PC (SPC) in patients with MBC remains unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) from 2008 to 2018 at an university-based referral centre to examine the extent of early and late integration of SPC services for patients with MBC. A descriptive analysis of the patients was also established. RESULTS: In all, 932 patients were diagnosed with BC from 2008 to 2018; 225 of these patients had or developed metastases related to their BC. In addition, 132 patients received SPC (58.7%) and 93 patients did not receive SPC (41.3%). The median probability of overall survival (OS) for patients who did not receive SPC services was 3.6 years (95% CI 2.0 to 5.1) and 1.8 years (95% CI 1.3 to 2.3) (p<0.0001) for patients who did receive SPC. In multivariate analysis, referral to SPC services was independently associated with OS (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.22, p=0.004). CONCLUSION: Patients who received SPC lived significantly shorter amounts of time than patients not referred for SPC services at our hospital. We concluded that the referral to SPC services was often too late and should be implemented earlier in the course of the disease. We suggest that patients with MBC should participate in a consultation by a SPC team ≤60 days after the start of systemic palliative anticancer therapy in addition to endocrine treatment. Larger prospective studies are needed to evaluate the benefit of the early integration of SPC services for patients with MBC.

The comparative efficacy and risk of harms of the intravenous and subcutaneous formulations of trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer: a rapid review.

BACKGROUND: Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody for patients with HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)-positive breast cancer, which is added to regular treatment and reduces mortality. Originally, trastuzumab had to be administered intravenously (IV) over 30 min every 3 weeks for 1 year. Since 2012, a formulation for the subcutaneous (SC) administration of trastuzumab has been available, which has not yet been approved in the USA. Advocates claim that the SC formulation saves time and money, despite higher costs. The purpose of this study is to review existing literature concerning the comparative efficacy and risk of harms of trastuzumab IV and SC concerning patient-relevant health outcomes. METHODS: We conducted searches in the Cochrane Library and MEDLINE for articles published through May 2018 in English or German. In addition, we searched ClinicalTrials.gov to identify unpublished studies. We dually reviewed the abstracts and full-text articles based on a priori defined inclusion criteria, rated the risk of bias of included studies, and assessed the strength of the evidence for each outcome of interest. Because data was insufficient for quantitative synthesis, we summarized results narratively. RESULTS: We identified three RCTs (randomized controlled trials) meeting our eligibility criteria, which included data on 1003 patients. We found moderate evidence for similar event rates (20.05% vs. 18%, HR (hazard ratio) 0.88, CI 95% = 0.62-1.27), and mortality rates (10% vs. 8%, HR 0.76, CI 95% = 0.44-1.32) after 1.7 years for patients receiving trastuzumab IV and for patients receiving SC. Results remained similar after 3.3 years, though evidence lacked strength due to a high dropout rate. All trials reported more adverse events among the SC group than in the IV group. Evidence for these findings was of moderate strength. Nevertheless, more than 85% of the patients preferred trastuzumab SC over IV. Results concerning serious adverse events appeared to be heterogeneous. CONCLUSION: Results of studies indicate similar efficacy between the two routes of administration. The higher rates of adverse events for SC administration were mainly attributable to injection site-related events. The clinical decision of whether to administer trastuzumab SC or IV requires the consideration of several factors and should be determined individually.

[GRADE: Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks - a systematic and transparent approach to making well informed healthcare choices. 1: Introduction]. / GRADE: Von der Evidenz zur Empfehlung oder Entscheidung - ein systematischer und transparenter Ansatz, um gut informierte Entscheidungen im Gesundheitswesen zu treffen. 1: Einleitung.

In healthcare, the processes, criteria, and evidence that decision makers use to reach their judgments often remain unclear. Decision makers sometimes neglect important criteria, give undue weight to criteria, or do not use the best available evidence to inform their judgments. Thus, the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) working group developed a system to support transparent decision making. The purpose of the Evidence-to-Decision (EtD) framework is to help people use evidence in a structured and transparent way to inform decisions in the context of clinical recommendations, coverage decisions, and health system, or public health recommendations and decisions. EtD frameworks include the formulation of the question, an assessment of the evidence, and drawing conclusions. EtD frameworks inform users of recommendations about judgments that were made and the evidence supporting these judgments by making the basis for decisions transparent to target audiences. EtD frameworks also facilitate dissemination of recommendations.

Optimizing medical care for geriatric patients in Austria: defining a top five list of "Choosing Wisely" recommendations using the Delphi technique.

PURPOSE: Inappropriate use of diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures is common and potentially harmful for older patients. The Austrian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology defined a consensus of five recommendations to avoid overuse of medical interventions and to improve care of geriatric patients. METHODS: From an initial pool of 147 reliable recommendations, 20 were chosen by a structured selection process for inclusion in a Delphi process to define a list of five top recommendations for geriatric medicine. 12 experts in the field of geriatric medicine scored the recommendations in two Delphi rounds. RESULTS: The final five recommendations are concerning urinary catheters in elderly patients, percutaneous feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia, antipsychotics as the first choice to treat behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, and screening for breast, colorectal, prostate, or lung cancer, and the use of antimicrobials to treat asymptomatic bacteriuria. CONCLUSIONS: The selected recommendations have the potential to improve medical care for older patients, to reduce side effects caused by unnecessary medical procedures, and to save costs in the health care system.

Effects of lifestyle changes on adults with prediabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS: To assess the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of lifestyle intervention, compared with treatment as usual in people with prediabetes as defined by the American Diabetes Association. For older studies, we used the 1985 World Health Organization definition. METHODS: We systematically searched multiple electronic databases and referenced lists of pertinent review articles from January 1980 through November 2015. We performed an update search in MEDLINE on April 26, 2017. Based on a priori established eligibility criteria, we dually reviewed the literature, extracted data, and rated the risk of bias of included studies with validated checklists. To assess the efficacy of lifestyle intervention to prevent or delay further progression to type 2 diabetes, we conducted a random-effects meta-analysis. We assessed the certainty of evidence using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach. RESULT: Pooled results of 16 randomized controlled trials showed that people with prediabetes who received lifestyle intervention had a lower rate of progression to type 2 diabetes after one (4% vs. 10%, RR 0.46 [CI 0.32, 0.66]) and three years of follow-up (14% vs. 23%, RR 0.64 [95% CI 0.53, 0.77]). The majority of the studies also showed a greater weight loss in lifestyle intervention participants, with a great variation between studies. Costs per quality-adjusted life-year were lower when the benefits of lifestyle intervention were analyzed over a lifelong time horizon compared to only the period of lifestyle intervention (three years) or to modeling over a ten-year period. CONCLUSION: Lifestyle intervention is an efficacious, safe, and cost-effective measure to reduce the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes in people diagnosed with prediabetes. More research is necessary to compare the efficacy of various modes, frequencies, and intensities of lifestyle intervention across studies.

Ezetimibe-Statin Combination Therapy.

BACKGROUND: To date, most clinical comparisons of ezetimibe-statin combination therapy versus statin monotherapy have relied entirely on surrogate variables. In this systematic review, we study the efficacy and safety of ezetimibe-statin combination therapy in comparison to statin monotherapy in terms of the prevention of cardiovascular events in hyperlipidemic patients with atherosclerosis and/or diabetes mellitus. METHODS: This review is based on a systematic literature search (1995 to July 2015) in PubMed, the Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), the Cochrane Library, and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry. RESULTS: Nine randomized, controlled trials with data from a total of 19 461 patients were included. Ezetimibe-statin combination therapy was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events than statin monotherapy: 33% of the patients treated with ezetimibe and a statin, and 35% of those treated with a statin alone, had a cardiovascular event within seven years (number needed to treat [NNT]: 50 over 7 years). Combination therapy was also significantly more effective in preventing a composite endpoint consisting of death due to cardiovascular disease, nonfatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, coronary revascularization, and nonfatal stroke (hazard ratio [HR] 0.94, 95% confidence interval [0,89; 0,99]; p = 0.016). Diabetic patients benefited from combination therapy rather than monotherapy with respect to cardiovascular morbidity (HR 0.87 [0.78; 0.94]). On the other hand, the addition of ezetimibe to statin therapy did not lessen either cardiovascular or overall mortality. Serious undesired events occurred in 38% of the patients taking ezetimibe and a statin nd in 39% of the patients taking a statin alone (relative risk 1.09 [0.77; 1.55]). CONCLUSION: In high-risk patients with an acute coronary syndrome, combination therapy with ezetimibe and a statin lowered the risk of cardiovascular events in comparison to statin monotherapy. The risk of dying or suffering an adverse drug effect was similar in the two treatment groups.

Comparative Risk of Harm Associated With the Use of Targeted Immunomodulators: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically compare the risk of adverse events (AEs) for 13 targeted immunomodulators (TIMs) indicated for ankylosing spondylitis (AS), inflammatory bowel diseases, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We searched electronic databases through July 2015 to retrieve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies comparing AEs between 2 or more TIMs head-to-head. We reported on the following outcomes: number of AEs, discontinuation due to AEs, serious AEs, mortality, serious infections, tuberculosis, herpes zoster, and malignancies. We qualitatively synthesized the literature and conducted random-effects meta-analyses if 3 or more studies provided data for an outcome. RESULTS: Ten head-to-head RCTs and 51 observational studies were included in this systematic review. A majority of the studies (70%) were conducted in RA patients. Risk of treatment discontinuation due to AEs was higher with infliximab than with adalimumab or etanercept in RA, PsA, and AS. A higher risk for serious infections was noted with infliximab than with abatacept, adalimumab, or etanercept in RA. Risk for treatment discontinuation due to AEs, serious infections, and tuberculosis was lower with etanercept than with adalimumab in RA. Limited evidence suggested no comparative differences in risk for mortality, malignancies, and herpes zoster for adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab in RA. CONCLUSION: Important differences were noted in the safety profile of TIMs in RA, generally favoring abatacept, adalimumab, and etanercept over infliximab. Head-to-head comparative evidence for other TIMs and non-RA populations was insufficient to draw conclusions for most of the safety outcomes.

The predictive validity of quality of evidence grades for the stability of effect estimates was low: a meta-epidemiological study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the predictive validity of the U.S. Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) approach to GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Based on Cochrane reports with outcomes graded as high quality of evidence (QOE), we prepared 160 documents which represented different levels of QOE. Professional systematic reviewers dually graded the QOE. For each document, we determined whether estimates were concordant with high QOE estimates of the Cochrane reports. We compared the observed proportion of concordant estimates with the expected proportion from an international survey. To determine the predictive validity, we used the Hosmer-Lemeshow test to assess calibration and the C (concordance) index to assess discrimination. RESULTS: The predictive validity of the EPC approach to GRADE was limited. Estimates graded as high QOE were less likely, estimates graded as low or insufficient QOE more likely to remain stable than expected. The EPC approach to GRADE could not reliably predict the likelihood that individual bodies of evidence remain stable as new evidence becomes available. C-indices ranged between 0.56 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.66) and 0.58 (95% CI, 0.50 to 0.67) indicating a low discriminatory ability. CONCLUSION: The limited predictive validity of the EPC approach to GRADE seems to reflect a mismatch between expected and observed changes in treatment effects as bodies of evidence advance from insufficient to high QOE.

[Guideline development: Going from evidence to recommendations. Challenges and opportunities--a methodologist's view]. / Leitlinienentwicklung: von der Evidenz zu Empfehlungen. Möglichkeiten und Herausforderungen aus Sicht der MethodikerInnen.

The development of evidence-based guidelines is an interdisciplinary process in which methodologists play an important role. In addition to creating new or assessing existing systematic reviews as a basis for evidence-based decision making, methodologists can support the entire development process. Due to the increasing complexity of methods and the information overload of available publications, cooperation between the involved experts (especially clinicians and methodologists, but also patient representatives) is essential in order to develop reliable, acceptable and practical guidelines. This article looks at eight key points of the guideline development process (transparency, conflicts of interest, composition of guideline development group, establishing evidence foundation, development and formulation of recommendations, external review and updating) from the perspective of methodologists, and highlights problems, challenges and solution approaches. The earliest possible involvement of methodologists, a clear and a--for non-methodologists--understandable presentation of the best available evidence, the integration of methodologists in the creation and formulation of recommendations (systematic, evidence-based decision-making process) and cooperation between the participating experts are essential to improve the development process of evidence-based guidelines.

Sentinel lymph node dissection only versus complete axillary lymph node dissection in early invasive breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Z0011-study, a landmark randomised controlled trial (RCT) challenged the benefits of complete axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) compared with sentinel lymph node dissection only (SLND) in breast cancer patients with positive sentinel nodes. The study, however, has been criticised for lack of power and low applicability. The aim of this review was to systematically assess the evidence on the comparative benefits and harms of ALND versus SLND for sentinel node positive breast cancer patients. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and reference lists of pertinent review articles from January 2006 to August 2011. We dually reviewed the literature and rated the risk of bias of each study. For effectiveness, we included RCTs and observational studies of at least 1 year follow-up. In addition, we considered studies conducted in sentinel node-negative women to assess the risk of harms. If data were sufficient, we conducted random effects meta-analysis of outcomes of interest. RESULTS: Meta-analysis of three studies with 50,120 patients indicated similar 5-year survival and regional recurrence rates between patients treated with ALND or SLND, although prognostic tumour characteristics varied among the 3 study-populations. Results from 6 studies on more than 11,500 patients reported a higher risk for harms for ALND than SLND. Long-term evidence on pertinent health outcomes is missing. CONCLUSION: The available evidence indicates that for some women with early invasive breast cancer SLND appears to be a justifiable alternative to ALND. Surgeons need to discuss advantages and disadvantages of both approaches with their patients.

A case study of pooled-studies publications indicated potential for both valuable information and bias.

OBJECTIVES: Pooled-studies publications (PSPs) present statistical analyses of multiple randomized controlled trials without a systematic literature search or critical appraisal. We explored the characteristics of PSPs and their potential impact on a systematic review (SR). STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We systematically evaluated PSPs excluded from an SR of second-generation antidepressants. We analyzed their basic characteristics, risk of bias, and the effect of new data on review conclusions. RESULTS: We identified 57 PSPs containing a median of five trials (range, 2-11) and 1,233 patients (range, 117-2,919). Ninety-six percent of PSPs were industry funded, and 49% of PSPs contained unpublished data. The median number of citations for PSPs was 29 (range, 0-549). Only 7% planned pooling a priori, and 19% combined trials with identical protocols. Fifty-nine percent of PSPs eligible for general efficacy provided no new data. For some subgroups and accompanying symptoms (e.g., anxiety, insomnia, melancholia, fatigue, sex, and race), more than 30% of PSPs presented entirely new data or data that could alter the strength of the evidence available in the SR. CONCLUSION: In this case study, PSPs provided new information on subgroups and secondary outcomes; however, guidance for reviewers and development of a system to assess their susceptibility to bias are required.