Evaluating the safety and efficacy of daprodustat for anemia of chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

PURPOSE: Anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has traditionally been treated with recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO). Recently, daprodustat, a hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitor, has also been shown to increase hematocrit. It remains unclear whether daprodustat or rhEPO should be the treatment of choice for anemia of CKD. We aimed to assess the efficacy and cardiovascular safety of daprodustat versus rhEPO in CKD patients. METHODS: Online databases were queried in April 2022 for articles comparing the efficacy and safety of daprodustat in DD-CKD and NDD-CKD subgroups. Results from trials were pooled using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Data on 8245 CKD patients from eight clinical trials were included. Our results show that in comparison to rhEPO, daprodustat maintained the same efficacy in increasing hemoglobin levels in both the DD-CKD (MD: 0.10; 95% CI [- 0.13,0.34]; p = 0.50) and NDD-CKD (MD: - 0.01; 95% CI [- 0.38,0.35]; p = 0.95) subgroups. Daprodustat significantly lowered hepcidin levels and significantly increased TIBC in both subgroups. Additionally, daprodustat significantly reduced the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (RR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.89-0.98; p = 0.02) and its myocardial infarction (MI) component (RR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.59-0.92; p = 0.006) in the DD-CKD subgroup. CONCLUSION: Daprodustat has similar efficacy compared to rhEPO for the treatment of anemia of CKD. On treatment, the reduced experience of MACE was reported in DD-CKD patients as compared to rhEPO. Furthermore, effects on iron metabolism varied by parameter, with daprodustat being superior to rhEPO in some cases and inferior in others.

TAPP versus lichtenstein techniques for bilateral inguinal hernia repair: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedures performed worldwide. However, very few studies report data on the laparoscopic advantages of bilateral inguinal hernia (BIH) repair over the open approach. Therefore, this meta-analysis was conducted to compare the effectiveness of the laparoscopic trans-abdominal pre-peritoneal (TAPP) technique with the open Lichtenstein repair technique (OLR) for the repair of BIH. A detailed literature search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library for comparative studies between TAPP and OLR techniques for repair of BIH. RevMan Version 5.4 was used for data analysis. The Inverse Variance statistical method was used to analyze the primary outcomes and the Mantel-Haenszel statistical method was used to analyze the secondary outcomes. The effect measure was reported as a Risk Ratio. There was no significant difference in recurrence between the two groups. A significant difference was seen in duration of post-operative hospital stay, operative time, pain score on VAS criteria on post-operative Day 1, pain score on VAS criteria on post-operative Day 7, and complications, all in the favor of TAPP except for operative time which was in the favor of OLR. TAPP was found to be superior to OLR in terms of duration of post-operative hospital stay, pain scores on VAS criteria on post-operative days 1 and 7, and complications, whereas OLR was found superior only in terms of operative time. For recurrence, there was no significant difference between the two groups.

Cholera outbreak in Balochistan amidst flash floods: an impending public health crisis.

Despite being the largest province in Pakistan due to inadequate and underdeveloped infrastructure, Balochistan has been the worst-inflicted region with biblical floods. Following these disastrous flash floods, a sudden rise in cholera cases was seen in the affected province. To overcome this public health crisis, the authorities must put in place a system to ensure food safety, an adequate supply of clean drinking water, and the provision of proper sanitation facilities for the locals.