Axillary surgical approach in metastatic breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the benefit of an axillary surgical approach on overall survival and secondarily of breast surgery amongst patients with metastatic breast cancer which is considered to be an incurable disease. However, an axillary surgical approach showed no association with overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The true impact of locoregional therapies on long-term outcomes remains unknown, and randomised clinical trials are needed.

Sleep quality assessment in chronic rhinosinusitis patients submitted to endoscopic sinus surgery: a meta-analysis / Avaliação da qualidade do sono em pacientes com rinossinusite crônica submetidos à cirurgia endoscópica nasossinusal: uma meta-análise

Abstract Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis can lead to poor sleep quality in affected individuals. Endoscopic nasal surgery has been indicated for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, resulting in improved quality of life, but it is still unknown if there is a similar improvement in sleep quality after the surgical procedure. Objective: To estimate the sleep quality of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis after undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery. Methods: The literature search was conducted in the indexed databases PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, SciELO, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Database of Thesis and Dissertations of CAPES, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials and in the grey literature. It included studies that reported the sleep quality of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis after undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery based on questionnaires assessing quality of life. Two researchers independently conducted the study selection and extraction. The random effects model was chosen to conduct the meta-analysis that was performed using the statistical package STATA, version 11. Results: Overall, 4 studies and 509 subjects were included in the systematic review. Improved sleep quality was observed in 90% of the patients. There was an improvement (on average, from 57% to 67%) in each of the five symptoms related to sleep quality. The results of the meta-analysis revealed high heterogeneity. Conclusions: This review shows that a large percentage of patients report improved sleep quality after endoscopic sinus surgery.

Resumo Introdução: A rinossinusite crônica pode levar a uma má qualidade do sono nos indivíduos afetados. A cirurgia endoscópica nasal tem sido indicada para pacientes com rinossinusite crônica, resulta em melhoria da qualidade de vida, mas ainda não se sabe se há melhoria semelhante na qualidade do sono após o procedimento cirúrgico. Objetivo: Estimar a qualidade do sono em pacientes com rinossinusite crônica após serem submetidos à cirurgia endoscópica nasossinusal. Método: A busca na literatura foi feita nas bases de dados indexadas PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, SciELO, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Banco de Teses e Dissertações da Capes, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials e na literatura cinzenta. Foram incluídos estudos que relataram a qualidade do sono de pacientes com rinossinusite crônica após ser submetidos à cirurgia endoscópica nasossinusal, com base em questionários que avaliaram a qualidade de vida. Dois pesquisadores conduziram independentemente a seleção e extração dos estudos. O modelo de efeitos aleatórios foi escolhido para conduzir a meta-análise que foi feita com o pacote estatístico STATA, versão 11. Resultados: No total, 4 estudos e 509 indivíduos foram incluídos na revisão sistemática. Melhora na qualidade do sono foi observada em 90% dos pacientes. Houve melhora (em média, de 57% a 67%) em cada um dos cinco sintomas relacionados à qualidade do sono. Os resultados da meta-análise apresentaram alta heterogeneidade. Conclusões: Esta revisão mostra que uma grande porcentagem de indivíduos relata melhoria na qualidade do sono após a cirurgia endoscópica nasossinusal.

Sleep quality assessment in chronic rhinosinusitis patients submitted to endoscopic sinus surgery: a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic rhinosinusitis can lead to poor sleep quality in affected individuals. Endoscopic nasal surgery has been indicated for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, resulting in improved quality of life, but it is still unknown if there is a similar improvement in sleep quality after the surgical procedure. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the sleep quality of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis after undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery. METHODS: The literature search was conducted in the indexed databases PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, SciELO, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Database of Thesis and Dissertations of CAPES, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials and in the grey literature. It included studies that reported the sleep quality of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis after undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery based on questionnaires assessing quality of life. Two researchers independently conducted the study selection and extraction. The random effects model was chosen to conduct the meta-analysis that was performed using the statistical package STATA, version 11. RESULTS: Overall, 4 studies and 509 subjects were included in the systematic review. Improved sleep quality was observed in 90% of the patients. There was an improvement (on average, from 57% to 67%) in each of the five symptoms related to sleep quality. The results of the meta-analysis revealed high heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: This review shows that a large percentage of patients report improved sleep quality after endoscopic sinus surgery.

Long-acting insulin analogues for type 1 diabetes: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: The comparison between long acting insulin analogues (LAIA) and human insulin (NPH) has been investigated for decades, with many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews giving mixed results. This overlapping and contradictory evidence has increased uncertainty on coverage decisions at health systems level. AIM: To conduct an overview of systematic reviews and update existing reviews, preparing new meta-analysis to determine whether LAIA are effective for T1D patients compared to NPH. METHODS: We identified systematic reviews of RCTs that evaluated the efficacy of LAIA glargine or detemir, compared to NPH insulin for T1D, assessing glycated hemoglobin (A1C) and hypoglycemia. Data sources included Pubmed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and hand-searching. The methodological quality of studies was independently assessed by two reviewers, using AMSTAR and Jadad scale. We found 11 eligible systematic reviews that contained a total of 25 relevant clinical trials. Two reviewers independently abstracted data. RESULTS: We found evidence that LAIA are efficacious compared to NPH, with estimates showing a reduction in nocturnal hypoglycemia episodes (RR 0.66; 95% CI 0.57; 0.76) and A1C (95% CI 0.23; 0.12). No significance was found related to severe hypoglycemia (RR 0.94; 95% CI 0.71; 1.24). CONCLUSION: This study design has allowed us to carry out the most comprehensive assessment of RCTs on this subject, filling a gap in diabetes research. Our paper addresses a question that is important not only for decision makers but also for clinicians.

Accuracy of self-reported hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported hypertension (HTN) as compared with the clinical diagnosis in epidemiological studies. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: Health & Medicine databases. In addition, we screened the references' lists of relevant reports to identify potentially eligible articles. There were no date or language restrictions. Studies were selected by two independent reviewers, who also extracted data and assessed methodological quality using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies criteria. A meta-analysis was performed to summarize sensitivity and specificity across studies and estimate heterogeneity. RESULTS: Out of 2304 records, 22 were included, corresponding to a population of 112 517 adults (55% women). There was substantial variation in sensitivity and specificity across countries and age groups. Several different techniques, devices, and reference ranges were used to diagnose HTN, and self-reporting underestimated its prevalence in the majority of studies. The sensitivity was 42.1% (95% confidence interval 30.9-54.2) and the specificity was 89.5% (95% confidence interval 84.0-93.3), with high heterogeneity (I > 99%). CONCLUSION: Less than half of patients with HTN would not be identified by self-reporting in epidemiological studies. Self-reported HTN has important limitations and may represent an important source of bias in research depending on regional, socioeconomic, and cultural differences.