Effect of Bilastine on Chronic Urticaria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Allergic diseases are a public health problem with the largest number of patients and the widest age distribution. Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common clinical allergic disease. Bilastine is effective in the treatment of CU, especially skin wind masses and erythema. The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Bilastine in the treatment of CU symptoms and to provide an evidence-based reference for clinical rational drug use. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Embase, EBSCO, and other databases were searched by computer to collect the trials on the effect of bilastine on patients with CU. The retrieval time limit was established until November 2021. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias in the included study. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan5.4 software. RESULTS: A total of 7 studies were included, including 975 patients. Meta-analysis results showed that compared to the control group, bilastine significantly improved the skin quality of life index, Total Symptom Score (TSS), and weekly urticaria activity score. The skin quality of life index DLQI score (MD = -4.98, 95% CI: -8.09 to -1.86, p = 0.002), skin symptom score TSS (MD = -1.62, 95% CI -2.29 to -0.94, p < 0.00001), the number of hives in a week UAS-7 score (MD = -25.28, 95% CI -32.36 to -18.19, p < 0.00001), and the differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Bilastine has a better therapeutic effect on CU and can also significantly improve the clinical symptoms and quality of life of CU.

Time series analysis of rubella incidence in Chongqing, China using SARIMA and BPNN mathematical models.

INTRODUCTION: Chongqing is among the areas with the highest rubella incidence rates in China. This study aimed to analyze the temporal distribution characteristics of rubella and establish a forecasting model in Chongqing, which could provide a tool for decision-making in the early warning system for the health sector. METHODOLOGY: The rubella monthly incidence data from 2004 to 2019 were obtained from the Chongqing Center of Disease and Control. The incidence from 2004 to June 2019 was fitted using the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model and the back-propagation neural network (BPNN) model, and the data from July to December 2019 was used for validation. RESULTS: A total of 30,083 rubella cases were reported in this study, with a significantly higher average annual incidence before the nationwide introduction of rubella-containing vaccine (RCV). The peak of rubella notification was from April to June annually. Both SARIMA and BPNN models were capable of predicting the expected incidence of rubella. However, the linear SARIMA model fits and predicts better than the nonlinear BPNN model. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results, rubella incidence in Chongqing has an obvious seasonal trend, and SARIMA (2,1,1) × (1,1,1) 12 model can predict the incidence of rubella well. The SARIMA model is a feasible tool for producing reliable rubella forecasts in Chongqing.

Treatment of ankylosing spondylitis with medicated moxibustion plus salicylazosulfapyridine and methotrexate--a report of 30 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of medicated moxibustion plus administration of salicylazosulfapyridine (SASP) and methotrexate (MTX) for treatment of active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHOD: Ninety cases of active AS were randomly assigned to Group A, B and C (N = 30 in each group), and treated respectively with SASP and MTX, acupuncture plus SASP and MTX, and composite sulfur (tablet) moxibustion plus SASP and MTX for 3 successive courses (2 months each course with an interval of 5 days). RESULTS: Improvement in sacroiliitis index, Schober test, occipital wall test, finger-ground distance, as well as the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and the content of C-reactive protein (CRP) in Group B and C was far superior to that of Group A (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Combined use of western medicine with acupuncture or with medicated moxibustion produces a better therapeutic effect than western medicine given alone.