Relative efficacy of lasmiditan versus rimegepant and ubrogepant as acute treatments for migraine: network meta-analysis findings

BackgroundIn the absence of head-to-head trials, comprehensive evidence comparing onset of efficacy of novel agents for acute treatment of migraine is lacking. This study aimed to explore the relative efficacy of lasmiditan (serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine] 1F receptor agonist) versus rimegepant and ubrogepant (calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonists) for the acute oral treatment of migraine through network meta-analysis (NMA).MethodsData included in the NMA were identified through a systematic literature search (conducted April 2018, updated May/December 2020) of phase II–IV, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in adults with chronic/episodic migraine with/without aura. Treatments included: lasmiditan 50, 100, 200 mg; rimegepant 75 mg; ubrogepant 25, 50, 100 mg. Pairwise treatment comparisons from Bayesian fixed-effect/random-effects NMA, adjusted by baseline risk where appropriate, were conducted. Comparisons were reported as odds ratios with 95% credible intervals. Early-onset efficacy endpoints included: pain freedom at 2 hours and pain relief at 1 and 2 hours. Adverse drug reaction (ADR) profiles were summarised. Heterogeneity and inconsistency in the network were explored; sensitivity analyses investigated robustness of findings.ResultsAcross 12 RCTs included in the base case, females represented >80% of included patients (mean age 37.9–45.7 years). Odds of achieving both pain freedom and pain relief at 2 hours were higher with lasmiditan 100 and 200 mg versus rimegepant 75 mg and ubrogepant 25 and 50 mg. Results for pain relief at 1 hour were consistent with those at 2 hours, but fewer comparisons were available. There were no statistically significant differences between lasmiditan 50 mg and ubrogepant or rimegepant for any outcome. Sensitivity analyses were in the same direction as base case analyses. Most commonly reported ADRs (incidence ≥2%) were: dizziness, fatigue, paraesthesia, sedation, nausea/vomiting and muscle weakness with lasmiditan; nausea with rimegepant; and nausea, somnolence and dry mouth with ubrogepant.ConclusionsThe efficacy findings of this indirect comparison indicate that lasmiditan 100 mg or 200 mg might be an appropriate acute treatment option for patients with migraine seeking a fast onset of action. Differently from rimegepant and ubrogepant, lasmiditan use is associated with mainly neurological events, which are mostly mild or moderate in severity and self-limiting.350/350 wordsSupplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10194-022-01440-w.     

P2Y12 inhibitor pretreatment in patients with nonST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome: A meta-analysis

Background:The 2020 European Society of Cardiology guidelines do not recommend pretreatment for nonST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients with unclear coronary anatomy, which is inconsistent with our routine preoperative approach to loading P2Y12 receptor inhibitors (e.g., preoperative loading of 300 mg of clopidogrel).Objectives:The purpose of our study was to compare the safety and effectiveness of P2Y12 inhibitors administered before coronary angiography or at least before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with during or after PCI.Methods:Cochrane, PubMed, and Embase databases were searched. The primary effect endpoint and safety endpoint were any-cause death and major bleeding, respectively. Major adverse cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction and revascularization were also analyzed.Results:Our search identified 9 trials. P2Y12 inhibitor pretreatment was associated with lower death from any cause (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.53–0.72, P < 0.00001) without increasing the risk of bleeding (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.80–1.30, P = 0.89). However, prasugrel or ticagrelor pretreatment was not associated with a lower risk of mortality (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.31–1.59, P = 0.40) and increased the risk of bleeding (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.10–2.54, P = 0.02).Conclusions:In summary, clopidogrel pretreatment was associated with significantly lower mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction and revascularization with no increase in major bleeding. However, these advantages were not observed with prasugrel or ticagrelor pretreatment.     

Effectiveness of therapeutic hypothermia for mild neonatal encephalopathy: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Neonates with moderate to severe encephalopathy benefit significantly from therapeutic hypothermia, with reduced risk of death or disability. However, the need for therapeutic hypothermia for mild neonatal encephalopathy (NE) remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis to provide evidence supporting therapeutic hypothermia for term or near term neonates with mild NE, including findings of recent long-term outcome studies, as well as novel adjunctive therapies to augment neurodevelopmental outcomes for neonates with NE who receive therapeutic hypothermia.Methods:Two independent researchers performed a systematic literature search in different electronic databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Center Controlled Trials Register, EMBASE, Medline, Ovid, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang Database without any restrictions of languages and date. Two reviewers will screen the records and include quality studies according to inclusion criteria independently. Two reviewers will assess the risk of bias of the included studies by the “Risk of Bias Assessment Tool” of the Cochrane Handbook for randomized controlled trials. Statistical analysis will be performed with Review Manager software 5.3.Results:A synthesis of current evidence of therapeutic hypothermia for treating mild NE will be provided in this protocol.Conclusion:The results of this study will provide a theoretical basis for the clinical use of therapeutic hypothermia in mild NE.     

The effect of 0.01% atropine on ocular axial elongation for myopia children: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Orthokeratology (OK) has a significant effect on the control of myopia progression, and has been accepted by doctors and patients. A small number of studies have shown that the combination of OK and atropine can enhance myopia control. However, owing to individual differences, research groups, drug concentrations, and research design differences, the safety and effectiveness of the combined treatment still need to be verified. Therefore, the present meta-analysis aimed to determine the effect of 0.01% atropine on ocular axial elongation in myopic children.Methods:We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and CBM databases from inception to March 1, 2022. Meta-analysis will be conducted using STATA version 14.0 and Review Manager version 5.3 softwares. We calculated the weighted mean differences (WMD) to analyze the change in ocular axial length (AL) between orthokeratology combined with 0.01% atropine (OKA) and OK alone. Cochran''s Q-statistic and I² test were used to evaluate the potential heterogeneity between studies. A sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of single studies on the overall estimate. We will also perform subgroup and meta-regression analyses to investigate potential sources of heterogeneity. We will conduct Begger''s funnel plots and Egger''s linear regression tests to investigate the publication bias.Results:This systematic review aimed to determine the effect of 0.01% atropine on ocular axial elongation in children with myopia.Conclusions:These findings provide helpful evidence for the effect of 0.01% atropine on ocular axial elongation in myopic children.     

Mesenteric panniculitis does not confer an increased risk for cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Mesenteric panniculitis (MP) is a non-specific, localized inflammation at the mesentery of small intestines which often gets detected on computed tomography. An association with malignant neoplasms remains unclear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the association of malignancy with MP.Methods:MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were searched for articles published from inception to 2020 that evaluated the association of malignant neoplasms with MP in comparison with control groups. Using random-effects method, a summary odds ratio (OR) estimate with 95% confidence intervals for malignant neoplasms in MP was estimated.Results:Four case-control studies reporting data on 415 MP patients against 1132 matched-controls met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The pooled OR for finding a malignant neoplasm in patients with MP was 0.907 (95% CI: 0.688–1.196; P = .489). The heterogeneity was mild and non-significant. Also, there was no heightened risk of any specific type of malignancy with MP. Three more case-series with unmatched-control groups (MP: 282, unmatched-controls: 17,691) were included in a separate analysis where the pooled OR of finding a malignant neoplasm was 2.963 (95% CI: 1.434–6.121; P = .003). There was substantial heterogeneity in this group.Conclusion:This meta-analysis of matched controlled studies proves absence of any significant association of malignant neoplasms with MP. Our study also demonstrates that the putative association of malignancy with MP is mainly driven by uncontrolled studies or case-series.     

Sacubitril/Valsartan for heart failure: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Sacubitril–valsartan has been shown to have superior effects over angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in patients with heart failure (HF). However, the effects of sacubitril–valsartan have never been systematically evaluated. Therefore, we performed a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sacubitril–valsartan in patients with HF.Methods:We selected 8 databases, including PubMed, the Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chinese Science Journal Database, Wanfang Data, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. The search time was from database establishment to March 2022. Two reviewers will screen the records and include quality studies according to inclusion criteria independently. Two reviewers will assess the risk of bias of the included studies by the “Risk of Bias Assessment Tool” of the Cochrane Handbook for randomized controlled trials. Statistical analysis will be performed with Review Manager software 5.3.Results:A synthesis of current evidence of sacubitril–valsartan for treating HF will be provided in this protocol.Conclusion:The results of this study will provide a theoretical basis for the clinical use of sacubitril–valsartan to treat HF.     

Prevalence and related factors of child posttraumatic stress disorder during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted many aspects of society and has indirectly produced various psychological consequences. This systematic review aimed to estimate the worldwide prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify protective or risk factors contributing to child PTSD.MethodsWe conducted a systematic literature search in the PubMed, ProQuest, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, WanFang, CNKI, and VIP databases. We searched for studies published between January 1, 2020 and May 26, 2021, that reported the prevalence of child PTSD due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as factors contributing to child PTSD. Eighteen studies were included in our systematic review, of which 10 studies were included in the meta-analysis.ResultsThe estimated prevalence of child PTSD after the COVID-19 outbreak was 28.15% (95% CI: 19.46–36.84%, I ² = 99.7%). In subgroup analyses for specific regions the estimated prevalence of post-pandemic child PTSD was 19.61% (95% CI: 11.23–27.98%) in China, 50.8% (95% CI: 34.12–67.49%) in the USA, and 50.08% in Italy (95% CI: 47.32–52.84%).ConclusionsFactors contributing to child PTSD were categorized into four aspects: personal factors, family factors, social factors and infectious diseases related factors. Based on this, we presented a new framework summarizing the occurrence and influence of the COVID-19 related child PTSD, which may contribute to a better understanding, prevention and development of interventions for child PTSD in forthcoming pandemics.     

Diagnostic significance of long non-coding RNAs expression in tuberculosis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives:It is crucial to identify effective diagnostic biosignatures of tuberculosis (TB) to optimize its treatment. Herein, we conducted a systematic review to elucidate the diagnostic efficacy of long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) as TB biomarkers.Methods:We searched Medline, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and China Biology Medicine disc databases up to February 18, 2020. These studies focusing on lncRNAs as diagnosis markers of TB were collected. STATA 12.0 and Meta-disc1.4 software were used to analyze the data extracted from eligible studies.Results:We included 8 articles with 1058 TB patients, and 1896 healthy controls in our study. The values of pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 0.63, 0.86, 4.48, 0.43, and 10.31, respectively. Additionally, we plotted the summary receiver operating characteristic curve to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy, and the area under the curve was 0.80.Conclusion:The present study is the first meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic accuracy of lncRNAs in TB patients. We found that lncRNAs might constitute potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of TB patients. More population-based high-quality research should be conducted to validate the efficacy lncRNAs in TB patients.