1,721,351 research outputs found
Addition of Financial Incentives to Mailed Outreach for Promoting Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
No full textAlthough screening decreases incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC), screening rates are low. Health-promoting financial incentives may increase uptake of cancer screening
Association of BRCA Mutations and Pancreatic Cancer: Review of Literature and Meta-analysis
No full textPrognostic Role of Post-Induction Fecal Calprotectin Levels in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treated with Biological Therapies
No full textBackground: There is currently scarce knowledge about markers of early therapeutic response in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated with biologics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of fecal calprotectin (FC) as an early predictor of mucosal healing and clinical remission. Methods: Data from a multicenter series of 172 IBD patients treated with biologics between 2017 and 2020 were analyzed. Treatment outcomes were mucosal healing and clinical remission assessed at 2 years. FC levels were assessed at 14 weeks (post-induction), at 6 months, and yearly. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to calculate the best cut-off in % change of FC levels between post-induction and baseline predicting treatment outcomes. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for several post-induction FC cut-off points were also calculated. Results: At 2 years, mucosal healing was noted in 77 patients (44.7%), of whom were 41 Crohn’s disease (CD) and 36 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, whereas 106 patients experienced clinical remission (61.6%), of whom were 59 CD and 47 UC patients. Both baseline and post-induction FC levels were significantly higher in non-responders as compared to responders. On the other hand, FC decrease was less pronounced in non-responders. Similar results were observed in all subgroups, namely according to disease (CD vs. UC), or treatment used (TNF-inhibitors vs. vedolizumab). The best cut-off points were −86% in % change in FC levels to predict mucosal healing and −83% for clinical remission. Conclusions: The current study suggests a predictive role of post-induction FC assessment to predict treatment response in IBD patients treated with biologics
Early (<4 Weeks) Versus Standard (≥ 4 Weeks) Endoscopic Drainage of Pancreatic Walled-Off Fluid Collections: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
No full textPrevious studies have demonstrated that the ideal time for drainage of walled off pancreatic fluid collections is 4-6 weeks after its development. However, some pancreatic collections, notably infected pancreatic fluid collections require earlier drainage. Nevertheless, the optimal timing of the first intervention is unclear, and consensus data are sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) - guided drainage of pancreatic fluid collections < than 4 weeks after its development compared to ≥4 weeks after its development
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Device assisted endoscopic full thickness resection in colorectum: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground and aim: Endoscopic full thickness resection (EFTR) is emerging as an effective modality for mucosal and submucosal lesions in colorectum. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to analyze the success and safety of device assisted EFTR in colon and rectum. Methods: A literature search was performed in Embase, PubMed, Medline databases for studies evaluating device assisted EFTR between inception to October-2022. The primary outcome of the study was clinical success (R0 resection) with EFTR. Secondary outcomes included technical success, procedure duration and adverse events. Results: 29 studies with 3467 patients [59% males, 3492 lesions] were included in the analysis. The lesions were located in right colon (47.5%), left colon (28.6%) and rectum (24.3%). EFTR was performed for sub-epithelial lesions in 7.2% patients. Pooled mean size of the lesions was 16.6 mm (95% CI 14.9 - 18.2, I 2 98%). Technical success was achieved in 87.1% (95% CI 85.1%-88.9%, I2 39%) procedures. The pooled rate of en bloc resection was 87.9% (95% CI 85.1%-88.9%, I2 50%) and R0 resection was 81.6% (95% CI 78.8% to 84.2%, I2 57%). In sub-epithelial lesions, pooled rate of R0 resection was 94.3% (95% CI 89.7% to 96.9%, I2 0%). Pooled rate of adverse events was 12.1%(95% CI 10.3%-14.1%, I2 44%) and major adverse events requiring surgery was 2.5% (95% CI 2.0%-3.1%, I2 0%). Conclusion: Device assisted EFTR is a safe and effective treatment modality in cases with adenomatous and sub-epithelial colorectal lesions. Comparative studies are required with conventional resection techniques including endoscopic mucosal resection and submucosal dissection
Stereotactic body radiotherapy vs radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis
No full textBackground: There are limited and discording results on the comparison between stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the two treatments in terms of efficacy and safety.Research design and methods: A bibliographic search was performed on main databases through September 2020. Primary outcome was recurrence-free survival. Overall survival and adverse event rates were the secondary outcomes. Results were expressed as odds ratio (OR) or hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI)Results: Nine studies enrolling 6545 patients were included. Recurrence-free survival at 1-year was similar between the two treatments (OR 2.11, 0.67-6.63); recurrence-free survival at 2- and 3-year was significantly in favor of SBRT as compared to RFA (OR 2.06, 1.48-2.88 and 1.86, 1.07-3.26, respectively). In a meta-analysis of plotted HRs, SBRT significantly outperformed RFA (HR 0.50, 0.33-0.76, p = 0.001). Overall survival was similar between the two treatments (HR 1.03, 0.72-1.47). No significant difference in terms of severe adverse event rate was observed (OR 1.38, 0.28-6.71).Conclusions: SBRT prolongs recurrence-free survival as compared to RFA in HCC patients, although no significant survival benefit was demonstrated
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