1.
A Systematic Review of Fibrin Glue as an Ideal Treatment for the Pilonidal Disease
Win M, Went TR, Ruo SW, Kannan A, Dominic JL, Sultan W, Kantamaneni K, Yanamala VL, Tara A, Elshaikh AO
Cureus. 2021;13(8):e16831
Abstract
Pilonidal sinus is an acquired condition caused by irritation to the hair follicles at the natal cleft, presenting with an abscess or chronic infection. It is prevalent in young adults affecting their productive lifestyle with morbidities. There are varieties of treatment options; however, there is no consensus yet for the ideal procedure. Less invasive procedures have evolved to replace the traditional surgical techniques, which cannot significantly reduce the risks of recurrence and wound complications despite extensive surgeries. We aimed to assess the effect of fibrin glue as a primary treatment after cleaning the sinus in pilonidal sinus disease. We searched for articles from PubMed®, Ovid MEDLINE®, Ovid EMBASE®, and Cochrane CENTRAL. Six studies that included 336 patients in total were analyzed. Fibrin glue treatment in these studies reported a quicker return to normal activities postoperatively, a low rate of infection, and an acceptable rate of recurrence. Thus, fibrin glue seems beneficial in the management of pilonidal disease. However, further high-quality studies are essential to support and confirm this evidence. Future research should also evaluate its cost and implications in the ambulatory service.
2.
Comparison of effectiveness of interventions in reducing mortality in patients of toxic epidermal necrolysis: A network meta-analysis
Patel TK, Patel PB, Thakkar S
Indian journal of dermatology, venereology and leprology. 2021;:1-17
Abstract
BACKGROUND Limited evidence is available about effectiveness and choice of immunomodulating treatment modalities for toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). AIMS To compare the effectiveness of interventions to reduce mortality in patients of toxic epidermal necrolysis through network meta-analysis. METHODS Studies were retrieved using PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from inception to September 18, 2018. Only English language articles were considered. Observational and randomized controlled studies having ≥ 5 TEN patients in each intervention arm were included. Two investigators independently extracted study characteristics, intervention details and mortality data. Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach through the random effect model. The ranking analysis was done to provide a hierarchy of interventions. The consistency between direct and indirect evidence was assessed through node spit analysis. The primary outcome was to compare the mortality [Odds ratio OR (95% credibility interval CrI)] among all treatment modalities of TEN. RESULTS Twenty-four studies satisfying the selection criteria were included. The network analysis showed improved survival with cyclosporine as compared to supportive care [OR- 0.19 (95% CrI: 0.05, 0.59)] and intravenous immunoglobulin [OR- 0.21 (95% CrI: 0.05, 0.76)]. The hierarchy of treatments based on "surface under the cumulative ranking curves" (SUCRA) value were cyclosporine (0.93), steroid+intravenous immunoglobulin (0.76), etanercept (0.59), steroids (0.46), intravenous immunoglobulin (0.40), supportive care (0.34) and thalidomide (0.02). No inconsistencies between direct and indirect estimates were observed for any of the treatment pairs. LIMITATIONS Evidence is mainly based on retrospective studies. CONCLUSION The use of cyclosporine can reduce mortality in TEN patients. Other promising immunomodulators could be steroid+intravenous immunoglobulin combination and etanercept.
