1.
Potentially effective drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 or MIS-C in children: a systematic review
Wang Z, Zhao S, Tang Y, Wang Z, Shi Q, Dang X, Gan L, Peng S, Li W, Zhou Q, et al
European journal of pediatrics. 2022;:1-12
Abstract
The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of using potential drugs: remdesivir and glucocorticoid in treating children and adolescents with COVID-19 and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in treating MIS-C. We searched seven databases, three preprint platform, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google from December 1, 2019, to August 5, 2021, to collect evidence of remdesivir, glucocorticoid, and IVIG which were used in children and adolescents with COVID-19 or MIS-C. A total of nine cohort studies and one case series study were included in this systematic review. In terms of remdesivir, the meta-analysis of single-arm cohort studies have shown that after the treatment, 54.7% (95%CI, 10.3 to 99.1%) experienced adverse events, 5.6% (95%CI, 1.2 to 10.1%) died, and 27.0% (95%CI, 0 to 73.0%) needed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or invasive mechanical ventilation. As for glucocorticoids, the results of the meta-analysis showed that the fixed-effect summary odds ratio for the association with mortality was 2.79 (95%CI, 0.13 to 60.87), and the mechanical ventilation rate was 3.12 (95%CI, 0.80 to 12.08) for glucocorticoids compared with the control group. In terms of IVIG, most of the included cohort studies showed that for MIS-C patients with more severe clinical symptoms, IVIG combined with methylprednisolone could achieve better clinical efficacy than IVIG alone.Conclusions: Overall, the current evidence in the included studies is insignificant and of low quality. It is recommended to conduct high-quality randomized controlled trials of remdesivir, glucocorticoids, and IVIG in children and adolescents with COVID-19 or MIS-C to provide substantial evidence for the development of guidelines. What is Known: • The efficacy and safety of using potential drugs such as remdesivir, glucocorticoid, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in treating children and adolescents with COVID-19/MIS-C are unclear. What is New: • Overall, the current evidence cannot adequately demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of using remdesivir, glucocorticoids, and IVIG in treating children and adolescents with COVID-19 or MIS-C. • We are calling for the publication of high-quality clinical trials and provide substantial evidence for the development of guidelines.
2.
Effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobulin for children with severe COVID-19: A rapid review
Zhang J, Yang Y, Yang N, Ma Y, Zhou Q, Li W, Wang X, Huang L, Luo X, Fukuoka T, et al
Annals of Translational Medicine. 2020
Abstract
Background: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is usually used as supportive therapy, but the treatment of COVID-19 by IVIG is controversial This rapid review aims to explore the clinical effectiveness and safety of IVIG in the treatment of children with severe COVID-19 Methods: We systematically searched the literature on the use of IVIG in patients with COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), including both adults and children We assessed the risk of bias and quality of evidence and reported the main findings descriptively Results: A total of 1,519 articles were identified by initial literature search, and finally six studies met our inclusion criteria, included one randomized controlled trial (RCT), four case series and one case report involving 198 patients One case series showed the survival of COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was not improved by IVIG One case report showed high-dose IVIG could improve the outcome of COVID-19 adults Three observational studies showed inconsistent results of the effect of IVIG on SARS patients One RCT showed that IVIG did not reduce mortality or the incidence of nosocomial infection in adults with severe SARS The quality of evidence was between low and very low Conclusions: The existing evidence is insufficient to support the efficacy or safety of IVIG in the treatment of COVID-19
3.
Efficacy of fibrin glue versus sutures for attaching conjunctival autografts in pterygium surgery: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of evidence
Lan A, Xiao F, Wang Y, Luo Z, Cao Q
Oncotarget. 2017;8((25):):41487-41497
Abstract
Previous meta-analyses have been conducted to compare the efficacy of fibrin glue (FG) versus sutures in pterygium surgery; however, additional clinical trials have since been published. Therefore, we conducted an updated meta-analysis to further explore the association between FG application in pterygium surgery, and the recurrence rate, complication rate, and surgical duration. An electronic literature search for eligible studies published before July 29, 2016 was conducted across multiple databases. Odds ratios (ORs), standardized mean difference (SMD), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Publication bias of the included articles was evaluated by funnel plots. Differences in recurrence rate and complication rate between the FG and suture groups were evaluated in terms of OR with 95% CI, and SMD with 95% CI were used to estimate the difference in surgical duration. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was used to determine whether the currently available evidence was sufficient and conclusive. Twenty-four studies were included in this study. The pooled ORs for recurrence rate and complication rate were 0.35 and 1.121, respectively. The pooled SMD for surgical duration was -4.142. The TSA results indicated that evidence of the effect was sufficient in the recurrence group and surgical duration group. Although there was no difference in complication rate between FG and sutures, the apparent advantages of FG over sutures are shorter surgical duration and greater reduction in the recurrence rate of pterygium.