1.
Proportion of Hematological Cancer Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Jafari M, Dastgheib SA, Ferdosian F, Mirjalili H, Aarafi H, Noorishadkam M, Mazaheri M, Neamatzadeh H
Hematology, transfusion and cell therapy. 2021
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a novel infection which has spread rapidly across the globe and currently presents a grave threat to the health of the cancer patient. OBJECTIVE The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the proportion of hematological cancer patients with the SARS-CoV-2 infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD A comprehensive literature review was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EKB SciELO, SID, CNKI and Wanfang databases to retrieve all relevant publications up to January 31, 2021. Observational studies, consecutive case-series and case-control studies were included. The proportion for hematological cancer patients with COVID-19 was estimated using the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (95% CIs). RESULTS Fourteen studies with a total of 3,770 infected cancer patients and 685 hematological cancer cases with COVID-19 were selected. Combined data revealed that the overall proportion of hematological cancer patients with COVID-19 was 16.5% (95% CI 0.130 - 0.208, p ≤ 0.001). The stratified analysis by ethnicity showed that the proportion was 18.8% and 12.4% in Caucasian and Asian hematological cancer patients with COVID-19, respectively. Moreover, subgroup analysis by country of origin showed that its proportion was the highest in the United Kingdom (22.5%), followed by France (17.1%) and China (8.2%). CONCLUSION This meta-analysis result indicated that the proportion of hematological cancer patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection during the COVID-19 pandemic was 16.5%. Further larger sample sizes and multicenter studies among different ethnic groups are necessary to get a better assessment of the proportion.
2.
The effect of frankincense (Boswellia serrata, oleoresin) and ginger (Zingiber officinale, rhizoma) on heavy menstrual bleeding: A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial
Eshaghian R, Mazaheri M, Ghanadian M, Rouholamin S, Feizi A, Babaeian M
Complementary therapies in medicine. 2019;42:42-47
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of frankincense (Boswellia serrata, oleoresin) and ginger (Zingiber officinale, rhizoma) as complementary treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) among women of reproductive age. DESIGN Randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial. SETTING Gynecology outpatient clinics. INTERVENTIONS Patients with HMB (n = 102) were randomly assigned to three groups. All patients received ibuprofen (200 mg) and either frankincense (300 mg), ginger (300 mg), or a placebo, which contains 200 mg anhydrous lactose as the filling agent and was similar in appearance to the two other drugs. Patients received the medications three times a day for seven days of the menstrual cycle, starting from the first bleeding day and this was repeated for two consecutive menstrual cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Amount and duration of menstrual bleeding and quality of life (QOL). RESULTS Duration of menstrual bleeding was decreased in the frankincense (-1.77 +/- 2.47 days, P = 0.003) and ginger (-1.8 +/- 1.79 days, P = 0.001) groups, but not in the placebo group (-0.52 +/- 1.86 days, P = 0.42). Amount of menstrual bleeding was decreased in all (P < 0.05), with no difference among the study groups (P > 0.05). More improvement in QOL was observed in the frankincense (-25.7 +/- 3.1; P < 0.001) and ginger (-29.2 +/- 3.7: P < 0.001) groups compared to the placebo group (-15.07 +/- 3.52; P < 0.001) and between the groups, differences were statistically significant (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Ginger and frankincense seem to be effective complementary treatments for HMB. Further studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up are warranted in this regard.