1.
The efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in lumbar surgery: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials
Xiao K, Zhuo X, Peng X, Wu Z, Li B
Joint diseases and related surgery. 2022;33(1):57-85
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES This meta-analysis aims to assess tranexamic acid (TXA) effectiveness and safety in lumbar surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS Renewals of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted utilizing databases of medical literature such as PubMed, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and EMBASE to compare principal and safety endpoints. The risk ratio (RR), standard mean difference (SMD), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. For the evaluation of the quality of the included studies, the Cochrane risk of bias criteria were utilized by two authors. RESULTS In total, 49 articles were enrolled that included 4,822 patients. Of the patients, 2,653 were administered TXA and 2,169 were in the control group. The findings indicated that TXA was capable of significantly lowering postoperative blood loss (PBL), transfusion rate, transfusion volume, total blood loss (TBL), intraoperative blood loss (IBL), and drainage compared to the control group. Besides, hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) values were higher in the TXA group compared to the control group. As the safety endpoints, TXA significantly reduced D-dimer levels compared to the control group; however, both TXA and control groups had no significant variations in deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Subgroup analysis was administrated according to the administration method of TXA and the operation type and intravenous and topical TXA were combined in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSION This meta-analysis showed that TXA had the potential to significantly lower PBL, transfusion rate, transfusion volume, TBL, IBL, and drainage compared to the control group. Besides, Hb and Hct values were higher in the TXA group compared to the control group. Its hemostatic potential after lumbar spine surgery is trustworthy. It is still controversial in safety endpoints that TXA can significantly reduce D-dimer compared to the control group, without no significant variations in DVT in both the TXA and control groups.
PICO Summary
Population
Patients undergoing lumbar surgery (49 studies, n= 4,822).
Intervention
Tranexamic acid (TXA), (n= 2,653).
Comparison
Normal saline (n= 2,169).
Outcome
TXA significantly lowered postoperative blood loss, transfusion rate, transfusion volume, total blood loss, intraoperative blood loss, and drainage compared to the control group. Haemoglobin and haematocrit values were higher in the TXA group compared to the control group. As the safety endpoints, TXA significantly reduced D-dimer levels compared to the control group; however, both TXA and control groups had no significant variations in deep venous thrombosis.
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Association of active immunotherapy with outcomes in cancer patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Cao C, Gan X, Hu X, Su Y, Zhang Y, Peng X
Aging. 2022;14(undefined)
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the COVID-19 pandemic, there are growing concerns about the safety of administering immunotherapy in cancer patients with COVID-19. However, current clinical guidelines provided no clear recommendation. METHODS Studies were searched and retrieved from electronic databases. The meta-analysis was performed by employing the generic inverse-variance method. A random-effects model was used to calculate the unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted ORs with the corresponding 95% CIs. RESULTS This meta-analysis included 20 articles with 6,042 cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19. According to the univariate analysis, the acceptance of immunotherapy within 30 days before COVID-19 diagnosis did not increase the mortality of cancer patients (OR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.68-1.25; P=0.61). Moreover, after adjusting for confounders, the adjusted OR for mortality was 0.51, with borderline significance (95% CI: 0.25-1.01; P=0.053). Similarly, the univariate analysis showed that the acceptance of immunotherapy within 30 days before COVID-19 diagnosis did not increase the risk of severe/critical disease in cancer patients (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.78-1.47; P=0.66). No significant between-study heterogeneity was found in these analyses. CONCLUSIONS Accepting immunotherapy within 30 days before the diagnosis of COVID-19 was not significantly associated with a higher risk of mortality or severe/critical disease of infected cancer patients. Further prospectively designed studies with large sample sizes are required to evaluate the present results.
3.
Erythropoietin Improves Poor Outcomes in Preterm Infants with Intraventricular Hemorrhage
Song J, Wang Y, Xu F, Sun H, Zhang X, Xia L, Zhang S, Li K, Peng X, Li B, et al
CNS drugs. 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a common complication in preterm infants that has poor outcomes, especially in severe cases, and there are currently no widely accepted effective treatments. Erythropoietin has been shown to be neuroprotective in neonatal brain injury. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of repeated low-dose recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) in preterm infants with IVH. METHODS This was a single-blinded prospective randomized controlled trial. Preterm infants ≤ 32 weeks gestational age who were diagnosed with IVH within 72 h after birth were randomized to receive rhEPO 500 IU/kg or placebo (equivalent volume of saline) every other day for 2 weeks. The primary outcome was death or neurological disability assessed at 18 months of corrected age. RESULTS A total of 316 eligible infants were included in the study, with 157 in the rhEPO group and 159 in the placebo group. Although no significant differences in mortality (p = 0.176) or incidence of neurological disability (p = 0.055) separately at 18 months of corrected age were seen between the rhEPO and placebo groups, significantly fewer infants had poor outcomes (death and neurological disability) in the rhEPO group: 14.9 vs. 26.4%; odds ratio (OR) 0.398; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.199-0.796; p = 0.009. In addition, the incidence of Mental Development Index scores of < 70 was lower in the rhEPO group than in the placebo group: 7.2 vs. 15.3%; OR 0.326; 95% CI 0.122-0.875; p = 0.026. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with repeated low-dose rhEPO improved outcomes in preterm infants with IVH. TRIAL REGISTRATION The study was retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov on 16 April 2019 (NCT03914690).
4.
Erythropoietin prevents necrotizing enterocolitis in very preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial
Wang Y, Song J, Sun H, Xu F, Li K, Nie C, Zhang X, Peng X, Xia L, Shen Z, et al
Journal of translational medicine. 2020;18(1):308
Abstract
BACKGROUND Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most severe complications in very preterm infants, but there are currently no accepted methods to prevent NEC. Studies have shown that erythropoietin (EPO) has the potential to prevent NEC or improve outcomes of preterm NEC. This study aimed to determine whether recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) could protect against NEC in very preterm infants. METHODS The study was a prospective randomized clinical trial performed among four NICU centers. A total of 1327 preterm infants with gestational age ≤ 32 weeks were admitted to the centers, and 42 infants were excluded leaving 1285 eligible infants to be randomized to the rhEPO or control group. Infants in the rhEPO group were given 500 IU/kg rhEPO intravenously every other day for 2 weeks, while the control group was given the same volume of saline. The primary outcome was the incidence of NEC in very preterm infants at 36 weeks of corrected gestational age. RESULTS A total of 1285 infants were analyzed at 36 weeks of corrected age for the incidence of NEC. rhEPO treatment significantly decreased the incidence of NEC (stage I, II and III) (12.0% vs. 17.1%, p = 0.010), especially confirmed NEC (stage II and III) (3.0% vs. 5.4%, p = 0.027). Meanwhile, rhEPO treatment significantly reduced the number of red blood cells transfusion in the confirmed NEC cases (1.2 ± 0.4 vs. 2.7 ± 1.0, p = 0.004). Subgroup analyses showed that rhEPO treatment significantly decreased the incidence of confirmed NEC at gestational age < 28 weeks (p = 0.019), and the incidence of all stages NEC in preterm infants with hemoglobin < 90 g/l (p = 0.000) and 5 min Apgar score > 5 (p = 0.028). CONCLUSION Repeated low-dose rhEPO treatment is beneficial against NEC in very preterm infants. Trial registration The protocol was registered retrospectively at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03919500) on April 18, 2019. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03919500.