ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy of different nucleosides (acids) in preventing hepatitis B virus reactivation after chemotherapy in cancer patients. MethodsThe Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang Data, and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of different nucleosides (acids) to prevent HBV reactivation after chemotherapy in cancer patients from inception to June 7th, 2021. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Network meta-analysis was then performed by using Stata 16.0 software. ResultsA total of 43 RCTs involving 3 269 patients were included. There were 7 interventions, namely entecavir (ETV), lamivudine (LAM), adefovir dipivoxil (ADV), telbivudine (LdT), tenofovir dipivoxil (TDF), lamivudine combined with entecavir (LAM+ETV), and lamivudine combined with adefovir dipivoxil (LAM+ADV). The results of network meta-analysis showed that the efficacy of reducing the reactivation rate of ETV, LAM, ADV, LdT, TDF, LAM+ETV, LAM+ADV were superior than the control group. The ETV, LAM and ADV were not as effective as LAM+ETV. The leading drug combinations were LAM+ETV (94.8%), LdT (81.5%) and LA+ADV (58.0%). ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that LAM+ETV, LdT, and LA+ADV are more effective in preventing hepatitis B virus reactivation after chemotherapy in cancer patients. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are required to verify the above conclusions.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy of different rennin-angiotensin system blockers in prevention of stroke recurrence and reduction of major vascular events in patients with prior stroke.MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, CNKI, CBM and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy of ACEIs and ARBs for stroke secondary prevention from inception to November 1st, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies. Network meta-analysis was then performed by using Stata 15.1 software.ResultsA total of 6 RCTs involving 25 620 patients were included. The results of network meta-analysis showed that: in prevention of stroke recurrence, candesartan (RR=0.40, 95%CI 0.16 to 0.99) and valsartan (RR=0.22, 95%CI 0.07 to 0.76) were significantly lower than placebo; valsartan was lower than telmisartan (RR=0.24, 95%CI 0.07 to 0.81), ramipril (RR=0.26, 95%CI 0.07 to 0.93) and perindopril (RR=0.23, 95%CI 0.07 to 0.81). For reducing the major vascular events after stroke, candesartan (RR=0.39, 95%CI 0.21 to 0.74), valsartan (RR=0.27, 95%CI 0.11 to 0.64) and ramipril (RR=0.76, 95%CI 0.60 to 0.95) were significantly lower than placebo; valsartan was lower than telmisartan (RR=0.29, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.69), ramipril (RR=0.36, 95%CI 0.15 to 0.88) and perindopril (RR=0.28, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.68); candesartan was lower than telmisartan (RR=0.42, 95%CI 0.22 to 0.79) and perindopril (RR=0.41, 95%CI 0.21 to 0.79).ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that valsartan and candesartan can reduce the stroke recurrence and major vascular events after stroke. Ramipril can reduce the major vascular event in patients with prior stroke. Valsartan might be the best option in both outcomes. Due to limited quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.
ObjectiveTo select the key questions of the reporting quality of acupuncture therapy network meta-analysis. MethodsA question pool about reporting quality of acupuncture therapy network meta-analysis was conducted by preliminary literature research and qualitative systematic review. A correspondence questionnaire was designed and the selection of key questions was carried out through two rounds of expert consultation using the Delphi method. ResultsA total of 21 key questions were selected for the network meta-analysis report standard of acupuncture, including whether to report details of acupuncture interventions (e.g., needle type, acupoints used, number of needles inserted, depth of needle insertion, retention time, needling techniques, and treatment duration), diagnostic criteria for diseases or traditional Chinese medicine syndromes, and qualifications of acupuncture practitioners. Of these, the only three key questions answered by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and network meta-analysis (PRISMA-NMA) were summary, protocol and registration, and source of funding, while the remaining 19 were specific to acupuncture-related report standards. ConclusionThe conducted key question on reporting guideline of acupuncture network meta-analysis can improve the standardization and rigor of relevant research and better utilize its academic and clinical value.
The netmeta package is specialized for implementing network meta-analysis. This package was developed based on the theories of classical frequentist under R language framework. The netmeta package overcomes some difficulties of the software and/or packages based on the theories of Bayesian, for these software and/or packages need to set prior value when conducting network meta-analysis. The netmeta package also has the advantages of simple operation process and ease to operate. Moreover, this package can calculate and present the individual matched and pooled results based on the random and fixed effect model at the same time. It also can draw forest plots. This article gives a briefly introduction to show the process to conduct network meta-analysis using netmeta package.
The theoretical foundation of relevant packages of R software for network meta-analysis is mainly based on Bayesian statistical model and a few of them use generalized linear model. Network meta-analysis is performed using GeMTC R package through calling the corresponding rjags package, BRugs package, or R2WinBUGS package (namely, JAGS, OpenBUGS, and WinBUGS software, respectively). Meanwhile, GeMTC R package can generate data storage files for GeMTC software. Techonically, network meta-analysis is performed through calling the software based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. In this article, we briefly introduce how to use GeMTC R package to perform network meta-analysis through calling the OpenBUGS software.
Objective To systematically review the efficacy of six cognitive interventions on cognitive function of patients with mild cognitive impairment after stroke. Methods The PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, SinoMed, WanFang Data and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials on the effects of non-drug interventions on the cognitive function of patients with mild cognitive impairment after stroke from inception to March 2023. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Network meta-analysis was then performed using Openbugs 3.2.3 and Stata 16.0 software. Results A total of 72 studies involving 4 962 patients were included. The results of network meta-analysis showed that the following five cognitive interventions improved the cognitive function of stroke patients with mild cognitive impairment: cognitive control intervention (SMD=−1.28, 95%CI −1.686 to −0.90, P<0.05) had the most significant effect on the improvement of cognitive function, followed by computer cognitive training (SMD=−1.02, 95%CI −1.51 to −0.53, P<0.05), virtual reality cognitive training (SMD=−1.20, 95%CI −1.78 to −0.62, P<0.05), non-invasive neural regulation (SMD=−1.09, 95%CI −1.58 to −0.60, P<0.05), and cognitive stimulation (SMD=−0.94, 95%CI −1.82 to −0.07, P<0.05). Conclusion Five cognitive interventions are effective in improving cognitive function for stroke patients with mild cognitive impairment, among which cognitive control intervention is the most effective. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Compared with traditional head to head meta-analysis, network meta-analysis has more confounding factors and difficulties to handle. Due to the mutual transitivity of evidence in network meta-analysis, heterogeneity may be brought into indirect meta-analysis. Hence, effective differentiation and correct handling of heterogeneity are being current focus. In order to ensure the reliability of the results of network meta-analysis, the concept of homogeneity is proposed and a series of methods are developed for differentiation and handling of homogeneity. Based on the extension of Bucher methods, current methods for differentiation and handling of homogeneity has extended to ten quantitative measures (eg., node analysis method, hypothesis tests, and two-step method). However, because of the differences and the focus of fundamental methodological theories as well as the limitation of statistics power, no highly-effective method has been worked out. Therefore, the exploration of highly-effective, simple and high-resolved methods are still needed.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of different tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the treatment of chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML).MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of nilotinib, dasatinib, flumatinib and imatinib for CML from inception to August, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies; network meta-analysis was then performed using Stata 15.0 software and R 3.4.0 software.ResultsA total of 8 RCTs involving 2 775 patients were included. Compared with other TKIs, flumatinib had higher 3-month early molecular response and 1-year progression free survival, and the incidence of serious side effects was relatively low. Major molecular response and complete cytogenetic response were significantly superior to imatinib, and had the same or similar effects to other second-generation TKIs.ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that flumartinib in the treatment of CML is obviously superior to imatinib, has the same or similar effect with other second generation TKIs. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify above conclusions.
Objective To systematically review the efficacy of robotic, laparoscopic-assisted, and open total mesorectal excision (TME) for the treatment of rectal cancer. Methods The PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were electronically searched to identify cohort studies on robotic, laparoscopic-assisted, and open TME for rectal cancer published from January 2016 to January 2022. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies. Subsequently, network meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software and R software. Results A total of 24 studies involving 12 348 patients were included. The results indicated that among the three types of surgical procedures, robotic TME showed the best outcomes by shortening the length of hospital stay, reducing the incidence of postoperative anastomotic fistula and intestinal obstruction, and lowering the overall postoperative complication rate. However, differences in the number of dissected peritumoural lymph nodes were not statistically significant. Conclusion Robotic TME shows better outcomes in terms of the radicality of excision and postoperative short-term outcomes in the treatment of rectal cancer. However, clinicians should consider the patients’ actual condition for the selection of surgical methods to achieve individualised treatment for patients with rectal cancer.
R Software is an open, free of use and charge statistical software which has a powerful graphic capability; however, it requires more complex codes and commands to perform network meta-analysis, which causes errors and difficulties in operation. WinBUGS software is based on Bayesian theory, which has a powerful data processing capability, and especially its codes are simple and easy to operate for dealing with network meta-analysis. However, its function of illustrating statistical results is very poor. In order to fully integrate the advantages of R software and WinBUGS software, an R2WinBUGS package based on R software has been developed which builds a “bridge” across two of them, making network meta-analysis process conveniently, quickly and result illustration more beautiful. In this article, we introduced how to use the R2WinBUGS package for performing network meta-analysis using examples.