ObjectivesTo assess the methodological quality of clinical practice guidelines of cervical cancer in China published from 2014 to 2018.MethodsCNKI, WanFang Data, CBM, VIP, Medlive.cn, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and EMbase were searched for cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines published in China from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2018. Four reviewers searched and selected the literature independently according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and assessed the methodological quality of the included guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ.ResultsA total of 9 guidelines were included. The average score for each area was: scope and purpose 75.47%, stakeholders’ involvement 35.09%, the rigor of development 43.70%, clarity of presentation 87.74%, applicability 80.76%, and editorial independence 0%.ConclusionsThe quality of cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines in China requires further improvement.
Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) serve as the cornerstone of medical decision-making, with evaluation tools such as AGREE and RIGHT designed to ensure that these guidelines are grounded in the best available evidence and contribute to enhancing healthcare quality. This article reviews the historical development and current status of CPG evaluation tools, examining their diversity, complexity, application challenges, and inconsistencies in evaluation outcomes. A thorough discussion is provided on the strengths and weaknesses of existing evaluation tools, along with proposed future developmental directions. It is recommended that future efforts prioritize the creation of more streamlined tool designs, foster enhanced international collaboration strategies, and incorporate artificial intelligence technologies. These initiatives aim to improve both the efficiency and accuracy of evaluative processes while facilitating advancements in healthcare practices towards elevated quality standards.
New functional evaluation methods for coronary artery lesions have received widespread attention at home and abroad. As a new functional evaluation technique, the clinical value of quantitative flow ratio (QFR) in the accuracy and feasibility of diagnosing myocardial ischemia caused by coronary artery stenosis has been confirmed in many clinical trials. Compared with the traditional gold standard fractional flow reserve (FFR) for diagnosing coronary artery stenosis, QFR has the advantages of simple operation, time-saving and low cost. This article reviews the comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of FFR and QFR and the progress of clinical research, aiming to explore whether QFR may replace FFR as a functional evaluation method of coronary artery disease and guide clinical blood circulation reconstruction.
Objective To construct the expert consensus on comprehensive rehabilitation assessment system for the elderly in the hospital and community. MethodsMedline, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP databases were searched for geriatric rehabilitation assessment materials from June 2016 to June 2021. The primary items were summarized through literature review and research group discussion, and then Delphi method was used among 20 experts in geriatric rehabilitation medicine to develop consensus-based core items for the elderly comprehensive rehabilitation assessment system. Results A total of 158 references were included. Through integration, sorting and screening, the research team initially formulated 41 items and four major sections including cardiopulmonary exercise, sensory perception, cognition and psychology (speech contained), and swallowing, urination and defecation. The effective recovery rates of the two rounds of experts consultation were both 100%, the mean expert authority coefficient was 0.92±0.05, the variation coefficients were 0.174±0.043 and 0.172±0.063, respectively; the Kendall coefficients of concordance were 0.587 and 0.601, with P values<0.05 for both, respectively. Finally, The comprehensive rehabilitation assessment system for the elderly including 16 items would be formed. Conclusion The expert consensus on comprehensive rehabilitation assessment system for the elderly constructed by Delphi method includes motor, sensory perception, cognition, swallowing, speech, cardiopulmonary, defecation, mental and psychological elements, which are identified with high recognition and consistency from experts.
In recent years, with the great breakthroughs in the treatment of brain injury, neurological dysfunction and other serious diseases, more and more patients have been referred to disorders of consciousness (DOC). In clinical work, accurate assessment of DOC is critical to its treatment, and how to assess the level of consciousness and prognosis of patients after treatment has become a hot research topic in recent years. The model of consciousness loss and recovery is an ideal tool to understand the neural mechanism of consciousness, but clinical trials are easily restricted by many factors such as ethics, so animal models are often used as preclinical basic experiments, while non-human primates (NHP) are closely related to humans and are ideal models for studying human diseases. Currently, there are many tests to assess the level of consciousness of NHP, and there are different methods, all of which have certain advantages and limitations. This article reviews the current literature on the current status of the NHP consciousness scale assessment tool, and find that the assessment of NHP consciousness is mainly divided into stimulus response-based assessment after anesthesia experiments, behavioral task completion-based assessment after stimulus-reward experiments, and comprehensive multi-indicator assessment of NHP consciousness level. Therefore, this article provides an overview of the current status of each NHP consciousness scale assessment tool and its advantages and disadvantages in order to provide new thoughts on assessing consciousness from the perspective of animal models in the hope of finding a more appropriate assessment tool.
Objective We aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the ECMO versus mechanical ventilation through a rapid health technology assessment. Methods PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, and CBM databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews, meta-analyses, complete economic evaluations, and CRD database for HTA reports from inception to December 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Descriptive analysis and summary were then performed. Results A total of 21 references were involved, including 2 HTA reports, 5 RCTs, 11 systematic reviews or meta-analyses, and 3 economic evaluations. The quality of the literature evidence was heterogenous, and only 2 RCTs of high quality were included for meta-analysis. The results showed that the difference of 60-day mortality between ECMO and mechanical ventilation was statistically significant (RR=0.73, 95%CI 0.57 to 0.92, P=0.007). The majority of recent meta-analysis literature showed that short-term mortality of ECMO treatment was lower than that of mechanically ventilated patients. The cost-effective literature from different countries all showed that it was cost-effective in their respective health system, however, the quality of the literature varied. Conclusions Current evidence shows that ECMO has better safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for ARDS compared with mechanical ventilation. However, it still required to be verified by high-quality studies with a long-term follow-up. Validate conclusions are needed through rigorous health technology assessments.
Objective To assess the methodological quality of clinical guidelines and consensus of lupus nephritis, to collect the recommendations of each guideline, and to provide references for clinical decision-making. Methods PubMed, CNKI, and CBM databases and related websites such as NGC, NICE, GIN, SIGN, and Medive were electronically searched from January 2012 to December 2020 to collect the clinical guidelines and expert consensus for lupus nephritis. After consistency evaluation by four evaluators, the methodological quality of the included guidelines or expert consensus was evaluated using AGREE Ⅱ. The relevant recommendations, evidence level, and recommended strength of each guideline in treating lupus nephritis were summarized. Results A total of eight guidelines and two consensus statements were included. Among them, eight guidelines or consensus statements were level B (generally recommended guidelines), and two were level C (non-recommended guidelines). Relevant recommendations mainly gave the corresponding treatment scheme according to the pathological type of lupus nephritis. Conclusion The methodological quality of lupus nephritis guideline formulation in China needs to be improved. The included guidelines and consensus can provide reference for clinical decision-makers. However, higher-quality clinical practice guidelines for the Chinese population are needed to be developed in the future.
This investigation analyzes the management of medical schools merged with comprehensive universities through internet search and research review in order to reveal management model and effect of the merger. The conclusion is safely reached that governance models are divided into two different patterns: centralized management and decentralized management. Eight universities, representing the two models, were selected and evaluated comprehensively. Among them, the universities that carried out decentralized management have greater development after the merger based on a quality comparison concerning freshmen, faculty, teaching and research between the two patterns. In China, decentralized management in comprehensive universities is more beneficial to the development of medical schools
ObjectiveTo preliminarily explore the effect of Osteoporosis Self-assessment Tool for Asians (OSTA) and Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) on predicting osteoporosis and osteoporosis fracture in postmenopausal patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).MethodsThirty-six postmenopausal patients undergoing MHD from August 2017 to October 2018 in Hemodialysis Center of Nephrology Department, West China Hospital of Sichuan University were selected. Relevant data such as age, height, and weight were collected. OSTA index and the 10-year probability of major osteoporotic fractures and 10-year probability of hip fractures of FRAX score were calculated. Bone mineral densities (BMD) of the hip and lumbar spine were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at the same time. The value of OSTA index and FRAX scale in evaluating the risk of osteoporosis predicated on T value ≤−2.5 determined by DXA BMD and fracture in postmenopausal patients with MHD were analyzed.ResultsThe DXA BMD of the 36 patients showed that 50.0% (18/36) had a T value≤−2.5, and 30.6% (11/36) had a fracture history. BMD in postmenopausal patients with MHD was negatively correlated with FRAX score (model without BMD values), and positively correlated with OSTA index. The sensitivity and specificity of OSTA in the prediction of osteoporosis were 94.4% and 61.1%, respectively; and the sensitivity and specificity of FRAX (the model without BMD values) in the prediction of osteoporosis were 88.9% and 50.0%, respectively. The FRAX score with or without BMD had the same clinical value in predicting osteoporosis.ConclusionsPostmenopausal MHD patients have a higher risk of osteoporosis and fracture. Both OSTA index and FRAX scale can predict osteoporosis risk among postmenopausal MHD patients, and the FRAX scale with or without BMD has the same clinical value in predicting osteoporosis risk. In clinical work, for primary hospitals and dialysis centers lacking DXA, preliminary screening of osteoporosis in MHD patients can be performed with OSTA and FRAX scales.
Objective To explore the consistency between the iKcare® grading system and Brunnstrom staging in evaluating upper and lower limb motor function in stroke patients. Methods From May 2018 to May 2020, stroke patients who met the standards in 34 medical institutions in China were recruited. The iKcare® grading system and Brunnstrom staging were used to evaluate the motor function of the upper and lower limbs of the subjects, respectively. The Kappa consistency test was used to evaluate the consistency between the two evaluation methods. Results A total of 340 eligible subjects were included, including 230 males and 110 females, with an average age of (61.44±12.77) years old, and an average course of disease of (62.96±42.53) days. The results showed that the Kappa evaluated for upper limb staging was 0.597 (P<0.001), and the Kappa evaluated for lower limb staging was 0.514 (P<0.001). Conclusions The evaluation results of iKcare® grading and Brunnstrom staging have moderate consistency. The iKcare® grading system can be used as an assessment tool for remote rehabilitation of motor function in stroke patients, but there is still room for improvement.