Objectives: Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) instruments for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have been commonly used to measure important patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical trials and practices. This study aimed at systematically identifying and assessing the content validity of CVD-specific HRQoL instruments in clinical studies. Methods: The research team searched Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, and PubMed from inception to January 20, 2022. The research team included studies that reported the development and content validity for CVD-specific instruments. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality using the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments methods on evaluating content validity of PROs. Content analysis was used to categorize the items included in the instruments. Results: The research team found 69 studies reporting the content validity of 40 instruments specifically developed for CVD. Fourteen (35.0%) were rated "sufficient" with very low to moderate quality of evidence. For PRO development, all instruments were rated "doubtful" or "inadequate." Twenty-eight (70.0%) instruments cover the core concepts of HRQoL. Conclusions: The quality of development and content validity vary among existing CVD-specific instruments. The evidence on the content validity should be considered when choosing HRQoL instrument in CVD clinical studies and health economic evaluations.

Objective We explored the comparative effectiveness of available therapies for chronic pain associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). DESIGN Systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials (RCTs).DATA SOURcES MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and SCOPUS were searched to May 2021, and again in January 2023.STUDY SELEcTION Interventional RCTs that enrolled patients presenting with chronic pain associated with TMD.DATA EXTRAcTION AND SYNTHESIS Pairs of reviewers independently identified eligible studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. We captured all reported patient-important outcomes, including pain relief, physical functioning, emotional functioning, role functioning, social functioning, sleep quality, and adverse events. We conducted frequentist network meta-analyses to summarise the evidence and used the GRADE approach to rate the certainty of evidence and categorise interventions from most to least beneficial.RESULTS 233 trials proved eligible for review, of which 153-enrolling 8713 participants and exploring 59 interventions or combinations of interventions-were included in network meta-analyses. All subsequent effects refer to comparisons with placebo or sham procedures. Effects on pain for eight interventions were supported by high to moderate certainty evidence. The three therapies probably most effective for pain relief were cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) augmented with biofeedback or relaxation therapy (risk difference (RD) for achieving the minimally important difference (MID) in pain relief of 1 cm on a 10 cm visual analogue scale: 36% (95% CI 33 to 39)), therapist-assisted jaw mobilisation (RD 36% (95% CI 31 to 40)), and manual trigger point therapy (RD 32% (29 to 34)). Five interventions were less effective, yet more effective than placebo, showing RDs ranging between 23% and 30%: CBT, supervised postural exercise, supervised jaw exercise and stretching, supervised jaw exercise and stretching with manual trigger point therapy, and usual care (such as home exercises, self stretching, reassurance). Moderate certainty evidence showed four interventions probably improved physical functioning: supervised jaw exercise and stretching (RD for achieving the MID of 5 points on the short form-36 physical component summary score: 43% (95% CI 33 to 51)), manipulation (RD 43% (25 to 56)), acupuncture (RD 42% (33 to 50)), and supervised jaw exercise and mobilisation (RD 36% (19 to 51)). The evidence for pain relief or physical functioning among other interventions, and all evidence for adverse events, was low or very low certainty.cONcLUSION When restricted to moderate or high certainty evidence, interventions that promote coping and encourage movement and activity were found to be most effective for reducing chronic TMD pain.REGISTRATION PROSPERO (CRD42021258567)

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is one of the most burdensome chronic diseases in the world. Health utility values are an important tool for quantifying this disease burden and conducting cost-utility analyses. This review aimed to derive a reference set of health utility values for children and adolescents with T1DM.Methods: We searched MEDLINE and Embase from inception to March 2023 for health utility values of T1DM children and adolescents (aged <= 18 years) measured using direct and indirect preference elicitation approaches. Utility estimates were pooled by meta-analyses with subgroup analyses to evaluate differences by populations and elicitation approaches.Results: Six studies involving 1276 participants were included in this study. Meta-analysis showed the overall utility value of children and adolescents with T1DM was 0.91 (95% CI 0.89-0.93). The utility value of T1DM children and adolescents with complications was 0.90 (95% CI 0.88-0.92), which was lower than those without complications (0.96, 95% CI 0.95-0.97). The utility value of children (aged <13 years) was higher than adolescents (aged 13-18 years) (0.90 vs. 0.85). The utility value measured by the EQ-5D-3L (0.91) was higher than the HUI3 (0.89), the SF-6Dv1 (0.83), and the time trade-off (0.81). The parent proxy-reported was similar to the patient self-reported (0.91 vs. 0.91).Conclusions: This study developed a reference set of pooled utility estimates for children and adolescents with T1DM, which is helpful for understanding the overall health status of T1DM and conducting economic evaluations. Further studies are needed to explore the utilities of T1DM with different types of complications.

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows. The objectives of the present study are to answer the following questions: (1) What types of home-based interventions are currently being studied to prevent child neglect? (2) How effective are the different home-based interventions for preventing child neglect? (3) What are the causes of heterogeneity among included studies and their impact on study effects?

Objective To evaluate and compare the measurement properties of the EQ-5D-5L and SF-6Dv2 among Chinese overweight and obesity populations.Methods A representative sample of Chinese overweight and obesity populations was recruited stratified by age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and area of residence. Social-demographic characteristics and self-reported EQ-5D-5L and SF-6Dv2 responses were collected through the online survey. The agreement was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Convergent validity and known-group validity were examined using Spearman's rank correlation and effect sizes, respectively. The test-retest reliability was assessed using among a subgroup of the total sample. Sensitivity was compared using relative efficiency and receiver operating characteristic.Results A total of 1000 respondents (52.0% male, mean age 51.7 years, 67.7% overweight, 32.3% obesity) were included in this study. A higher ceiling effect was observed in EQ-5D-5L than in SF-6Dv2 (30.6% vs. 2.1%). The mean (SD) utility was 0.851 (0.195) for EQ-5D-5L and 0.734 (0.164) for SF-6Dv2, with the ICC of the total sample was 0.639 (p < 0.001). The Spearman's rank correlation (range: 0.186-0.739) indicated an acceptable convergent validity between the dimensions of EQ-5D-5L and SF-6Dv2. The EQ-5D-5L showed basically equivalent discriminative capacities with the SF-6Dv2 (ES: 0.517-1.885 vs. 0.383-2.329). The ICC between the two tests were 0.939 for EQ-5D-5L and 0.972 for SF-6Dv2 among the subgroup (N = 150). The SF-6Dv2 had 3.7-170.1% higher efficiency than the EQ-5D-5L at detecting differences in self-reported health status, while the EQ-5D-5L was found to be 16.4% more efficient at distinguishing between respondents with diabetes and non-diabetes.Conclusions Both the EQ-5D-5L and SF-6Dv2 showed comparable reliability, validity, and sensitivity when used in Chinese overweight and obesity populations. The two measures may not be interchangeable given the systematic difference in utility values between the EQ-5D-5L and SF-6Dv2. More research is needed to compare the responsiveness.

Aim Although Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) potentially holds efficacy in addressing functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) amongst children and adolescents, the persistent efficacy is uncertain. Methods We searched three databases to identify related randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan and Stata. Subgroup analyses were mainly conducted based on follow-up time. The GRADE approach was used to evaluate the certainty of the evidence. Results A total of 14 RCTs evaluating 858 patients were included. All RCTs were rated as having a high risk of bias. Compared with control groups, CBT was associated with improvement of general functional impairment (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.77, 95% CI [-1.12, −0.42], p < 0.05), higher treatment success (relative risk (RR) = 2.35, 95% CI [1.50, 3.69], p < 0.05), improvement of abdominal pain symptoms (SMD = −0.48, 95% CI [-0.73, −0.23], p < 0.05), QoL (SMD = 0.42, 95% CI [0.20, 0.64], p < 0.05), and psychological states (SMD = −0.95, 95% CI [-1.62, −0.27], p < 0.05). Conclusion This meta-analysis provides low to moderate quality evidence that CBT could significantly improve clinical outcomes and QoL for children and adolescents with FAPDs with improvement persisting until short-term follow-up. However, there were discrepancies regarding CBT's effects at mid- and long-term follow-up across different outcomes. More high-quality and longer-duration studies are thus warranted to explore the effectiveness of CBT in the future. Systematic review registration on prospero CRD42022369353.

Background Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are a vascular condition with significant risk attached, particularly if they rupture. Therefore, it is critical to identify and repair these as an elective procedure before they rupture and require emergency surgery. Repair has traditionally been an open surgical technique that required a large incision across the abdomen. Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs (EVARs) are now a common alternative. In this procedure, the common femoral artery is exposed via a cut-down approach and a graL is introduced to the aneurysm in this way. This Cochrane Review examines a totally percutaneous approach to EVAR. This technique gives a minimally invasive approach to femoral artery access that may reduce groin wound complication rates and improve recovery time. However, the technique may be less applicable in people with, for example, groin scarring or arterial calcification. This is an update of the previous Cochrane Review published in 2017. Objectives To evaluate the benefits and harms of totally percutaneous access compared to cut-down femoral artery access in people undergoing elective bifurcated abdominal endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Search methods We used standard, extensive Cochrane search methods The latest search was 8 April 2022. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials in people diagnosed with an AAA comparing totally percutaneous versus surgical cut-down access endovascular repair. We considered all device types. We only considered studies investigating elective repairs. We excluded studies reporting emergency surgery for ruptured AAAs and those reporting aorto-uni-iliac repairs. Data collection and analysis We used standard Cochrane methods. Our primary outcomes were 1. short-term mortality, 2. failure of aneurysm exclusion and 3. wound infection. Secondary outcomes were 4. major complications (30-day or in-hospital); 5. medium- to long-term (6 and 12 months) complications and mortality; 6. bleeding complications and haematoma; and 7. operating time, duration of intensive treatment unit (ITU) stay and hospital stay. We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for the seven most clinically relevant primary and secondary outcomes. Main results Three studies with 318 participants met the inclusion criteria, 189 undergoing the percutaneous technique and 129 treated by cutdown femoral artery access. One study had a small sample size and did not adequately report the method of randomisation, allocation concealment or preselected outcomes. The other two larger studies had few sources of bias and good methodology; although one study had a high risk of bias in selective reporting. We observed no clear difference in short-term mortality between groups, with only one death occurring overall, in the totally percutaneous group (risk ratio (RR) 1.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06 to 36.18; 2 studies, 181 participants; low-certainty evidence). One study reported failure of aneurysm exclusion. There was one failure of aneurysm exclusion in the surgical cut-down femoral artery access group (RR 0.17, 95% CI 0.01 to 4.02; 1 study, 151 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). For wound infection, there was no clear difference between groups (RR 0.18, 95% CI 0.01 to 3.59; 3 studies, 318 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). There was no clear difference between percutaneous and cut-down femoral artery access groups in major complications (RR 1.21, 95% CI 0.61 to 2.41; 3 studies, 318 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), bleeding complications (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.29 to 3.64; 2 studies, 181 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) or haematoma (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.13 to 6.05; 2 studies, 288 participants). One study reported medium- to long-term complications at six months, with no clear differences between the percutaneous and cut-down femoral artery access groups (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.25 to 2.65; 1 study, 135 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). We detected differences in operating time, with the percutaneous approach being faster than cut-down femoral artery access (mean difference (MD) -21.13 minutes, 95% CI -41.74 to -0.53 minutes; 3 studies, 318 participants; low-certainty evidence). One study reported the duration of ITU stay and hospital stay, with no clear difference between groups. Authors' conclusions Skin puncture may make little to no difference to short-term mortality. There is probably little or no difference in failure of aneurysm exclusion (failure to seal the aneurysms), wound infection, major complications within 30 days or while in hospital, medium- to long-term (six months) complications and bleeding complications between the two groups. Compared with exposing the femoral artery, skin puncture may reduce the operating time slightly. We downgraded the certainty of the evidence to moderate and low as a result of imprecision due to the small number of participants, low event rates and wide CIs, and inconsistency due to clinical heterogeneity. As the number of included studies was limited, further research into this technique would be beneficial.

Background Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a clot can migrate from the deep veins, most commonly in the leg, to the lungs. Conventional treatment of PE used unfractionated heparin (UFH), low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), fondaparinux, and vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). Recently, two forms of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been developed: oral direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs) and oral factor Xa inhibitors. DOACs have characteristics that may be favourable to conventional treatment, including oral administration, a predictable effect, no need for frequent monitoring or re-dosing, and few known drug interactions. This review reports the efficacy and safety of these drugs in the long-term treatment of PE (minimum duration of three months). This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2015. Objectives To assess the efficacy and safety of oral DTIs and oral factor Xa inhibitors versus conventional anticoagulants for the long-term treatment of PE. Search methods The Cochrane Vascular Information Specialist searched the Cochrane Vascular Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL databases, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and the ClinicalTrials.gov trials registers to 2 March 2022. We checked the reference lists of relevant articles for additional studies. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in which people with a PE confirmed by standard imaging techniques were allocated to receive an oral DTI or an oral factor Xa inhibitor compared with a conventional anticoagulant or compared with each other for the long-term treatment of PE (minimum duration three months). Data collection and analysis We used standard Cochrane methods. Our primary outcomes were recurrent PE, recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality, major bleeding, and health-related quality of life. We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for each outcome. Main results We identified five additional RCTs with 1484 participants for this update. Together with the previously included trials, we have included ten RCTs with a total of 13,073 participants. Two studies investigated an oral DTI (dabigatran) and eight studies investigated oral factor Xa inhibitors (three rivaroxaban, three apixaban, and two edoxaban). The studies were of good methodological quality overall. Meta-analysis showed no clear difference in the efficacy and safety of oral DTI compared with conventional anticoagulation in preventing recurrent PE (odds ratio (OR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50 to 2.04; 2 studies, 1602 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), recurrent VTE (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.66; 2 studies, 1602 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), DVT (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.29 to 2.13; 2 studies, 1602 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), and major bleeding (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.15 to 1.68; 2 studies, 1527 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). We downgraded the certainty of evidence by one level for imprecision due to the low number of events. There was also no clear difference between the oral factor Xa inhibitors and conventional anticoagulation in the prevention of recurrent PE (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.66 to 1.29; 3 studies, 8186 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), recurrent VTE (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.66 to 1.03; 8 studies, 11,416 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), DVT (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.48 to 1.25; 2 studies, 8151 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), all-cause mortality (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.70; 1 study, 4817 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) and major bleeding (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.41; 8 studies, 11,447 participants; low-certainty evidence); the heterogeneity for major bleeding was significant (I-2 = 79%). We downgraded the certainty of the evidence to moderate and low because of imprecision due to the low number of events and inconsistency due to clinical heterogeneity. None of the included studies measured health-related quality of life. Authors' conclusions Available evidence shows there is probably little or no difference between DOACs and conventional anticoagulation in the prevention of recurrent PE, recurrent VTE, DVT, all-cause mortality, and major bleeding. The certainty of evidence was moderate or low. Future large clinical trials are required to identify if individual drugs differ in effectiveness and bleeding risk, and to explore effect differences in subgroups, including people with cancer and obesity.

Background: The potential effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) against "epidemic diseases " has highlighted the knowledge gaps associated with TCM in COVID-19 management. This study aimed to map the matrix for rigorously assessing, organizing, and presenting evidence relevant to TCM in COVID-19 management.Methods: In this study, we used the methodology of evidence mapping (EM). Nine electronic databases, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) Search Portal, , gray literature, reference lists of articles, and relevant Chinese conference proceedings, were searched for articles published until 23 March 2022. The EndNote X9, Rayyan, EPPI, and R software were used for data entry and management.Results: In all, 126 studies, including 76 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 50 systematic reviews (SRs), met our inclusion criteria. Of these, only nine studies (7.14%) were designated as high quality: four RCTs were assessed as "low risk of bias " and five SRs as "high quality. " Based on the research objectives of these studies, the included studies were classified into treatment (53 RCTs and 50 SRs, 81.75%), rehabilitation (20 RCTs, 15.87%), and prevention (3 RCTs, 2.38%) groups. A total of 76 RCTs included 59 intervention categories and 57 efficacy outcomes. All relevant trials consistently demonstrated that TCM significantly improved 22 outcomes (i.e., consistent positive outcomes) without significantly affecting four (i.e., consistent negative outcomes). Further, 50 SRs included nine intervention categories and 27 efficacy outcomes, two of which reported consistent positive outcomes and two reported consistent negative outcomes. Moreover, 45 RCTs and 38 SRs investigated adverse events; 39 RCTs and 30 SRs showed no serious adverse events or significant differences between groups.Conclusion: This study provides evidence matrix mapping of TCM against COVID-19, demonstrating the potential efficacy and safety of TCM in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients, and also addresses evidence gaps. Given the limited number and poor quality of available studies and potential concerns regarding the applicability of the current clinical evaluation standards to TCM, the effect of specific interventions on individual outcomes needs further evaluation.

The complications and symptoms of hypoparathyroidism remain incompletely defined. Measuring serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium levels early after total thyroidectomy may predict the development of chronic hypoparathyroidism. The study aimed (i) to identify symptoms and complications associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism and determine the prevalence of those symptoms and complications (Part I), and (ii) to examine the utility of early postoperative measurements of PTH and calcium in predicting chronic hypoparathyroidism (Part II). We searched Medline, Medline In-Process, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL to identify complications and symptoms associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism. We used two predefined criteria (at least three studies reported the complication and symptom and had statistically significantly greater pooled relative estimates). To estimate prevalence, we used the median and interquartile range (IQR) of the studies reporting complications and symptoms. For testing the predictive values of early postoperative measurements of PTH and calcium, we used a bivariate model to perform diagnostic test meta-analysis. In Part I, the 93 eligible studies enrolled a total of 18,973 patients and reported on 170 complications and symptoms. We identified nine most common complications or symptoms probably associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism. The complications or symptoms and the prevalence are as follows: nephrocalcinosis/nephrolithiasis (median prevalence among all studies 15%), renal insufficiency (12%), cataract (17%), seizures (11%), arrhythmia (7%), ischemic heart disease (7%), depression (9%), infection (11%), and all-cause mortality (6%). In Part II, 18 studies with 4325 patients proved eligible. For PTH measurement, regarding the posttest probability, PTH values above 10 pg/mL 12-24 hours postsurgery virtually exclude chronic hypoparathyroidism irrespective of pretest probability (100%). When PTH values are below 10 pg/mL, posttest probabilities range from 3% to 64%. Nine complications and symptoms are probably associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism. A PTH value above a threshold of 10 pg/mL 12-24 hours after total thyroidectomy is a strong predictor that the patients will not develop chronic hypoparathyroidism. Patients with PTH values below the threshold need careful monitoring as some will develop chronic hypoparathyroidism. (c) 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

The efficacy and safety of parathyroid hormone (PTH) therapy for managing long-term hypoparathyroidism is being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of currently available randomized controlled trials to investigate the benefits and harms of PTH therapy and conventional therapy in the management of patients with chronic hypoparathyroidism. To identify eligible studies, published in English, we searched Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane CENTRAL from inception to May 2022. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. We defined patients' important outcomes and used grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) to provide the structure for quantifying absolute effects and rating the quality of evidence. Seven randomized trials of 12 publications that enrolled a total of 386 patients proved eligible. The follow-up duration ranged from 1 to 36 months. Compared with conventional therapy, PTH therapy probably achieves a small improvement in physical health-related quality of life (mean difference [MD] 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-5.3, minimally important difference 3.0, moderate certainty). PTH therapy results in more patients reaching 50% or greater reduction in the dose of active vitamin D and calcium (relative risk [RR] = 6.5, 95% CI 2.5-16.4, 385 more per 1000 patients, high certainty). PTH therapy may increase hypercalcemia (RR =2.4, 95% CI 1.2-5.04, low certainty). The findings may support the use of PTH therapy in patients with chronic hypoparathyroidism. Because of limitations of short duration and small sample size, evidence from randomized trials is limited regarding important benefits of PTH therapy compared with conventional therapy. Establishing such benefits will require further studies. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a systematic review of cost-utility studies of internet-based and face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression from childhood to adulthood and to examine their reporting and methodological quality. Methods: A structured search for cost-utility studies concerning CBT for depression was performed in 7 comprehensive databases from their inception to July 2020. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, abstracted data, and assessed quality using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards and Quality of Health Economic Studies checklists. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) across all studies. To make a relevant comparison of the ICERs across the identified studies, cost data were inflated to the year 2020 and converted into US dollars. Results: Thirty-eight studies were included in this review, of which 26 studies (68%) were deemed of high methodological quality and 12 studies (32%) of fair quality. Despite differences in study designs and settings, the conclusions of most included studies for adult depression were general agreement; they showed that face-to-face CBT monotherapy or combination therapy compared with antidepressants and usual care for adult depression were cost-effective from the societal, health system, or payer perspective (ICER $241 212.4/quality-adjusted life-year [QALY] to $33 032.47/QALY, time horizon 12-60 months). Internet-based CBT regardless of guided or unguided also has a significant cost-effectiveness advantage (ICER $37 717.52/QALY to $73 841.34/QALY, time horizon 3-36 months). In addition, CBT was cost-effective in preventing depression (ICER $23 932.07/QALY to $26 092.02/QALY, time horizon 9-60 months). Nevertheless, the evidence for the cost-effectiveness of CBT for children and adolescents was still ambiguous. Conclusions: Fair or high-quality evidence showed that CBT monotherapy or combination therapy for adult depression was cost-effective; whether CBT-related therapy was cost-effective for children and adolescents depression remains inconclusive.

The purpose of this study was to explore the research hotspots and trends of Kinesio Taping in the last decade and provide new sights in future studies. Publications in the area of Kinesio Taping were searched from the Web of Science Core Collection database between 2011 and 2020. Citespace software was used to analyze data on countries/regions, institutions, authors, co-cited references, and keywords. A total of 677 publications were obtained in the last decade. We identified the most prolific countries, institutions, and authors in the field of Kinesio Taping from 2011 to 2020. The annual number of publications showed an upward trend. The most prolific country and institution were Turkey and Hacettepe University, respectively. The author with the biggest number of publications was Gul Baltaci from Turkey. The top 5 most frequent keywords were "pain", "tape", "strength", "exercise", and "reliability". The keywords with the highest centrality were "proprioception", followed by "reliability", "clinical trial", "ankle", and "pain". Ten clusters were found and the biggest one was "quadricep". The top 9 keywords with the strongest bursts were detected and "trial" had the highest burst strength. The results from the bibliometric analysis provide hotspots and trends in the field of Kinesio Taping. It is still in the development stage of the past decade. Pain relief, sports injury prevention and treatment, and proprioception enhancement to improve postural control were the hotspots from 2011 to 2020. High-quality trials and standardized criteria for applications are needed in the future.

Objective To comprehensively analyze the cost-utility of robotic surgery in clinical practice and to investigate the reporting and methodological quality of the related evidence. Methods Data on cost-utility analyses (CUAs) of robotic surgery were collected in seven electronic databases from the inception to July 2021. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the CHEERs and QHES checklists. A systematic review was performed with the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio as the outcome of interest. Results Thirty-one CUAs of robotic surgery were eligible. Overall, the identified CUAs were fair to high quality, and 63% of the CUAs ranked the cost-utility of robotic surgery as “favored,” 32% categorized as “reject,” and the remaining 5% ranked as “unclear.” Although a high heterogeneity was present in terms of the study design among the included CUAs, most studies (81.25%) consistently found that robotic surgery was more cost-utility than open surgery for prostatectomy (ICER: $6905.31/QALY to $26240.75/QALY; time horizon: 10 years or lifetime), colectomy (dominated by robotic surgery; time horizon: 1 year), knee arthroplasty (ICER: $1134.22/QALY to $1232.27/QALY; time horizon: lifetime), gastrectomy (dominated by robotic surgery; time horizon: 1 year), spine surgery (ICER: $17707.27/QALY; time horizon: 1 year), and cystectomy (ICER: $3154.46/QALY; time horizon: 3 months). However, inconsistent evidence was found for the cost-utility of robotic surgery versus laparoscopic surgery and (chemo)radiotherapy. Conclusions Fair or high-quality evidence indicated that robotic surgery is more cost-utility than open surgery, while it remains inconclusive whether robotic surgery is more cost-utility than laparoscopic surgery and (chemo)radiotherapy. Thus, an additional evaluation is required.

Background Malaria is one of the most serious global problems. The objective of this study is to assess whether intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) using artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) was a promising alternative to IPT with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPT-SP). Methods We searched the following sources up to 12 August 2020: PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, VIP and WanFang Database from inception. The randomized controlled trials comparing SP with ACTs for malaria were included. Data were pooled using Stata.14 software. We performed subgroup analysis based on the different types of ACTs groups and participants. Results A total of 13 studies comprising 5180 people were included. The meta-analysis showed that ACTs had the lower risk of number of any parasitemia (RR=0.46; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.96, p=0.039; I-2=90.50%, p<0.001), early treatment failure (RR=0.17; 95% CI 0.06 to 0.48, pI(2)=66.60%, p=0.011) and late treatment failure (RR=0.34; 95% CI 0.13 to 0.92, pI(2)=87.80%, p<0.001) compared with SP. There was no significant difference in adequate clinical response, average hemoglobin and adverse neonatal outcomes. Conclusion Combinations with ACTs appear promising as suitable alternatives for IPT-SP.

Objective: To assess the methodological and reporting quality of Chinese- and English -language systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) published by Chinese authors between 2016 and 2018. Study design and setting: We searched MEDLINE and Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD) for SRs/MAs led by Chinese authors published between 2016 and 2018. We used random sampling to select 10% of the eligible SRs/MAs published in each year from CSCD, and then matched the same number of SRs/MAs in MEDLINE. Reporting quality was evaluated using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and methodological quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) tool. Stratified analyses were conducted to compare the differences of quality between Chinese- and English language SRs/MAs. Results: We identified 336 SRs/MAs (168 in Chinese and 168 in English). The reporting quality in Chinese-language SRs/MAs was slightly lower than English-language SRs/MAs (mean PRISMA scores: 20.58 vs. 21.71 in 2016, 19.87 vs. 21.24 in 2017, and 21.29 vs. 22.38 in 2018). Less than half of both Chinese- and English-language SRs/MAs complied with item 5 (protocol and registration), item 7 (information sources), item 8 (search) and item 27 (funding)). The methodological quality in Chinese -language SRs/MAs was also slightly lower than English -language SRs/MAs (mean AMSTAR-2 scores: 8.07 vs. 9.36 in 2016; 9.21 vs. 10.26 in 2017; 8.86 vs. 9.28 in 2018). Three items (item 2: established a protocol; item 4: use a comprehensive literature search; and item 10: report the sources of funding) were adhered to by less than 10% of both Chinese- and English -language SRs/MAs. Only one (0.6%) Chinese-language SRs/MA and nine (5.4%) English-language SRs/MAs were rated as high methodological quality. Conclusion: The reporting and methodological quality of English-language SRs/MAs conducted by authors from China between 2016 and 2018 were slightly better than those of Chinese -language SRs/MAs.

Coronaviruses (CoV) cause respiratory and intestinal infections. We conducted this bibliometric analysis and systematical review to explore the CoV-related research trends from before COVID-19. We systematically searched the Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, and Web of Science (WOS) databases for published bibliometric analyses of CoV from database inception to January 24, 2021. The WOS Collection was searched from inception to January 31, 2020, to acquire the CoV-related publications before COVID-19. One-Way ANOVA and Bonferroni multiple-comparison tests were used to compare differences. Visualization mapping and keyword cluster graphs were made to illustrate the research topics and hotpots. We included 14,141 CoV-related publications for the bibliometric analysis and 16 (12 articles) CoV-related bibliometric analyses for the systematic review. Both the systematic review and bibliometric analysis showed (1) the number of publications showed two steep upward trajectories in 2003–2004 and in 2012–2014; (2) the research hotpots mainly focused on the mechanism, pathology, epidemiology, clinical diagnosis, and treatment of the coronavirus in MERS-CoV and SARS-Cov; (3) the USA, and China; the University of Hong Kong; and Yuen KY, came from the University of Hong Kong contributed most; (4) the Journal of Virology had the largest number of CoV related studies. More studies should focus on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in the future.

Background & Carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) and proton beam therapy (PBT) are promising methods for prostate cancer, however, the consensus of an increasing number of studies has not been reached. We aimed to provide systematic evidence for evaluating the efficacy and safety of CIRT and PBT for prostate cancer by comparing photon radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: We searched for studies focusing on CIRT and PBT for prostate cancer in four online databases until July 2021. Two independent reviewers assessed the quality of included studies and used the GRADE approach to rate the quality of evidence. R 4.0.2 software was used to conduct the meta-analysis. A meta-regression test was performed based on the study design and tumor stage of each study. Results: A total of 33 studies including 13 CIRT- and 20 PBT-related publications, involving 54,101, participants were included. The quality of the included studies was found to be either low or moderate quality. Random model single-arm meta-analysis showed that both the CIRT and PBT have favorable efficacy and safety, with similar 5-year overall survival (OS) (94 vs 92%), the incidence of grade 2 or greater acute genitourinary (AGU) toxicity (5 vs 13%), late genitourinary (LGU) toxicity (4 vs 5%), acute gastrointestinal (AGI) toxicity (1 vs 1%), and late gastrointestinal (LGI) toxicity (2 vs 4%). However, compared with CIRT and PBT, photon radiotherapy was associated with lower 5-year OS (72-73%) and a higher incidence of grade 2 or greater AGU (28-29%), LGU (13-14%), AGI (14-19%), and LGI toxicity (8-10%). The meta-analysis showed the 3-, 4-, and 5-year local control rate (LCR) of CIRT for prostate cancer was 98, 97, and 99%; the 3-, 4-, 5-, and 8-year biochemical relapse-free rate (BRF) was 92, 91, 89, and 79%. GRADE assessment results indicated that the certainty of the evidence was very low. Meta-regression results did not show a significant relationship based on the variables studied (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Currently available evidence demonstrated that the efficacy and safety of CIRT and PBT for prostate cancer were similar, and they may significantly improve the OS, LCR, and reduce the incidence of GU and GI toxicity compared with photon radiotherapy. However, the quantity and quality of the available evidence are insufficient. More high-quality controlled studies are needed in the future.