OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the relationship between stillbirth and various perinatal outcomes in subsequent pregnancy. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and CNKI databases were searched up to July 2023. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Cohort studies that reported the association between stillbirth and perinatal outcomes in subsequent pregnancies were included. METHODS: We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Statistical analysis was performed using Rand Stata software. We used random-effects models to pool each outcome of interest. We performed a meta-regression analysis to explore the potential heterogeneity. The certainty (quality) of evidence assessment was performed using the GRADE approach. RESULTS: Nineteen cohort studies were included, involving 4,855,153 participants. From these studies, we identified 28,322 individuals with previous stillbirths who met the eligibility criteria. After adjusting for confounders, evidence of low to moderate certainty indicated that compared with women with previous live births, women with previous stillbirths had higher risks of recurrent stillbirth (odds ratio, 2.68; 95% confidence interval, 2.01-3.56), preterm birth (odds ratio, 3.15; 95% confidence interval, 2.07-4.80), neonatal death (odds ratio, 4.24; 95% confidence interval, 2.65-6.79), small for gestational age/intrauterine growth restriction (odds ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.8), low birthweight (odds ratio, 3.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.46-7.52), placental abruption (odds ratio, 3.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-8.98), instrumental delivery (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.68-3.11), labor induction (odds ratio, 4.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.88-8.88), cesarean delivery (odds ratio, 2.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-4.73), elective cesarean delivery (odds ratio, 2.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.82-3.23), and emergency cesarean delivery (odds ratio, 2.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.81-3.06) in subsequent pregnancies, but had a lower rate of spontaneous labor (odds ratio, 0.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.13-0.36). However, there was no association between previous stillbirth and preeclampsia (odds ratio, 1.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-4.70) in subsequent pregnancies. CONCLUSION: Our systematic review and meta-analysis provide a more comprehensive understanding of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with previous stillbirth. These findings could be used to inform counseling for couples who are considering pregnancy after a previous stillbirth.

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.

Background:Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin condition with multiple topical treatment options, but uncertain comparative effects. Objective:We sought to systematically synthesize the benefits and harms of AD prescription topical treatments. Methods:For the 2023 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters AD guidelines, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, LILACS, ICTRP, and GREAT databases to September 5, 2022, for randomized trials addressing AD topical treatments. Paired reviewers independently screened records, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. Random-effects network meta-analyses addressed AD severity, itch, sleep, AD-related quality of life, flares, and harms. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach informed certainty of evidence ratings. We classified topical corticosteroids (TCS) using 7 groups-group 1 being most potent. This review is registered in the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/q5m6s). Results:The 219 included trials (43,123 patients) evaluated 68 interventions. With high-certainty evidence, pimecrolimus improved 6 of 7 outcomes-among the best for 2; high-dose tacrolimus (0.1%) improved 5-among the best for 2; low-dose tacrolimus (0.03%) improved 5-among the best for 1. With moderate- to high-certainty evidence, group 5 TCS improved 6-among the best for 3; group 4 TCS and delgocitinib improved 4-among the best for 2; ruxolitinib improved 4-among the best for 1; group 1 TCS improved 3-among the best for 2. These interventions did not increase harm. Crisaborole and difamilast were intermediately effective, but with uncertain harm. Topical antibiotics alone or in combination may be among the least effective. To maintain AD control, group 5 TCS were among the most effective, followed by tacrolimus and pimecrolimus. Conclusions:For individuals with AD, pimecrolimus, tacrolimus, and moderate-potency TCS are among the most effective in improving and maintaining multiple AD outcomes. Topical antibiotics may be among the least effective.

Background: Hyperemesis gravidarum is a serious pregnancy complication that affects approximately 1% of pregnancies worldwide. Objective: To determine whether the use of ondansetron during pregnancy is associated with abnormal pregnancy outcomes. Search strategy: PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, CNKI, CBM, WANFANG, and were searched for citations published in any language from inception to 15 December 2021. Selection criteria: Eligible studies included any observational study. Data collection and analysis: Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used as indicators to examine the association between ondansetron and abnormal pregnancy outcomes. Main results: Twenty articles from 1,558 citations were included. Our preliminary analysis showed that compared with the unexposed group, the use of ondansetron during pregnancy may be associated with an increased incidence of cardiac defects (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01-1.10), neural tube defects (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.05-1.18), and chest cleft (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.07-1.37). Further sensitivity analysis showed no significant association between ondansetron and cardiac defects (OR = 1.15,95% CI: 0.94-1.40) or neural tube defects (OR = 0.87,95% CI: 0.46-1.66). When controversial studies were eliminated, the results for the chest defects disappeared. Simultaneously, we found that the use of ondansetron was associated with a reduced incidence of miscarriage (OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.31-0.89). Ondansetron was not associated with orofacial clefts (OR = 1.09,95% CI: 0.95-1.25), spinal limb defects (OR = 1.14,95% CI: 0.89-1.46), urinary tract deformities (OR = 1.06,95% CI: 0.97-1.15), any congenital malformations (OR = 1.03,95% CI: 0.98-1.09), stillbirth (OR = 0.97,95% CI: 0.83-1.15), preterm birth (OR = 1.22,95% CI: 0.80-1.85), neonatal asphyxia (OR = 1.05,95% CI: 0.72-1.54), or neonatal development (OR = 1.18,95% CI: 0.96-1.44) in our primary analysis. Conclusion: In our analysis, using ondansetron during pregnancy was not associated with abnormal pregnancy outcomes. Although our study did not find sufficient evidence of ondansetron and adverse pregnancy outcomes, future studies including the exposure period and dose of ondansetron, as well as controlling for disease status, may be useful to truly elucidate the potential risks and benefits of ondansetron.

Background: Neurocognitive disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, not only harm people's cognitive function but also lead to negative emotions, poor quality of life (QOL), and unsatisfactory level of well-being. Resilience can be defined as a dynamic and amendable process, which maintains or improves life satisfaction and quick recovery from own dilemma. However, no meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has thus far examined the effectiveness of resilience interventions among persons with neurocognitive disorders, and the results of RCTs were inconsistent. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of resilience interventions on psychosocial outcomes among persons with neurocognitive disorders. Methods: Nine electronic Chinese and English databases (the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, Medline, Eric, JSTOR, CNKI, and WANGFANG) were searched through April 2021. Only RCTs were included, and the quality of the included studies was assessed by the Cochrane "Risk of Bias" tool. Meta-analysis was carried out on psychosocial outcomes, and heterogeneity was investigated by subgroup and sensitivity analysis. RevMan 5.4 was used for meta-analysis. Results: Fourteen RCT studies were identified, representing a total of 2,442 participants with neurocognitive disorders. The risk of bias was high or unclear for most included studies in the domains of allocation concealment, blinding participants, and interventionists. Meta-analysis showed that heterogeneity was low or moderate. There were significant differences in favor of resilience interventions compared with control on the outcome of QOL, using the Quality of Life-Alzheimer Disease scale (QOL-AD) [I 2 = 36%, standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.14, 95% CI (0.02, 0.26), p = 0.02], and no significant differences on depression, using the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) [I 2 = 41%, SMD = -0.14, 95% CI (-0.34, 0.05), p = 0.16], and neuropsychiatric symptoms using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) [I 2 = 62%, SMD = -0.10, 95% CI (-0.37, -0.16), p ≤ 0.46]. Conclusions: Resilience interventions had a significant benefit on QOL but no significant benefit on depression and neuropsychiatric behavioral symptoms. More evidence is needed to answer questions about how to implement resilience interventions and how to evaluate their effectiveness.

Background: Although a number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) have been published, no study has comprehensively summarized the clinical evidence from meta-analyses, or assessed the reporting or methodological quality of these reviews. Purpose: The present meta-research study was designed to fill the gaps in knowledge to inform future studies and allow enhanced clinical decision-making on saffron. Methods: The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and CNKI databases were systematically searched from inception to April 3 rd, 2021, for meta-analyses of clinical trials that assessed the efficacy and safety of saffron. PRISMA 2009 and AMSTAR-2 were employed to assess the reporting and methodological quality of meta-analyses identified in the search, respectively. The present study was registered on PROSPERO with registration number CRD42020220274. Results: Nineteen eligible systematic reviews with meta-analyses published in English were identified from 235 records. These meta-analyses were published in 12 peer-reviewed journals from 2013 to 2021. The heterogeneous results indicated that saffron significantly reduced fasting blood glucose, waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, concentrations of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and improved symptoms of depression, cognitive function and sexual dysfunction compared with controls (mainly placebos). Common side effects of saffron consumption included nausea, dry mouth, poor appetite, and headache, but no serious adverse reactions were reported. Primary analysis and sensitivity analysis confirmed that the reporting and methodological quality of reviews included in the study were highly correlated (p < 0.001). The quality of meta-analyses of saffron requires improvement by including a structured abstract, a prospective protocol and registration, explanation of the study designs within each study that is reviewed, the searches, risk of bias assessment, literature selection, and reporting of funding sources. Conclusion: The available evidence indicates that saffron is a safe plant for administration as a medicine and can improve diverse clinical outcomes, but the scientific quality of the published systematic reviews needs to be improved. Moreover, the clinical effects of saffron need to be confirmed through high-quality randomized trials in multiple countries with large sample sizes.

Minimally invasive surgery includes traditional laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgery. Although many studies related to robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery have been published, when doing our search, scientometric studies that focus on related robotic surgery versus laparoscopic surgery were limited. In this study, we aimed to analyze and review the research hots and research status of robotic surgery versus laparoscopic surgery. We searched publications that involved robotic surgery versus laparoscopic surgery in the Web of Science database from 1980 to May 23, 2020. The top 100 publications were published in 2012 with the number of 17 and citations ranged from 618 to 64. Published across 34 different journals, namely European urology (n = 17) and others, the greatest contribution among 36 institutes was made by the Cleveland Clinic (n = 11). Of the top 100 publications, a total of 429 unique words were identified and the most frequently occurring keyword was laparoscopy (n = 33). The co-occurrence of keywords in the top 100 publications indicated that the study of diseases mainly focused on prostatectomy, complications, prostate cancer, retropubic prostatectomy, nephron-sparing surgery, lymph-node dissection, total mesenteric excision, sexual function, rectal cancer, and assisted distal gastrectomy. In recent years, comparative research on robot and laparoscopic surgery has decreased and most studies focus on cancer. (C) 2020 Asian Surgical Association and Taiwan Robotic Surgery Association. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V.

Background Decentralised governance of health care has been widely adopted globally over the past three decades. But despite being implemented as a management strategy across many health systems, its impact on health equity is yet unclear. Objective To conduct a systematic literature review of the implications of decentralised governance of health care on equity in health, health care and health financing. Methods A systematic search of CINAHL, EconLit, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane database of systematic reviews was conducted. Articles that met the inclusion criteria examined entire health systems and the relationship between implementing decentralised governance and health-related equity. The quality of reporting of the included studies was assessed using a 10-point quality rating tool. Results Out of 808 articles identified, 9 met the inclusion criteria. The included studies were mostly explorative and used a range of quantitative techniques to analyse the relationship between variables of interest. The review found that depending on context, decentralisation could either lead to equity gains or exacerbate inequities. The impact of decentralisation on inequities in health and health care depends on pre-existing socio-economic disparities and financial barriers to access. While decentralisation can lead to inequities in health financing between sub-national jurisdictions, this is minimised with substantial central government transfers and cross subsidisation. Conclusion The implications of decentralised governance of health systems on health-related equity are varied and depend on pre-existing socio-economic and organisational context, the form of decentralisation implemented and the complementary mechanisms implemented alongside decentralisation.

Objectives Population ageing and the increasing burden of chronic conditions challenge traditional metrics of assessing the efficacy of health care interventions and as a consequence policy and planning. Using chronic heart failure (CHF) as an exemplar this manuscript seeks to describe the importance of patient-reported outcomes to inform policy decisions. Methods The method of an integrative review has been used to identify patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in assessing CHF outcomes. Using the Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions the case for developing a metric to incorporate PROs in policy planning, implementation and evaluation is made. Results In spite of the increasing use of PROs in assessing CHF outcomes, their incorporation in the policy domain is limited. Conclusions Effective policy and planning is of health care services is dependent on the impact on the individual and their families. Epidemiological transitions and evolving treatment paradigms challenge traditional metrics of morbidity and mortality underscoring the importance of assessing PROs.

Objective To identify, categorize and examine performance-based health outcomes reimbursement schemes for medical technology. Methods We performed a review of performance-based health outcomes reimbursement schemes over the past 10 years (7/98–010/09) using publicly available databases, web and grey literature searches, and input from healthcare reimbursement experts. We developed a taxonomy of scheme types by inductively organizing the schemes identified according to the timing, execution, and health outcomes measured in the schemes. Results Our search yielded 34 coverage with evidence development schemes, 10 conditional treatment continuation schemes, and 14 performance-linked reimbursement schemes. The majority of schemes are in Europe and Australia, with an increasing number in Canada and the U.S. Conclusion These schemes have the potential to alter the reimbursement and pricing landscape for medical technology, but significant challenges, including high transaction costs and insufficient information systems, may limit their long-term impact. Future studies regarding experiences and outcomes of implemented schemes are necessary.