Álvaro Nagib Atallah

Efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy in asthma: systematic review of randomized-clinical trials using the Cochrane Collaboration method.

Background:  Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is effective and safe in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. However, there is no meta‐analysis in asthma treatment.

Dietary calcium supplementation for prevention of pre-eclampsia and related problems: a systematic review and commentary

Background  Calcium supplementation during pregnancy may reduce the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Drainage or nondrainage in elective colorectal anastomosis: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background  There is little agreement on prophylactic use of drains in anastomoses in elective colorectal surgery despite many randomized clinical trials. Once anastomotic leakage occurs it is generally agreed that drains should be used for therapeutic purposes. However, on prophylactic use no such agreement exists.

Prospective assessment of the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients submitted to upper abdominal surgery.

OBJECTIVE To investigate associations between preoperative variables and postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) in elective upper abdominal surgery. DESIGN Prospective clinical trial. SETTING A tertiary university hospital. PATIENTS 408 patients were prospectively analyzed during the preoperative period and followed up postoperatively for pulmonary complications. MEASUREMENTS Patient characteristics, with clinical and physical evaluation, related diseases, smoking habits, and duration of surgery. Preoperative pulmonary function tests (PFT) were performed on 247 patients. RESULTS The postoperative pulmonary complication rate was 14 percent. The significant predictors in univariate analyses of postoperative pulmonary complications were: age >50, smoking habits, presence of chronic pulmonary disease or respiratory symptoms at the time of evaluation, duration of surgery >210 minutes and comorbidity (p <0.04). In a logistic regression analysis, the statistically significant predictors were: presence of chronic pulmonary disease, surgery lasting >210 and comorbidity (p <0.009). CONCLUSIONS There were three major clinical risk factors for pulmonary complications following upper abdominal surgery: chronic pulmonary disease, comorbidity, and surgery lasting more than 210 minutes. Those patients with three risk factors were three times more likely to develop a PPC compared to patients without any of these risk factors (p <0.001). PFT is indicated when there are uncertainties regarding the patients pulmonary status.

Hormonal cryptorchidism therapy: systematic review with metanalysis of randomized clinical trials

The importance of cryptorchidism treatment concerns the possibility of diminishing risk of malignant degeneration and improving fertility. Success rates of hormonal treatment vary: 0–55%with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and 9–78% with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Due to uncertainties regarding the effectiveness of this treatment, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on hormonal cryptorchidism treatment was done using the methodology of Cochrane Collaboration. Two studies compared hCG with GnRH, with a testicular descent rate of 25% vs. 18%, respectively. Nine trials compared intranasal LHRH with placebo, with complete testicular descent rates of 19% vs. 5%. Two other studies comparing doses and administration intervals could not be pooled together due to heterogeneity. With the information analyzed until the present, the evidence for the use of hCG vs. GnRH shows advantages for hCG, and this review also shows that there is evidence that luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) is more effective than placebo. But because this evidence is based on few trials, with small sample sizes and moderated risk of bias, this treatment cannot be recommended for everyone, and there is no evidence that supports hCG’s use in larger doses and larger intervals. Results from this systematic review are important for developing better RCTs that may decrease the uncertainty of cryptorchidism treatment.

Diagnostic accuracy of sonography for pleural effusion: systematic review

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE The initial method for evaluating the presence of pleural effusion was chest radiography. Isolated studies have shown that sonography has greater accuracy than radiography for this diagnosis; however, no systematic reviews on this matter are available in the literature. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of sonography in detecting pleural effusion, by means of a systematic review of the literature. DESIGN AND SETTING This was a systematic review with meta-analysis on accuracy studies. This study was conducted in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging and in the Brazilian Cochrane Center, Discipline of Emergency Medicine and Evidence-Based Medicine, Department of Medicine, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp), São Paulo, Brazil. METHOD The following databases were searched: Cochrane Library, Medline, Web of Science, Embase and Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs). The references of relevant studies were also screened for additional citations of interest. Studies in which the accuracy of sonography for detecting pleural effusion was tested, with an acceptable reference standard (computed tomography or thoracic drainage), were included. RESULTS Four studies were included. All of them showed that sonography had high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for detecting pleural effusions. The mean sensitivity was 93% (95% confidence interval, CI: 89% to 96%), and specificity was 96% (95% CI: 95% to 98%). CONCLUSIONS In different populations and clinical settings, sonography showed consistently high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for detecting fluid in the pleural space.

Optimal search strategy for clinical trials in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Literature Database (LILACS)

OBJECTIVE To define and disseminate the optimal search strategy for clinical trials in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Literature (LILACS). This strategy was elaborated based on the optimal search strategy for MEDLINE recommended by Cochrane Collaboration for the identification of clinical trials in electronic databases. DESIGN Technical information. SETTING Clinical Trials and Meta-Analysis Unit, Federal University of São Paulo, in conjunction with the Brazilian Cochrane Center, São Paulo, Brazil. (http://www.epm.br/cochrane). DATA LILACS/CD-ROM (Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Information Database), 27th edition, January 1997, edited by BIREME (Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Information Center). LILACS Indexes 670 journals in the region, with abstracts in English, Portuguese or Spanish; only 41 overlap in the MEDLINE-EMBASE. Of the 168,902 citations since 1982, 104,016 are in human trials, and 38,261 citations are potentiality clinical trials. Search strategy was elaborated combining headings with text word in three languages, adapting the interface of the LILACS. We will be working by locating clinical trials in LILACS for Cochrane Controlled Trials Database. This effort is being coordinated by the Brazilian Cochrane Center.

Use of Color Doppler Ultrasonography for the Prediction of Malignancy in Follicular Thyroid Neoplasms Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective. The purpose of this systematic review was to obtain summary estimates of the diagnostic accuracy of color Doppler ultrasonography (CDU) in predicting malignancy in thyroid follicular neoplasms (FNs). Methods. We searched Medical Subject Headings together with the search terms “follicular,” “thyroid,” and “Doppler” in the MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Excerpta Medica databases as well as the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature database, after which we performed manual searches of the reference lists to locate additional studies. There were no language restrictions. We included studies that assessed the diagnostic accuracy of CDU in identifying malignancy in thyroid FNs. The assessments of the quality and extraction of data were performed by 3 independent reviewers. Results. We included 4 studies, which collectively evaluated 457 thyroid FNs, 67 of which had been classified as malignant based on the evaluation of surgical biopsy samples. Moderate, rich, predominant, or exclusive internal flow on CDU of thyroid FNs was considered indicative of malignancy. The overall sensitivity of CDU was 85% (95% confidence interval [CI], 74%–93%), with an overall specificity of 86% (95% CI, 82%–89%). The overall prevalence was 14.7%, and the positive and negative predictive values were 51% and 97%, respectively. The positive likelihood ratio was 6.07, and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.18. Conclusions. Predominant internal flow seen on CDU is associated with malignancy of thyroid FNs. Absence of internal flow or predominantly peripheral flow indicates a low probability of thyroid FN malignancy.

Levodopa for idiopathic restless legs syndrome: evidence-based review

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensory motor disorder characterized by a distressing urge to move the legs and sometimes also other parts of the body usually accompanied by a marked sense of discomfort or pain in the leg or other affected body part. The prevalence of RLS is estimated at 2.7 to 5% of adults and it is more common in women. The treatment of RLS with levodopa has been reported thus a systematic synthesis of evidence is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of levodopa for RLS. Systematic review of randomized or quasi‐randomized, double blind trials on levodopa. Relief of restless legs symptoms marked on a validated scale, subjective sleep quality, sleep quality measured by night polysomnography and actigraphy, quality of life measured by subjective measures, adverse events associated with the treatments. Nine eligible clinical trials were included. The subjective analyses of these studies showed contradictory results, although the objective analyses showed that treatment group had a statistically significant improvement of periodic leg movement (PLM) index, favoring the treatment group. The most commonly adverse event seen was gastrointestinal symptoms. The short‐term treatment with levodopa was demonstrated effective and safety for PLM, but there was only few trials assessing long‐term treatment and the augmentation phenomenon in RLS. Further long‐term randomized controlled trials using standard follow‐up measurements as the International RLS Study Group Rating Scale are necessary.

Surgical Treatments for Chronic Subdural Hematomas: A Comprehensive Systematic Review

BACKGROUND Chronic subdural hematomas (CSDHs) are common neurosurgical conditions among elderly patients. OBJECTIVE To perform a detailed critical appraisal of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of surgical treatments for chronic subdural hematomas and to quantify their intervention effects. METHODS We performed a broad search for all RCTs with no language or date restrictions, asked the authors for missing data, and applied the Cochrane methods. RESULTS A total of 24 RCTs involved 1900 patients and 15 comparisons. All outcomes of practical interest were analyzed. Postoperative drainage after burr-hole evacuation reduced the rate of recurrence (risk ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.66, P < 0.00001) with no other clear benefits or complications. CONCLUSIONS This comprehensive, best evidence-based, quantitative, systematic review indicates that the use of a closed system drainage after burr-hole evacuation reduces the rate of recurrences but has no other significant differences. The findings also suggest that: (1) treatment with twist drills is equivalent to that with burr holes; (2) the postoperative bed header in the elevated position might reduce the length of hospital stay; (3) irrigation of the subdural space with thrombin solution in patients with high risk of recurrence might reduce this risk; and (4) treatment with twist drill followed by a closed system drainage during 48 hours, instead of 96 hours, might reduce general complication rates. Most of the trials suffered from unclear or high risks of bias and many involved small samples, precluding strong and definitive conclusions.