Yu Xueqing

Ligustrazine Injection for Chronic Pulmonary Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. This study was intended to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ligustrazine injection for chronic pulmonary heart disease (CPHD). Method. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of clinical therapeutic studies on CPHD when using ligustrazine injection were included. Searches were applied to the following electronic databases: the PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CBM, and AMED. No language restriction was used. All trials included were analyzed according to the criteria of the Cochrane Handbook. Review Manager 5.0 software was used for data analysis. Result. 34 RCTs with low methodological quality were included. Compared to conventional medicine treatment alone, ligustrazine injection plus conventional medicine treatment showed improvement in New York Heart Association classification of clinical status (Odds ratio 0.22; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.28) and depression of pulmonary artery hypertension (weighted mean difference −4.77; 95% CI −5.85 to −3.68). Three studies had reported adverse events. No serious adverse effects were reported. Conclusion. While there is some evidence that suggests potential effectiveness of ligustrazine injection for CPHD, the results were limited by the methodological flaws of the studies. High quality studies are needed to provide clear evidence for the future use of ligustrazine injection.

CCERW: A new prediction rule to identify treatment failure patients with community-acquired pneumonia for middle aged and elderly

To develop and validate a clinical prediction rule to identify treatment failure patients with community-acquired pneumonia(CAP) for middle aged and elderly in China, data from the patients aged ≥ 45 yrs with CAP in derivation cohort, internal validation cohort and external validation cohort were analysed by the methods of univariate analysis, multivariate analysis and receiver operating curve. The results showed a prediction rule CCERW based on five independent factors (i.e., confusion; creatinine<60µmol/L; electrolyte disturbances; respiratory failure; WBC>7.5×109/L) which correlated with treatment failure had better predictive capability than PSI, CURB65 and CRB65, and can be used in middle aged and elderly patients with CAP of Han people in China.