Effectiveness and Safety of Treatments for Early-Stage Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Non-Randomized Studies.

Objective: The lack of consensus on the benefits and harms of standard therapies, including surgery (SRx), radiotherapy (RTx), chemotherapy (CTx), and their combinations among early-stage MCC, prompted this study.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized studies published between January 01, 1972, and January 31, 2023, and having overall survival (OS), local recurrence (LR), regional recurrence (RR), disease-specific survival (DSS), and/or disease-free survival (DFS) as outcomes was conducted using the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed (NCBI), Scopus (ELSEVIER), and Web of Science (CLAVIRATE) databases. Hazard ratios (HRs) and their variances were pooled using the inverse variance heterogeneity model.

Predictive and Interpretable Machine Learning of Economic Burden: The Role of Chronic Conditions Among Elderly Patients with Incident Primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC).

Objective: To evaluate chronic conditions as leading predictors of economic burden over time among older adults with incident primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) using machine learning methods.

Methods: We used a retrospective cohort of older adults (age ≥ 67 years) diagnosed with MCC between 2009 and 2019. For these elderly MCC patients, we derived three phases (pre-diagnosis, during-treatment, and post-treatment) anchored around cancer diagnosis date.

The Influence of Nutrition Intervention on the P1NP and CTX-1 Response to an Acute Exercise Bout: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Background: Although nutrition and exercise both influence bone metabolism, little is currently known about their interaction, or whether nutritional intervention can modulate the bone biomarker response to acute exercise. Improved understanding of the relationships between nutrition, exercise and bone metabolism may have substantial potential to inform nutritional interventions to protect the bone health of exercising individuals, and to elucidate mechanisms by which exercise and nutrition influence bone.

Objective: The aim was to synthesise available evidence related to the influence of nutrition on the response of the bone biomarkers procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP) and C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX-1) to acute exercise, using a systematic review and meta-analytic approach.

Exercise during pregnancy Dose: Influence on preterm birth outcomes.

Background: Preterm delivery typically increases health risk for neonates and is associated with longer infant hospital stay and financial burden. Prenatal exercise dose (frequency, intensity, type, time, volume) have been shown to influence birth outcomes. Increased prenatal exercise dose could therefore provide a critical reduction in health risk and financial burden in preterm neonates.

Narrative reviews in anesthesia and pain medicine: guidelines for producers, reviewers and consumers.

Well-established guidelines and checklists for authors, reviewers, and readers of systematic reviews and scoping reviews are readily available. However, the availability of such for narrative reviews is lacking, including, but not limited to, field-specific guidelines in the field of anesthesia and pain medicine. In this brief article, we review the differences between the major types of reviews, followed by a more detailed description of narrative reviews that clearly differentiates them from other types of reviews.

Exercise FITT-V during pregnancy: Association with birth outcomes.

Background: Prenatal exercise improves birth outcomes, but research into exercise dose-response effects is limited.

Methods: This study is a retrospective, secondary analysis of pooled data from three blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trials. Prenatal exercise frequency, intensity, type, time, and volume (FITT-V) were assessed in supervised sessions throughout pregnancy.

Experimental-numerical Investigation of ⍺/β-phase formation within thin electron beam melted Ti-6Al-4V.

Electron beam melting is a powder bed fusion process capable of manufacturing thin structural features. However, as the thickness of these features approaches typical microstructure grain sizes, it becomes vital to understand how the manufacturing process contributes to local crystallographic texture and anisotropy in micromechanical response. Therefore, this article investigates Ti-6Al-4V ⍺/β-phase formation within thin components using a variety of experimental and numerical approaches.

Resistance training and inter-interindividual response differences on cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults: An ancillary meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Examine true inter-individual response differences (IIRD) as a result of resistance training on cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults. Data from a recent meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled trials representing 552 men and women (292 resistance training, 260 control) ≥ 60 years of age were included. The primary outcome was cardiorespiratory fitness (VO) in mlkgmin.

Olanzapine Pharmacokinetics: A Clinical Review of Current Insights and Remaining Questions.

Olanzapine is one of the most widely used antipsychotics since its initial approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1996 and has undergone extensive pharmacokinetic study. Despite being utilized in clinical psychiatry for decades, there remain questions regarding the variety of available formulations, the utility of therapeutic drug monitoring, altered kinetic properties in special populations/medical illnesses, the use of high-dose olanzapine, and drug interactions, among many others. We performed a narrative literature review of olanzapine pharmacokinetics in June 2023 using the US National Library of Medicine's PubMed.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in regional anesthesia and pain medicine (Part I): guidelines for preparing the review protocol.

Comprehensive resources exist on how to plan a systematic review and meta-analysis. The objective of this article is to provide guidance to authors preparing their systematic review protocol in the fields of regional anesthesia and pain medicine. The focus is on systematic reviews of healthcare interventions, with or without an aggregate data meta-analysis.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in regional anesthesia and pain medicine (Part II): guidelines for performing the systematic review.

In Part I of this series, we provide guidance for preparing a systematic review protocol. In this article, we highlight important steps and supplement with exemplars on conducting and reporting the results of a systematic review. We suggest how authors can manage protocol violations, multiplicity of outcomes and analyses, and heterogeneity.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (Part II): Guidelines for Performing the Systematic Review.

In Part I of this series, we provide guidance for preparing a systematic review protocol. In this article, we highlight important steps and supplement with exemplars on conducting and reporting the results of a systematic review. We suggest how authors can manage protocol violations, multiplicity of outcomes and analyses, and heterogeneity.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (Part I): Guidelines for Preparing the Review Protocol.

Comprehensive resources exist on how to plan a systematic review and meta-analysis. The objective of this article is to provide guidance to authors preparing their systematic review protocol in the fields of regional anesthesia and pain medicine. The focus is on systematic reviews of health care interventions, with or without an aggregate data meta-analysis.

Effects of resistance training on body weight and body composition in older adults: An inter-individual response difference meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Whether true inter-individual response differences (IIRD) occur as a result of resistance training on body weight and body composition in older adults with overweight and obesity is not known. To address this gap, data from a previous meta-analysis representing 587 men and women (333 resistance training, 254 control) ≥ 60 years of age nested in 15 randomized controlled trials of resistance training ≥ 8 weeks were included. Resistance training and control group change outcome standard deviations treated as point estimates for body weight and body composition (percent body fat, fat mass, body mass index in kgm, and lean body mass) were used to calculate true IIRD from each study.

Influence of Supervised Maternal Aerobic Exercise during Pregnancy on 1-Month-Old Neonatal Cardiac Function and Outflow: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to assess the effects of supervised, recommended levels of prenatal aerobic exercise on 1-month-old infant cardiac function.

Methods: Eligible pregnant women were randomly assigned to either an aerobic exercise group that participated in 150 min of supervised, moderate-intensity (40% to 59% V̇O 2peak , 12 to 14 on Borg rating of perceived exertion) aerobic exercise per week for 24 wk or more or a nonexercising group that consisted of 150 min·wk -1 of relaxation techniques. One-month-old infant echocardiogram was performed to assess infant cardiac function , including heart rate (HR), left-ventricular stroke volume, cardiac output, cardiac index, ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and velocity time integral at the aortic valve.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of interventions addressing caregiver distress and burden among cancer caregivers.

Objective: Informal caregivers (ICs) are vital to supportive cancer care and assisting cancer patients, but this caregiving burden is associated with significant distress. While addressing caregiving, it is important to explore if the caregivers are receiving care they need. Evaluating interventions that address burden and distress is integral to targeting ICs needs.

Influence of prenatal exercise on the relationship between maternal overweight and obesity and select delivery outcomes.

Women with overweight or obesity (OWOB) have an increased risk of cesarean birth, preterm birth (PTB), and high birth weight infants. Although regular exercise decreases this risk in healthy weight women, these associations have not been explored in OWOB. Women were randomized at 13-16 weeks' gestation to 150-min of moderate-intensity exercise (n = 131) or non-exercising control (n = 61).

Representation of adults with rheumatoid arthritis in US-based randomized controlled exercise trials: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis to determine the representation of adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) according to sex, race, and ethnicity in exercise randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted in the USA. Exercise RCTs ≥ 4 weeks conducted in the USA in adults ≥ 18 years with RA were eligible. Studies were retrieved by searching six electronic databases, cross-referencing and searching a clinical trials registry.

Maternal Aerobic Exercise, but Not Blood Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Concentrations, during Pregnancy Influence Infant Body Composition.

Although discrete maternal exercise and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation individually are beneficial for infant body composition, the effects of exercise and PUFA during pregnancy on infant body composition have not been studied. This study evaluated the body composition of infants born to women participating in a randomized control exercise intervention study. Participants were randomized to aerobic exercise (n = 25) or control (stretching and breathing) groups (n = 10).

Response variation as a result of tai chi on resting blood pressure in hypertensive adults: An aggregate data meta-analysis.

Purpose: Determine if inter-individual response differences (IIRD) are present with respect to tai chi as a treatment for high blood pressure in adults with hypertension.

Methods: Using the aggregate data meta-analytic approach, seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) representing 503 hypertensive participants from a recent meta-analysis of tai chi on resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were included. Tai chi and control group change outcome standard deviations treated as point estimates for both resting SBP and DBP were used to calculate true IIRD from each study.

The Bone Biomarker Response to an Acute Bout of Exercise: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Background: Circulating biomarkers are often used to investigate the bone response to an acute bout of exercise, but heterogeneity in factors such as study design, quality, selected biomarkers, and exercise and participant characteristics render it difficult to synthesize and evaluate available evidence.

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of an acute exercise bout on bone biomarkers, along with the influence of potential moderators such as participant, exercise, and design characteristics, using a systematic review and meta-analytic approach.

Methods: The protocol was designed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines and prospectively published.