Systematic review and meta-analysis to compare outcomes between intermediate- and high-risk patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Aims: Recent studies have reported non-inferior outcomes for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) compared with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in intermediate-risk patients. However, a comparison of outcomes among TAVI patients depending upon the surgical risk score has not been performed in a large study. Our aim was to compare the outcomes of TAVI in low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients, to ascertain if the morbidity and mortality is related to the patient's risk profile or the procedure itself.

Efficacy and Complications of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation With and Without Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty.

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an effective treatment for severe aortic stenosis in high-risk patients. Several complications related to the TAVI procedure, including aortic regurgitation (AR), cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and the requirement for permanent pacemaker (PPM), are thought to be secondary to balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) before TAVI. The aim of the present review was to evaluate any beneficial role of the direct TAVI approach over BAVTAVI.

Mass media interventions for preventing smoking in young people.

Background: Mass media interventions can be used as a way of delivering preventive health messages. They have the potential to reach and modify the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of a large proportion of the community.

Objectives: To assess the effects of mass media interventions on preventing smoking in young people, and whether it can reduce smoking uptake among youth (under 25 years), improve smoking attitudes, intentions and knowledge, improve self-efficacy/self-esteem, and improve perceptions about smoking, including the choice to follow positive role models.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Intermediate Surgical Risk Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Recent data from randomised and observational studies have reported non-inferior outcomes for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) compared to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in intermediate-risk patients. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the mortality of TAVI compared to SAVR in intermediate-risk patients.

Methods: A comprehensive search of four major databases (Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar) was performed from their inception to 29 April 2016.

Psychological therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (commonly referred to as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) is a chronic lung condition characterised by the inflammation of airways and irreversible destruction of pulmonary tissue leading to progressively worsening dyspnoea. It is a leading international cause of disability and death in adults. Evidence suggests that there is an increased prevalence of anxiety disorders in people with COPD.

Experiences of parents and carers in managing asthma in children: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

The overarching objective of this review is to enhance understanding of the lived experiences of parents and carers in managing a child with asthma. Enablers and barriers encountered by parents will be examined and findings of the review will be used to develop recommendations for enhancing policy and practice aimed at improving asthma management for children and their families.The specific objective of this review is to critically appraise and synthesize the best available evidence based on qualitative studies exploring the experiences of parents and carers in managing their child's asthma.

Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction procedures for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: In the recent years, a variety of bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) procedures have emerged that may provide a treatment option to participants suffering from moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objectives: To assess the effects of BLVR on the short- and long-term health outcomes in participants with moderate to severe COPD and determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of each individual technique.

Search Methods: Studies were identified from the Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register (CAGR) and by handsearching of respiratory journals and meeting abstracts.

Lung volume reduction surgery for diffuse emphysema.

Background: Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) performed to treat patients with severe diffuse emphysema was reintroduced in the nineties. Lung volume reduction surgery aims to resect damaged emphysematous lung tissue, thereby increasing elastic properties of the lung. This treatment is hypothesised to improve long-term daily functioning and quality of life, although it may be costly and may be associated with risks of morbidity and mortality.

Meta-analysis of admission hyperglycaemia in acute myocardial infarction patients treated with primary angioplasty: a cause or a marker of mortality?

Aims: Admission hyperglycaemia (AH) has been associated with worse outcomes in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In the current review, we evaluated the impact of primary angioplasty (pPCI) on mortality in AMI patients with AH. Our second aim was to evaluate if AH is a marker of baseline risk or an independent predictor of mortality.

A meta analysis of current status of alcohol septal ablation and surgical myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Objective: Our objective was to perform an updated systematic review to compare the efficacy and short- and long-term mortality of surgical myectomy (SM) and alcohol septal ablation (ASA) by including most recent and largest cohort studies published in last few years.

Background: SM and ASA are the two invasive strategies used to relieve left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) in patients with drug refractory symptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In the absence of a randomized trial, we tried to compare the pros and cons of the two procedures using a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Prolonged antibiotics for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in children and adults.

Background: The vicious cycle hypothesis for bronchiectasis predicts that bacterial colonisation of the respiratory tract perpetuates inflammatory change. This damages the mucociliary escalator, preventing bacterial clearance and allowing persistence of pro-inflammatory mediators. Conventional treatment with physiotherapy and intermittent antibiotics is believed to improve the condition of people with bronchiectasis, although no conclusive data show that these interventions influence the natural history of the condition.

Asthma Bronchiale and Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction.

Exercising regularly has a wide range of beneficial health effects; in particular, it has been well documented to help in the management of chronic illnesses including asthma. However, in some individuals, exertion can also trigger an exacerbation of asthmatic episodes and subsequent acute attacks of breathlessness, coughing, tightness of the chest and wheezing. This physiological process is called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) whereby post-exercise forced expiratory volume in 1 s is reduced by 10-15% from baseline.

Natural history of cardiac arrest in patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Cardiac arrest (CA) is relatively rare but lethal complication of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC). In most instances, patients are diagnosed with TTC after CA, making it difficult to distinguish if TTC is the precipitant or the consequence of the index event. In this systematic review, patient-level data were obtained to seek out the characteristics of patients in whom the underlying cause of CA is TTC.

Safety of varenicline tartrate and counseling versus counseling alone for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial for inpatients (STOP study).

Introduction: Inpatient medical settings offer an opportunistic environment for initiating smoking cessation interventions to patients reflecting on their health. Current evidence has shown the superior efficacy of varenicline tartrate (VT) for smoking cessation compared with other tobacco cessation therapies; however, recent evidence also has highlighted concerns about the safety and tolerability of VT. Given these apprehensions, we aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of VT plus quitline-counseling compared to quitline-counseling alone in the inpatient medical setting.

Ambulatory oxygen for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are not hypoxaemic at rest.

Background: People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often become transiently hypoxaemic (low oxygen levels in blood) on exercise, necessitating oxygen therapy to improve breathlessness and exercise capacity and to reduce disability. Ambulatory oxygen therapy refers to provision of oxygen therapy during exercise and activities of daily living. Ambulatory oxygen therapy is often used by patients on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) during exercise or by non-LTOT users with or without resting hypoxaemia when they show evidence of exercise de-saturation and demonstrate improvement in exercise capacity with supplemental oxygen.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of incidence and correlates of recurrence of takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Aim: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a disorder of myocardial inflammation induced by high catecholamine levels and is associated with acute complications. In the long-term TTC is associated with a risk of single or multiple recurrences, but risk of such occurrences is not clear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and consolidate the evidence on the incidence and clinical correlates of cases of TTC recurrence.

Meta-analysis of clinical correlates of acute mortality in takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

The incidence and clinical correlates of acute in-hospital mortality of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) are not clear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to consolidate the current evidence on acute mortality in TTC. We then assessed the impact of "secondary" TTC, male gender, advancing age, and catecholamine use on mortality.

Effects of aGVHD and cGVHD according to relapse status on survival rate in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Objectives: Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is an exaggerated and dysregulated response of the normal immune system to tissue damage that is intrinsic to transplantation. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of acute GVHD (aGVHD) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) according to relapse status on the survival rate in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).

Methods: Patients with ALL (n = 425) between 1991 and 2011, who underwent bone marrow transplantation and stem cell transplantation in Tehran (Iran), were recruited into a longitudinal study.

Noninvasive ventilation in acute severe asthma: current evidence and future perspectives.

Purpose Of Review: The use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is often employed for the management of acute respiratory failure as an alternative to endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. However, evidence to support the application of NPPV use in patients with acute severe asthma is less known.

Recent Findings: A paucity of evidence is available to support the use of NPPV as part of clinical care in patients with acute severe asthma.

The association between tramadol hydrochloride misuse and other substances use in an adolescent population: Phase I of a prospective survey.

Background: Tramadol hydrochloride is a common prescription pain reliever that is structurally similar to morphine and codeine with its analgesic effects identified as a mu-receptor agonist. Due to its opioid-like stimulant effects, the potential for tramadol misuse is a public health concern. As such, the aim of this investigation is to estimate the prevalence of tramadol misuse in a sample of Iranian adolescents and to assess the relationship between tramadol misuse and other substance use.

Physical training for asthma.

Background: People with asthma may show less tolerance to exercise due to worsening asthma symptoms during exercise or other reasons such as deconditioning as a consequence of inactivity. Some may restrict activities as per medical advice or family influence and this might result in reduced physical fitness. Physical training programs aim to improve physical fitness, neuromuscular coordination and self confidence.

Current and emerging pharmacotherapeutic options for smoking cessation.

Tobacco smoking remains the single most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries and poses a significant threat across developing countries where tobacco use prevalence is increasing. Nicotine dependence is a chronic disease often requiring multiple attempts to quit; repeated interventions with pharmacotherapeutic aids have become more popular as part of cessation therapies. First-line medications of known efficacy in the general population include varenicline tartrate, bupropion hydrochloride, nicotine replacement therapy products, or a combination thereof.

Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation for treatment of respiratory failure due to severe acute exacerbations of asthma.

Background: Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition causing inflammation and changes to the airways. Care of people with asthma includes routine and urgent management across primary and tertiary care; however, due to sub-optimal long-term care and delays in obtaining help during acute exacerbations, the mortality and morbidity related to asthma is still a major health concern. There is reason to believe that non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) could be beneficial to patients with severe acute asthma; however, the evidence surrounding the efficacy of NPPV is unclear, despite its common use in clinical practice.