A methodological review identified several options for utilizing registries for randomized controlled trials.

Objectives: Registry-based randomized controlled trials (RRCTs) can provide internally valid results in a real-world context at relatively low effort and cost. However, the main characteristics, the extent to which the registry is utilized (eg, proportion of data from registry) and registry-related limitations are not well characterized. This methodological review of RRCTs aims to analyze the trial design features, investigate potential usage options, and identify possible limitations of using registry data for randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

[S3 Guideline: Treating Chronic Respiratory Failure with Non-invasive Ventilation].

The S3 guideline on non-invasive ventilation as a treatment for chronic respiratory failure was published on the website of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) in July 2024. It offers comprehensive recommendations for the treatment of chronic respiratory failure in various underlying conditions, such as COPD, thoraco-restrictive diseases, obesity-hypoventilation syndrome, and neuromuscular diseases. An important innovation is the separation of the previous S2k guideline dating back to 2017, which included both invasive and non-invasive ventilation therapy.

Adherence-enhancing interventions for pharmacological and oxygen therapy in patients with COPD: a systematic review and component network meta-analyses.

Introduction: Adherence to COPD management strategies is complex, and it is unclear which intervention may enhance it.

Objectives: We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of adherence-enhancing interventions, alone or compared to interventions, for patients with COPD.

Methods: This review comprises a component network meta-analysis with a structured narrative synthesis.

Interrupted Time Series for Assessing the Causality of Intervention Effects. Part 35 of a Series on Evaluating Scientific Publications.

Background: The gold standard for evaluating interventions in medicine and health care is the randomized controlled trial (RCT). In practice, however, RCTs may be difficult to conduct because of high costs, ethical aspects, or practical considerations. This is particularly true of studies on the population level, e.

Care pathways versus usual care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of care pathways (CPs) compared to usual care/no CPs for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

A re-analysis of about 60,000 sparse data meta-analyses suggests that using an adequate method for pooling matters.

In sparse data meta-analyses (with few trials or zero events), conventional methods may distort results. Although better-performing one-stage methods have become available in recent years, their implementation remains limited in practice. This study examines the impact of using conventional methods compared to one-stage models by re-analysing meta-analyses from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in scenarios with zero event trials and few trials.

Guidance on how to efficiently find, choose, and use available systematic reviews was developed.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to provide clinicians and authors of clinical guidelines or patient information with practical guidance on searching and choosing systematic reviews(s) (SR[s]) and, where adequate, on making use of SR(s).

Study Design And Setting: At the German conference of the Evidence-Based Medicine Network (EbM Network) a workshop on the topic was held to identify the most important areas where guidance for practice appears necessary. After the workshop, we established working groups.

Effects of amyloid-β-mimicking peptide hydrogel matrix on neuronal progenitor cell phenotype.

Self-assembling peptide-based hydrogels have become a highly attractive scaffold for three-dimensional (3D) in vitro disease modeling as they provide a way to create tunable matrices that can resemble the extracellular matrix (ECM) of various microenvironments. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an exceptionally complex neurodegenerative condition; however, our understanding has advanced due to the transition from two-dimensional (2D) to 3D in vitro modeling. Nonetheless, there is a current gap in knowledge regarding the role of amyloid structures, and previously developed models found long-term difficulty in creating an appropriate model involving the ECM and amyloid aggregates.

Methods for non-proportional hazards in clinical trials: A systematic review.

For the analysis of time-to-event data, frequently used methods such as the log-rank test or the Cox proportional hazards model are based on the proportional hazards assumption, which is often debatable. Although a wide range of parametric and non-parametric methods for non-proportional hazards has been proposed, there is no consensus on the best approaches. To close this gap, we conducted a systematic literature search to identify statistical methods and software appropriate under non-proportional hazard.

Recently activated CD4 T cells in tuberculosis express OX40 as a target for host-directed immunotherapy.

After Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, many effector T cells traffic to the lungs, but few become activated. Here we use an antigen receptor reporter mouse (Nur77-GFP) to identify recently activated CD4 T cells in the lungs. These Nur77-GFP cells contain expanded TCR clonotypes, have elevated expression of co-stimulatory genes such as Tnfrsf4/OX40, and are functionally more protective than Nur77-GFP cells.

Ambulatory Long-Term Oxygen Therapy in Patients with Severe COPD: A Randomized Crossover Trial to Compare Constant-Minute-Volume and Constant-Bolus Systems.

Background And Methods: Constant-minute-volume and constant-bolus devices serve as two different means of portable oxygen conservation. A prospective randomised crossover study was conducted in COPD GOLD IV patients to investigate the effect of these two devices on dyspnea, oxygenation and 6-minute walking test (6MWT) distance. The primary endpoint was the final operating level required (operating level range 1-5 for both devices) by either device to meet the success criteria for mobile oxygen therapy, as outlined in the British Thoracic Society guidelines (SpO ≥90% throughout 6MWT; ≥10% increase in walking distance from baseline; improvement in BORG of at least 1 point from baseline).

Unpacking nudge sensu lato: insights from a scoping review.

Nudges may play an important role in improving infection prevention and control (IPC) in hospitals. However, despite the novelty of the framework, their objectives, strategies and implementation approaches are not new. This review aims to provide an overview of the methods typically used by nudge interventions in IPC in hospitals targeting healthcare workers (HCWs).

Time since liver transplant and immunosuppression withdrawal outcomes: Systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background & Aims: Successful immunosuppression withdrawal (ISW) is possible for a subfraction of liver transplant (LT) recipients but the factors that define the risk of ISW failure are largely unknown. One candidate prognostic factor for ISW success or operational tolerance (OT) is longer time between LT and ISW which we term "pre-withdrawal time". To clarify the impact of pre-withdrawal time span on subsequent ISW success or failure, we conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Adherence enhancing interventions for pharmacological and oxygen therapy in patients with COPD: protocol for a systematic review and component network meta-analyses.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by hyperinflation and expiratory airflow limitation due to long-term exposure to irritants. The variety and complexity of COPD treatment and the possible added comorbidities may make the patients find it difficult to cope with the required medications. That is why supporting patients' adherence is critical because not taking medications correctly increases the risk of complications and creates an additional financial burden.

AMSTAR 2 is only partially applicable to systematic reviews of non-intervention studies: a meta-research study.

Objectives: A measurement tool to assess systematic reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) was originally developed for systematic reviews (SRs) of health-care interventions. The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of AMSTAR 2 to SRs of non-intervention studies.

Study Design And Setting: This was a meta-research study.

Clinical utility of overviews on adverse events of pharmacological interventions.

Background: Overviews (i.e., systematic reviews of systematic reviews, meta-reviews, umbrella reviews) are a relatively new type of evidence synthesis.

Cost-effectiveness of prehabilitation prior to elective surgery: a systematic review of economic evaluations.

Background: Prehabilitation aims at enhancing patients' functional capacity and overall health status to enable them to withstand a forthcoming stressor like surgery. Our aim was to synthesise the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of prehabilitation for patients awaiting elective surgery compared with usual preoperative care.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, the CRD database, ClinicalTrials.

Systematic reviewers used various approaches to data extraction and expressed several research needs: a survey.

Objective: Data extraction is a prerequisite for analyzing, summarizing, and interpreting evidence in systematic reviews. Yet guidance is limited, and little is known about current approaches. We surveyed systematic reviewers on their current approaches to data extraction, opinions on methods, and research needs.

Safety outcomes of direct oral anticoagulants in older adults with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of (subgroup analyses from) randomized controlled trials.

Balancing stroke prevention and risk of bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is challenging. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are by now considered standard of care for treating patients with AF in international guidelines. Our objective was to assess the safety of long-term intake of DOACs in older adults with AF.

Peptide Hydrogels as Immunomaterials and Their Use in Cancer Immunotherapy Delivery.

Peptide-based hydrogel biomaterials have emerged as an excellent strategy for immune system modulation. Peptide-based hydrogels are supramolecular materials that self-assemble into various nanostructures through various interactive forces (i.e.

The use of digital web-based video training for correct inhalation technique during the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://bit.ly/3lYQwsD.

Protocol for the development of a core outcome set for studies on centralisation of healthcare services.

Introduction: Centralisation defined as the reorganisation of healthcare services into fewer specialised units serving a higher volume of patients is a potential measure for healthcare reforms aiming at reducing costs while improving quality. Research on centralisation of healthcare services is thus essential to inform decision-makers. However, so far studies on centralisation report a variability of outcomes, often neglecting outcomes at the health system level.