Baselines meta-analysis

The analysis carried out by Schwartz (1994) included a total of eight studies, three longitudinal and five cross-sectional, relating blood lead to Full Scale IQ in school age children. To evaluate potential confounding, the baseline meta-analysis was followed by sensitivity analyses in order to contrast results... 

Using meta-analytic techniques based on the means and the standard errors presented graphically in the poster, we estimated pooled data of the four effective dosages of quetiapine both for the BPRS and the CGI severity of illness change scores from baseline to endpoint. Quetiapine produced an improvement of 0.43 effect-size units in comparison with placebo, a difference that was highly statistically significant and about the same improvement as haloperidol. Thus, based on the BPRS or PANSS, quetiapine was similar to neuroleptics in efficacy (i.e., differences were nonsignificant). Based on our meta-analysis, quetiapine is clearly superior to... 

There was a significant rise in baseline serum prolactin concentration in 10 patients after they had taken risperidone for a mean of 12 weeks compared with 10 patients who were tested after a neuroleptic drug-free wash-out period of at least 2 weeks (1014). A non-significant increase in serum prolactin has also been observed in an open comparison of risperidone with other neuroleptic drugs in 28 patients (1015). However, in a meta-analysis of two independent studies (n = 404), prolactin was greatly increased by risperidone (mean change 45-80 ng/ml), a larger effect than with olanzapine and haloperidol (1016). 

The use of corticosteroids in the treatment of septic shock has been a topic of controversy for many years. A meta-analysis of early studies of steroids in sepsis demonstrated a lack of benefit and potential harm in sepsis and septic shock. There is a renewed interest in corticosteroid use because of the increased awareness of adrenocortical insufficiency in critically ill patients with septic shock. Relative adrenal insufficiency has been defined as a poor adrenal response [<250 nmol/L (9 mcg/dL) irrespective of the initial serum cortisol level] to a dose of synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), indicating a low fnnctional reserve of the adrenal cortex. Although absolute insufficiency is rare, relative adrenocortical insufficiency in the presence of normal or high cortisol concentrations at baseline is present in 30% to 50% of patients with septic shock and is associated with a poor outcome. ... 

The role of oral steroid use in chronic stable COPD patients was evaluated in a meta-analysis over a decade ago. Investigators concluded that only a small fraction (10%) of COPD patients treated with steroids showed clinically significant improvement in baseline FEVi (increase of 20%) compared with those treated with placebo. While a small number of COPD patients are considered responders to oral steroids, many of these patients actually may have an asthmatic, or reversible, component to their disease. The best predictors for response to oral steroids is the presence of eosinophils on sputum examination (>3%) and a significant response on pulmonary function tests to sympathomimetics. Both the presence of eosinophils in sputum and the responsiveness to sympathomimetics suggest an asthmatic component to the disease process and thus may explain the clinical benefit seen with steroids. 

Although a few studies show a benefit of soy products on BP, the majority of evidence from clinical trials indicates that soy consumption does not significantly improve BP (Balk et al., 2005). A meta-analysis of 21 studies conducted through 2004 reported a net change of—1 mm Hg for both SBP and DBP (Balk et al., 2005). Changes in BP do not appear to be influenced by baseline BP, independent soy protein or isoflavone consumption, soy incorporated into the diet or taken as a supplement, gender, or menopausal status (Balk et al., 2005). 

Type-2 diabetes mellitus is known to increase dramatically the risk of cardiovascular death, as shown, among several other studies, in the large cohort of 340,000 men screened in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial 11], Useful information has also been provided by the Hypertension Optimal Treatment (HOT) study [2], with analyses comparing cardiovascular outcomes in 1,503 diabetic hypertensives and 17,230 non-diabetic hypertensives, all subjected to intense antihypertensive treatment incidences of myocardial infarction, stroke, all major cardiovascular events, cardiovascular and all-cause mortalities were much higher in diabetics than in non-diabetics with relative risk of 1.45-2.13 even after adjusting for all other baseline risk factors (Fig. 1). Calculations from a recent meta-analysis of antihypertensive treatment trials... 

WAVE investigators. The effects of oral anticoagulants in patients witii peripheral arterial disease rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of tiie Warfarin and Antiplatelet Vascular Evaluation (WA ) trial, including a meta-analysis of trials. Am Heart J (2006) 151, 1-9. 

In this meta-analysis, major malformations were defined as potentially life threatening or a major eosmetie defeet .In the general population there is a 1-3% baseline risk for major malformations. Estimate ineidenee via eohort studies indieated 2 studies with a total of 7 malformations in 564 exposures or 1.2% rate of malformations whieh falls within the baseline risk for major malformations. 

Comparative studies In a meta-analysis of 48 studies clozapine produced statistically significantly more weight gain (from baseline to end-point, 2-6 months) than risperidone (mean difference=2.86 kg n = 459 in... 

Blanchon T, Brechot JM, Grenier PA et al. (2007) Baseline results of the Depiscan study a French randomized pilot trial of lung cancer screening comparing low dose CT scan (LDCT) and chest X-ray (CXR). Lung Cancer 58 50-58 Bonovas S, Filioussi K, Flordellis CS et al. (2007) Statins and the risk of colorectal cancer a meta-analysis of 18 studies involving more than 1.5 million patients. J Clin Oncol 25 3462-3468... 

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