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Background: Probiotics may be an effective alternative to traditional drug therapy for constipation in the elderly. Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of probiotics in managing constipation among the elderly. Methods: Eight databases were queried for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating probiotics' efficacy in addressing constipation among the elderly until January 2023. The meta-analysis was conducted employing R software version 4.2.2. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was utilized to evaluate the risk of bias, and the GRADE approach was employed to assess the credibility of the evidence concerning the efficacy of probiotics in treating constipation in older individuals. Results: A total of six RCTs involving 444 patients were included. Two studies were rated as low risk of bias. The meta-analysis findings revealed that probiotics, when compared to a placebo, led to an increase in stool frequency (MD = 1.02,95% CI [0.21, 2.07], p<0.05, very low quality), the probiotic group exhibited a notable impact on ameliorating symptoms associated with constipation (OR = 11.28, 95%CI [7.21, 17.64], p < 0.05, very low quality), no significant disparities were observed in terms of efforts to evacuate, manual maneuvers, and the incidence of adverse events (p>0.05). Conclusion: The available evidence indicates a degree of uncertainty, ranging from low-to-very low, suggesting the efficacy of probiotics in augmenting bowel frequency and ameliorating constipation-related symptoms among elderly patients with constipation. Nevertheless, given the quality of the studies included, it is advisable to conduct further well-designed investigations with substantial sample sizes to substantiate the findings of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the Khorana score and modified Khorana score as risk assessment tools for predicting the development of VTE in newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer. Information on the clinical data and laboratory indicators of the study group between 2014 and 2018 and the validation group between January 2019 to June 2020 of newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer patients at The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology was collected. We conducted an analysis of the risk factors affecting VTE development and the predictive risk value of the Khorana score and the modified Khorana score for VTE in newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer patients. A total of 124 patients were included in the study group. D-dimer is an independent risk factor for VTE in newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer patients (OR 1.620, 95% CI 1.220, 2.152, p = 0.001). The best cutoff value of D -dimer for the prediction of VTE development risk was 1.14 mg/L. The AUC of the Khorana score to predict the occurrence risk of VTE in newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer patients was 0.706; when the best cutoff value was 2, the sensitivity was 70.83%, and the specificity was 65%. The AUC of the modified Khorana score was 0.870; when the cutoff value was 2, the sensitivity was 100%, and the specificity was 50%. A total of 237 patients were included in the validation group, the AUC of the modified Khorana score for predicting the occurrence risk of VTE was 0.875; when the cutoff value was 2, the sensitivity was 100%, and the specificity was 52.1%. The modified Khorana score after incorporating D-dimer has a higher predictive value for the occurrence risk of VTE in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients; when the score ≥ 2, its sensitivity is higher, and it can more fully identify high-risk groups of VTE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]