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Objective: Current guidelines have different recommendations on applying pharmacological interventions for managing cancer-related fatigue (CRF) among cancer survivors. This systematic review aims to synthesize clinical evidence on pharmacological interventions for managing CRF. Methods: Five databases were searched for potential randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from their inception until October 2020. RCTs assessing the effect of pharmacological treatments for CRF among cancer survivors were considered eligible. Clinical significance was determined by comparing the estimated effect with that of minimal important difference (MID). The risk of bias of each included RCT was appraised using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials 2. Data were synthesized using random-effect pairwise meta-analyses. Results: A total of 15 RCTs (1238 participants) were included. The majority presented some concerns of bias arising from the randomization process and selection of the reported results. Meta-analysis showed that psychostimulant and wakefulness agents had statistically significant while clinically insignificant effects on the treatment of CRF (pooled weighted mean difference [WMD]: 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2-5.4, I 2: 0%, 3 RCTs, MID: 3.0-6.0). Three natural products, including Renshen Yangrong Tang (mean difference [MD]: −16.1, 95% CI: −8.9 to −23.3, MID: −17.3 to −11.4), Tualang honey (MD: 11.2, 95% CI: 7.1-15.3, MID: 3.0-6.0), and Shenmai injection plus Peptisorb (MD: −1.6, 95% CI: −2.1 to −1.1, MID: −1.1 to −0.8) demonstrated statistically and clinically significant effect in reducing CRF. Conclusions: Existing evidence showed promising effects of 3 natural products in reducing CRF among cancer survivors. The results from this study need to be further confirmed with well-designed and adequately powered RCTs that use validated instruments for the measurement of CRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture and related therapies for primary carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) by conducting a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Data Sources: Nine databases were searched for potential RCTs from their inception till July 2019. Review Methods: RCTs which reported at least one of the three outcomes were included: symptom severity, functional status and pain. Included RCTs were appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Results: A total of 10 RCTs (728 participants) were included. Majority were at high risk of bias for blinding of participants, personnel and outcome assessors. When compared to conventional medications, manual acupuncture showed significant superior effect in reducing symptom than ibuprofen (mean difference (MD) on Symptom Severity Scale (SSS)) = –5.80, 95% confidence interval (CI): −7.95 to −3.65) and prednisolone (MD = −6.50, 95% CI: −10.1, −2.86). Electroacupuncture plus splinting was more effective in reducing symptom severity than splinting alone (SSS score: MD = −0.20, 95% CI: −0.36 to −0.03). Manual acupuncture showed significantly superior effect than ibuprofen in improving functional status (Functional Status Scale (FSS): MD = −1.84, 95% CI: −2.66 to −1.02). The combination of electroacupuncture and splinting showed more improvement in functional status compared to splinting alone (FSS: MD = −6.22, 95%CI: −10.7 to −1.71). Triple treatment of acupuncture, magnetic spectrum heat lamp and splinting showed stronger pain relief than splinting alone. Conclusion: For both symptom relief and function improvement, manual acupuncture is superior to ibuprofen while electroacupuncture plus splinting outperforms splinting alone. Limited evidence showed electroacupuncture's potential role in pain reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Urinary incontinence seriously affects older women's health and quality of life. • Nonsurgical interventions were recommended as a priority before invasive procedures. • Behavioral therapy plus Chinese herbal medicine was currently the optimal selection. • Future clinical studies on urinary incontinence require rigorous program design. To compare the effectiveness of existing nonsurgical interventions to improve or cure urinary incontinence in older women. Five English databases (Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsychINFO and the Cochrane Library) were searched from January 1, 2018, until August 27, 2023. Studies published before 2018 were directly extracted from a review published in 2019 on a similar research question. Three Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang and SinoMed) were searched from January 1, 2000, until August 27, 2023. Randomized controlled trials of nonsurgical interventions for women aged ≥ 60 years with urinary incontinence were considered eligible. The primary outcome was the rate of improvement and cure. Pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis were performed, with the pooled risk ratio (RR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) being reported. There were 15 intervention categories among the included 32 randomized controlled trials for older women with urinary incontinence. The combination of behavioral therapy with other interventions, including Chinese herbal medicine, electrical stimulation, and acupuncture were effective for both improvement and cure rates. Behavioral therapy plus Chinese herbal medicine was the most effective intervention category for both improvement and cure rates. Behavioral therapy plus Chinese herbal medicine was currently the optimal selection for the management of older women with urinary incontinence. However, the clinicians should carefully consider the effectiveness and quality of evidence because of the limited quality and quantity of the randomized controlled trials included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional treatments for functional dyspepsia (FD) are limited. Herbal medicine (HM) use is prevalent despite unclear comparative effectiveness among different formulae. This network meta-analysis (NMA) aimed to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of HM formulae for FD against placebo. Seven international and Chinese databases were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on HM versus placebo. Risk of bias among RCTs was assessed using Cochrane Risk-of-Bias Tool 2. Data from RCTs were extracted for random-effect pairwise meta-analyses. NMAs were performed to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of HM formulae. GRADE partially contextualised framework was adopted to facilitate NMA result interpretation. Twelve different HM formulae were identified from fifteen RCTs of mediocre quality. At 8-week follow-up, pairwise meta-analyses indicated that HM was superior to placebo in alleviating global symptoms (pooled risk difference (RD): 0.20; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11–0.29), with effect size larger than the minimally clinically important difference of 0.20 RD. Sensitivity analysis showed no significant impact on results attributable to risk of bias. NMAs demonstrated that Xiao Yao Pill and Modified Ban Xia Xie Xin Decoction probably have a large beneficial effect on alleviating global symptoms (RD: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.03–0.99) and postprandial fullness (standardised mean difference: −0.93; 95% credible interval: −1.61 to −0.06), respectively. No serious adverse events were reported. Xiao Yao Pill and Modified Ban Xia Xie Xin Decoction may be considered as an alternative among patients unresponsive to conventional treatments. The comparative effectiveness of these two formulae should be evaluated in future trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]