Background: Biopsy-based diagnosis in patients with paraesophageal intrapulmonary tumors suspected of lung cancer is crucial for adequate treatment planning. Objective: To evaluate the performance of transesophageal endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in the diagnosis of intrapulmonary tumors located near or adjacent to the esophagus. Methods: We performed a systematic...

BACKGROUND Peripheral blood Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) levels have been proposed as biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but previous studies on levels of ApoE in blood remain inconsistent. This meta-analysis was designed to re-examine the potential role of peripheral ApoE in AD diagnosis and its potential value as a candidate biomarker. METHODS We conducted a systematic literature search of ...

BACKGROUND Suspected acute appendicitis is the most frequent cause for emergency operations in visceral surgery worldwide. In approximately twenty percent of all cases however, the diagnosis is incorrect and patients undergo surgery without having acute appendicitis. Operations of bland appendices put patients at risk and entail a serious waste of resources. Several highly accurate tests have b...

BACKGROUND Our goal was to perform a systematic review of the literature on the use of therapeutic hypothermia for refractory status epilepticus (RSE) and its impact on seizure control. METHODS All articles from MEDLINE, BIOSIS, EMBASE, Global Health, HealthStar, Scopus, Cochrane Library, the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (inception to May 2014), reference lists of relevant ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the status of transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMLR) from an evidence-based perspective to help hospitals make resource management decisions. STUDY DESIGN Qualitative systematic review of the clinical literature. METHODS We searched the reference databases MEDLINE, BIOSIS, EMBASE, SciSearch, and Current Contents to identify all articles related to TMLR publishe...

Several studies have been conducted in recent years to evaluate the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) and polymorphisms of interleukin-10 (IL-10). However, the results were conflicting. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis of published case-control studies to assess this association. Systematic searches of electronic databases PubMed Web of Science, BIOSIS Previews, Science Direct, Chinese...

PURPOSE To conduct a systematic review of the literature evaluating tai chi exercise as an intervention for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or with CVD risk factors (CVDRF). METHODS We searched (1) MEDLINE, CAB Alt HealthWatch, BIOSIS previews, Science Citation Index, EMBASE, and Social Science Citation Index from inception through October 2007; (2) Chinese Medical Database, China ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the evidence for the efficacy of ginseng (Panax spp.) on cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, lipid profiles, and blood glucose, and to summarize reported cardiovascular adverse events. DATA SOURCES We searched MEDLINE, AMED, BIOSIS, CAB, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials databases through July 2005 and performed hand searches of bibliographies....

Targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) during or in sequence with chemotherapy improves overall survival in metastatic and early HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. In this paper we systematically review neoadjuvant clinical trial data in HER2-positive breast cancer and discuss key unanswered clinical questions. All trials of HER2-targeted neoadjuvant therapy were identified t...

BACKGROUND Clinicians are encouraged to screen people with chronic physical illness for depression. Screening alone may not improve outcomes, especially if the process is incompatible with patient beliefs. The aim of this research is to understand people's beliefs about depression, particularly in the presence of chronic physical disease. METHODS A mixed method systematic review involving a t...