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Biomedical subjects

Paul G Shekelle

Publications and source records attributed to Paul G Shekelle.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Will my patient fall?

CONTEXT: Effective multifactorial interventions reduce the frequent falling rate of older patients by 30% to 40%. However, clinical consensus suggests reserving these interventions for high-risk patients. Limiting fall prevention programs to high-risk patients implies that clinicians must recognize features that predict future falls. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prognostic value of risk factors for future falls among older patients. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: Search of MEDLINE (1966-September 2004), CINAHL (1982-September 2004), and authors' own files to identify prospective cohort studies of risk factors for falls that performed a multivariate analysis of such factors. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently determined inclusion of articles and assessed study quality. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. Included studies were those identifying the prognostic value of risk factors for future falls among community-dwelling persons 65 years and older. Clinically identifiable risk factors were identified across 6 domains: orthostatic hypotension, visual impairment, impairment of gait or balance, medication use, limitations in basic or instrumental activities of daily living, and cognitive impairment. DATA SYNTHESIS: Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria and provided a multivariate analysis including at least 1 of the risk factor domains. The estimated pretest probability of falling at least once in any given year for individuals 65 years and older was 27% (95% confidence interval, 19%-36%). Patients who have fallen in the past year are more likely to fall again [likelihood ratio range, 2.3-2.8]. The most consistent predictors of future falls are clinically detected abnormalities of gait or balance (likelihood ratio range, 1.7-2.4). Visual impairment, medication variables, decreased activities of daily living, and impaired cognition did not consistently predict falls across studies. Orthostatic hypotension did not predict falls after controlling for other factors. CONCLUSIONS: Screening for risk of falling during the clinical examination begins with determining if the patient has fallen in the past year. For patients who have not previously fallen, screening consists of an assessment of gait and balance. Patients who have fallen or who have a gait or balance problem are at higher risk of future falls.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2006

Development of quality indicators for patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer type among new cancer diagnoses in the United States. Attention to the quality of surgical care for colorectal cancer is of particular importance given the increasing numbers of colorectal cancer resections performed in the aging population. A National Cancer Institute-sponsored consensus panel produced guidelines for colorectal cancer surgery in 2000. We have updated and extended that work by using a formal process to identify and rate quality indicators as valid for care during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods. METHODS: Using a modification of the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Methodology, we carried out structured interviews with leaders in the field of colorectal cancer surgery and systematic reviews of the literature to identify candidate quality indicators addressing perioperative care for patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer. A panel of 14 colorectal surgeons, general surgeons, and surgical oncologists then evaluated and formally rated the indicators using the modified Delphi method to identify valid indicators. RESULTS: A total of 142 candidate indicators were identified in six broad domains: privileging (which addresses surgical credentials), preoperative evaluation, patient-provider discussions, medication use, intraoperative care, and postoperative management. The expert panel rated 92 indicators as valid. These indicators address all domains of perioperative care for patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Methodology can be used to identify and rate indicators of high-quality perioperative care for patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer. The indicators can be used as quality performance measures and for quality-improvement programs.

Colectomy↗
PubMed2006

Quality measures for symptoms and advance care planning in cancer: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Measuring quality of care for symptom management and ascertaining patient goals offers an important step toward improving palliative cancer management. This study was designed to identify systematically the quality measures and the evidence to support their use in pain, dyspnea, depression, and advance care planning (ACP), and to identify research gaps. METHODS: English-language documents were selected from MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, PsycINFO (1995 to 2005); Internet-based searches; and contact with measure developers. We used terms for each domain to select studies throughout the cancer care continuum. We included measures that expressed a normative relationship to quality, specified the target population, and specified the indicated care. Dual data review and abstraction was performed by palliative care researchers describing populations, testing, and attributes for each measure. RESULTS: A total of 4,599 of 5,182 titles were excluded at abstract review. Of 537 remaining articles, 19 contained measures for ACP, six contained measures for depression, five contained measures for dyspnea, and 20 contained measures for pain. We identified 10 relevant measure sets that included 36 fully specified or fielded measures and 14 additional measures (16 for pain, five for dyspnea, four for depression, and 25 for ACP). Most measures were unpublished, and few had been tested in a cancer population. We were unable to describe the specifications of all measures fully and did not search for measures for pain and depression that were not cancer specific. CONCLUSION: Measures are available for assessing quality and guiding improvement in palliative cancer care. Existing measures are weighted toward ACP, and more nonpain symptom measures are needed. Additional testing is needed before the measures are used for accountability, and basic research is required to address measurement when self-report is impaired.

Advance Care Planning↗
PubMed2006

Patients' global ratings of their health care are not associated with the technical quality of their care.

BACKGROUND: Patient global ratings of care are commonly used to assess health care. However, the extent to which these assessments of care are related to the technical quality of care received is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between patient-reported global ratings of health care and the quality of providers' communication and technical quality of care. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: 2 managed care organizations. PATIENTS: Vulnerable older patients identified by brief interviews of a random sample of community-dwelling adults 65 years of age or older who received care in 2 managed care organizations during a 13-month period. MEASUREMENTS: Survey questions from the second stage of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems program were used to determine patients' global rating of health care and provider communication. A set of 236 quality indicators, defined by the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders project, were used to measure technical quality of care given for 22 clinical conditions; 207 quality indicators were evaluated by using data from chart abstraction or patient interview. RESULTS: Data on the global rating item, communication scale, and technical quality of care score were available for 236 vulnerable older patients. In a multivariate logistic regression model that included patient and clinical factors, better communication was associated with higher global ratings of health care. Technical quality of care was not significantly associated with the global rating of care. LIMITATIONS: Findings were limited to vulnerable elders who were enrolled in managed care organizations and may not be generalizable to other age groups or types of insurance coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Vulnerable elders' global ratings of care should not be used as a marker of technical quality of care. Assessments of quality of care should include both patient evaluations and independent assessments of technical quality.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Quality of osteoarthritis care for community-dwelling older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the quality of osteoarthritis care provided to community-dwelling elderly patients and to characterize arthritis-related function in these patients. METHODS: Two medical groups in the western United States participated in a practice-redesign intervention targeted at falls and mobility disorders, incontinence, and cognitive impairment, but not osteoarthritis. From 339 individuals reporting a diagnosis of arthritis, we collected information on demographics, functional status, and quality of care via patient interviews and mailed questionnaires. Eight quality indicators measured osteoarthritis care: 4 indicators measuring the provision of effective osteoarthritis care (osteoarthritis treatment indicators) and 4 measuring the provision of safe osteoarthritis care (medication safety indicators). RESULTS: The mean +/- SD Short Form 12 physical component summary score was 35 +/- 11 points, indicating a physically frail population. The overall indicator pass rate was 57.0% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 53.9-60.2). Pass rates were higher for indicators of osteoarthritis treatment (63.5%, 95% CI 59.8-67.2) than for indicators of medication safety (43.8%, 95% CI 38.2-49.4). Patients with hip or knee pain had mean +/- SD Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index pain, stiffness, and function scores of 6.0 +/- 4.0, 3.1 +/- 1.7, and 25 +/- 12 points, respectively. CONCLUSION: Quality of osteoarthritis care for older adults is suboptimal, particularly with regard to medication safety. Given the high prevalence of osteoarthritis in older age groups, the population impact of any improvement in quality would be substantial. Quality improvement efforts for osteoarthritis should target appropriate use of and counseling regarding medications, as well as underuse of efficacious therapy for osteoarthritis.

Aged, 80 and over↗
PubMed2006

Systematic review: impact of health information technology on quality, efficiency, and costs of medical care.

BACKGROUND: Experts consider health information technology key to improving efficiency and quality of health care. PURPOSE: To systematically review evidence on the effect of health information technology on quality, efficiency, and costs of health care. DATA SOURCES: The authors systematically searched the English-language literature indexed in MEDLINE (1995 to January 2004), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and the Periodical Abstracts Database. We also added studies identified by experts up to April 2005. STUDY SELECTION: Descriptive and comparative studies and systematic reviews of health information technology. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently extracted information on system capabilities, design, effects on quality, system acquisition, implementation context, and costs. DATA SYNTHESIS: 257 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies addressed decision support systems or electronic health records. Approximately 25% of the studies were from 4 academic institutions that implemented internally developed systems; only 9 studies evaluated multifunctional, commercially developed systems. Three major benefits on quality were demonstrated: increased adherence to guideline-based care, enhanced surveillance and monitoring, and decreased medication errors. The primary domain of improvement was preventive health. The major efficiency benefit shown was decreased utilization of care. Data on another efficiency measure, time utilization, were mixed. Empirical cost data were limited. LIMITATIONS: Available quantitative research was limited and was done by a small number of institutions. Systems were heterogeneous and sometimes incompletely described. Available financial and contextual data were limited. CONCLUSIONS: Four benchmark institutions have demonstrated the efficacy of health information technologies in improving quality and efficiency. Whether and how other institutions can achieve similar benefits, and at what costs, are unclear.

Biomedical Technology↗
PubMed2006

Comparison of administrative data and medical records to measure the quality of medical care provided to vulnerable older patients.

BACKGROUND: Administrative data are used to determine performance for publicly reported in health plan "report cards," accreditation status, and reimbursement. However, it is unclear how performance based on administrative data and medical records compare. METHODS: We compared applicability, eligibility, and performance on 182 measures of health care quality using medical records and administrative data during a 13-month period for a random sample of 399 vulnerable older patients enrolled in managed care. RESULTS: Of 182 quality indicators (QIs) spanning 22 conditions, 145 (80%) were applicable only to medical records and 37 (20%) to either medical records or administrative data. Among 48 QIs specific to geriatric conditions, all were applicable to medical records; 2 of these also were applicable to administrative data. Eligibility for the 37 QIs that were applicable to both medical records and administrative data was similar for both data sources (94% agreement, kappa = 0.74). With the use of medical records, 152 of the 182 the QIs that were applicable to medical records were triggered and yielded an overall performance of 55%. Using administrative data, 30 of the 37 QIs that were applicable to administrative data were triggered and yielded overall performance of 83% (P < 0.05 vs. medical records). Restricting to QIs applicable to both data sources, overall performance was 84% and 83% (P = 0.21) for medical records and administrative data, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The number and spectrum of QIs that can be measured for vulnerable elderly patients is far greater for medical records than for administrative data. Although summary estimates of health care quality derived from administrative data and medical records do not differ when using identical measures, summary scores from these data sources vary substantially when the totality of care that can be measured by each data source is measured.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

The state of women veterans' health research. Results of a systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the state of women veterans' health research. DESIGN: Systematic review of studies that pertained specifically to or included explicit information about women veterans. A narrative synthesis of studies in 4 domains/topics was conducted: Stress of military life; Health and performance of military/VA women; Health services research/quality of care; and Psychiatric conditions. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We identified 182 studies. Of these, 2 were randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) and the remainder used observational designs. Forty-five percent of studies were VA funded. We identified 77 studies pertaining to the stress of military life, of which 21 reported on sexual harassment or assault. Rates of harassment ranged from 55% to 79% and rates of sexual assault from 4.2% to 7.3% in active duty military women and 11% to 48% among women veterans. Forty-two studies concerned the health and performance of military/VA women, with 21 studies evaluating sexual assault and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their effect on health. Fifty-nine studies assessed various aspects of health services research. Eight studies assessed quality of care and 5, patient satisfaction. Twenty-five studies assessed utilization and health care organization, and findings include that women veterans use the VA less than men, that gender-specific reasons for seeking care were common among female military and veteran personnel, that provision of gender-specific care increased women veterans' use of VA, and that virtually all VAs have available on-site basic women's health services. Fifty studies were classified as psychiatric; 31 of these were about the risk, prevalence, and treatment of PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: Most research on VA women's health is descriptive in nature and has concerned PTSD, sexual harassment and assault, the utilization and organization of care, and various psychiatric conditions. Experimental studies and studies of the quality of care are rare.

Female↗
PubMed2006

Antioxidants vitamin C and vitamin e for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the evidence of the supplements vitamin C and vitamin E for treatment and prevention of cancer. METHODS: Systematic review of trials and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES AND MAIN RESULTS: Thirty-eight studies showed scant evidence that vitamin C or vitamin E beneficially affects survival. In the ATBC Cancer Prevention Study Group, no statistically significant effect of treatment was seen for any cancer individually, and our pooled relative risk (regardless of tumor type) for alpha-tocopherol alone was 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74, 1.12). All cause mortality was not significant. In the Linxian General Population Trial, the relative risks for cancer death for vitamin C (combined with molybdenum) was 1.06 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.21) and for vitamin E (combined with beta-carotene and selenium) was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.76, 1.00). We identified only 3 studies that reported statistically significant beneficial results: vitamin C (in combination with BCG) was found to be beneficial in a single trial of bladder cancer and vitamin E (in combination with omega-3 fatty acid) increased survival in patients with advanced cancer. In the ATBC trial, in analyses of 6 individual cancers, the prevention of prostate cancer in subjects treated with alpha-tocopherol was statistically significant (RR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: The systematic review of the literature does not support the hypothesis that the use of supplements of vitamin C or vitamin E in the doses tested helps prevent and/or treat cancer in the populations tested. There were isolated findings of benefit, which require confirmation.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed2005

Do proxies reflect patients' health concerns about urinary incontinence and gait problems?

BACKGROUND: While falls and urinary incontinence are prevalent among older patients, who sometimes rely on proxies to provide their health information, the validity of proxy reports of concern about falls and urinary incontinence remains unknown. METHODS: Telephone interviews with 43 consecutive patients with falls or fear of falling and/or bothersome urinary incontinence and their proxies chosen by patients as most knowledgeable about their health. The questionnaire included items derived from the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12 (SF-12), a scale assessing concerns about urinary incontinence (UI), and a measure of fear of falling, the Falls Efficacy Scale (FES). Scores were estimated using items asking the proxy perspective (6 items from the SF-12, 10 items from a UI scale, and all 10 FES items). Proxy and patient scores were compared using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC, one-way model). Variables associated with absolute agreement between patients and proxies were explored. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 81 years (range 75-93) and 67% were female while proxies had a mean age of 70 (range 42-87) and 49% were female. ICCs were 0.63 for the SF-12, 0.52 for the UI scale, and 0.29 for the FES. Proxies tended to understate patients' general health and incontinence concern, but overstate patients' concern about falling. Proxies who lived with patients and those who more often see patients more closely reflected patient FES scores compared to those who lived apart or those who saw patients less often. Internal consistency reliability of proxy responses was 0.62 for the SF-12, 0.86 for the I-QOL, and 0.93 for the FES. In addition, construct validity of the proxy FES scale was supported by greater proxy-perceived fear of falling for patients who received medical care after a fall during the past 12 months (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Caution should be exercised when using proxies as a source of information about older patients' health perceptions. Questions asking about proxies' views yield suboptimal agreement with patient responses. However, proxy scales of UI and fall concern are internally consistent and may provide valid independent information.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2005

Developing quality indicators for elderly patients undergoing abdominal operations.

BACKGROUND: Although the expanding and aging population will likely increase demand for surgical services, surgeons and other providers must develop strategies to optimize care. We sought to develop process-based quality indicators for elderly patients undergoing abdominal operations to identify necessary and meaningful ways to improve care in this cohort. STUDY DESIGN: Through structured interviews with thought leaders and systematic reviews of the literature, we identified candidate quality indicators addressing perioperative care in elderly patients undergoing abdominal operations. Using a modification of the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Methodology, an expert panel of physicians in surgery, geriatrics, anesthesia, internal, and rehabilitation medicine formally rated and discussed the indicators. RESULTS: Eighty-nine candidate indicators were identified and categorized into seven domains: comorbidity assessment (eg, cardiopulmonary disease), elderly issues (eg, cognition), medication use (eg, polypharmacy), patient-to-provider discussions (eg, life-sustaining preferences), intraoperative care (eg, preventing hypothermia), postoperative management (eg, preventing delirium), and discharge planning (eg, home health care). Of the 89 candidate indicators, 76 were rated as valid by the expert panel. Importantly, the majority of indicators rated as valid address processes of care not routinely performed in younger surgical populations. CONCLUSIONS: Attention to the quality of surgical care in elderly patients is of great importance because of the increasing numbers of elderly undergoing operations. This project used a validated methodology to identify and rate process measures to achieve high-quality perioperative care for elderly surgical patients. This is the first time quality indicators have been developed in this regard.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Quality of care is associated with survival in vulnerable older patients.

BACKGROUND: Although assessment of the quality of medical care often relies on measures of process of care, the linkage between performance of these process measures during usual clinical care and subsequent patient outcomes is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To examine the link between the quality of care that patients received and their survival. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: Two managed care organizations. PATIENTS: Community-dwelling high-risk patients 65 years of age or older who were continuously enrolled in the managed care organizations from 1 July 1998 to 31 July 1999. MEASUREMENTS: Quality of care received by patients (as measured by a set of quality indicators covering 22 clinical conditions) and their survival over the following 3 years. RESULTS: The 372 vulnerable older patients were eligible for a mean of 21 quality indicators (range, 8 to 54) and received, on average, 53% of the care processes prescribed in quality indicators (range, 27% to 88%). Eighty-six (23%) persons died during the 3-year follow-up. There was a graded positive relationship between quality score and 3-year survival. After adjustment for sex, health status, and health service use, quality score was not associated with mortality for the first 500 days, but a higher quality score was associated with lower mortality after 500 days (hazard ratio, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.49 to 0.84] for a 10% higher quality score). LIMITATIONS: The observational design limits causal inference regarding the effect of quality of care on survival. CONCLUSIONS: Better performance on process quality measures is strongly associated with better survival among community-dwelling vulnerable older adults.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Challenges in systematic reviews of complementary and alternative medicine topics.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to grow in the United States. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has devoted a substantial proportion of the Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) program to systematic reviews of CAM. Such syntheses present different challenges from those conducted on western medicine topics, and in many ways are more difficult. We discuss 3 challenges: identifying evidence about CAM, assessing the quality of individual studies, and addressing rare serious adverse events. We use illustrations from EPC evidence reports to show readers approaches to the 3 areas and then present specific recommendations for each issue.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed2005

A qualitative examination of primary care providers' and physician managers' uses and views of research evidence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the reasons and search strategies related to physicians' search for evidence and to compare clinician and physician manager approaches. DESIGN: Qualitative analysis of verbatim transcripts of four focus groups in 2002. Study setting. Clinicians and managers in community practices in Southern California. PARTICIPANTS: Pediatricians, family practitioners, and general internists (i.e. child and adult primary care providers) in non-academic practice and physician managers whose primary responsibility involved making management decisions within a moderate to large sized health care delivery system (e.g. health plan, community hospital, large group practice). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Themes related to clinician and manager reasons for using evidence and approach to selecting among evidence sources. RESULTS: Clinicians and managers differed substantially in their reasons for using evidence. Whereas clinicians consistently invoked clinical intuition as a guide to most routine clinical decisions, managers articulated both motivation and interest in using medical research to guide decision-making, most commonly prompted by cost. Both clinicians and managers rated trustworthiness as a paramount consideration in arbitrating between evidence sources, because neither group evinced comfort with the complexity of primary literature. Both groups expressed a preference for tested, convenient, and respected evidence sources such as expert colleagues and professional societies. CONCLUSIONS: Because clinicians invoke intuition in confronting the challenges of daily practice, evidence-based medicine interventions that target managers are likely to have larger effects on health outcomes than those that target primary care providers and individual patient treatment. Ensuring trustworthiness of evidence is of the utmost importance. Because both groups express discomfort with the format of primary evidence sources, strategies should probably not rely on individual appraisal.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Meta-analysis: pharmacologic treatment of obesity.

BACKGROUND: In response to the increase in obesity, pharmacologic treatments for weight loss have become more numerous and more commonly used. PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy and safety of weight loss medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other medications that have been used for weight loss. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases, experts in the field, and unpublished information. STUDY SELECTION: Up-to-date meta-analyses of sibutramine, phentermine, and diethylpropion were identified. The authors assessed in detail 50 studies of orlistat, 13 studies of fluoxetine, 5 studies of bupropion, 9 studies of topiramate, and 1 study each of sertraline and zonisamide. Meta-analysis was performed for all medications except sertraline, zonisamide, and fluoxetine, which are summarized narratively. DATA EXTRACTION: The authors abstracted information about study design, intervention, co-interventions, population, outcomes, and methodologic quality, as well as weight loss and adverse events from controlled trials of medication. DATA SYNTHESIS: All pooled weight loss values are reported relative to placebo. A meta-analysis of sibutramine reported a mean difference in weight loss of 4.45 kg (95% CI, 3.62 to 5.29 kg) at 12 months. In the meta-analysis of orlistat, the estimate of the mean weight loss for orlistat-treated patients was 2.89 kg (CI, 2.27 to 3.51 kg) at 12 months. A recent meta-analysis of phentermine and diethylpropion reported pooled mean differences in weight loss at 6 months of 3.6 kg (CI, 0.6 to 6.0 kg) for phentermine-treated patients and 3.0 kg (CI, -1.6 to 11.5 kg) for diethylpropion-treated patients. Weight loss in fluoxetine studies ranged from 14.5 kg of weight lost to 0.4 kg of weight gained at 12 or more months. For bupropion, 2.77 kg (CI, 1.1 to 4.5 kg) of weight was lost at 6 to 12 months. Weight loss due to topiramate at 6 months was 6.5% (CI, 4.8% to 8.3%) of pretreatment weight. With one exception, long-term studies of health outcomes were lacking. Significant side effects that varied by drug were reported. LIMITATIONS: Publication bias may exist despite a comprehensive search and despite the lack of statistical evidence for the existence of bias. Evidence of heterogeneity was observed for all meta-analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Sibutramine, orlistat, phentermine, probably diethylpropion, bupropion, probably fluoxetine, and topiramate promote modest weight loss when given along with recommendations for diet. Sibutramine and orlistat are the 2 most-studied drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Meta-analysis: surgical treatment of obesity.

BACKGROUND: Controversy exists regarding the effectiveness of surgery for weight loss and the resulting improvement in health-related outcomes. PURPOSE: To perform a meta-analysis of effectiveness and adverse events associated with surgical treatment of obesity. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and systematic reviews. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized, controlled trials; observational studies; and case series reporting on surgical treatment of obesity. DATA EXTRACTION: Information about study design, procedure, population, comorbid conditions, and adverse events. DATA SYNTHESIS: The authors assessed 147 studies. Of these, 89 contributed to the weight loss analysis, 134 contributed to the mortality analysis, and 128 contributed to the complications analysis. The authors identified 1 large, matched cohort analysis that reported greater weight loss with surgery than with medical treatment in individuals with an average body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m2 or greater. Surgery resulted in a weight loss of 20 to 30 kg, which was maintained for up to 10 years and was accompanied by improvements in some comorbid conditions. For BMIs of 35 to 39 kg/m2, data from case series strongly support superiority of surgery but cannot be considered conclusive. Gastric bypass procedures result in more weight loss than gastroplasty. Bariatric procedures in current use (gastric bypass, laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, vertical banded gastroplasty, and biliopancreatic diversion and switch) have been performed with an overall mortality rate of less than 1%. Adverse events occur in about 20% of cases. A laparoscopic approach results in fewer wound complications than an open approach. LIMITATIONS: Only a few controlled trials were available for analysis. Heterogeneity was seen among studies, and publication bias is possible. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery is more effective than nonsurgical treatment for weight loss and control of some comorbid conditions in patients with a BMI of 40 kg/m2 or greater. More data are needed to determine the efficacy of surgery relative to nonsurgical therapy for less severely obese people. Procedures differ in efficacy and incidence of complications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Combination endoscopic band ligation and sclerotherapy compared with endoscopic band ligation alone for the secondary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal hemorrhage: a meta-analysis.

Endoscopic band ligation (EBL) is the community-accepted standard therapy for the secondary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal hemorrhage. Recent data indicate that combination EBL and sclerotherapy may be a more effective therapy than EBL alone. Yet existing data are conflicting. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of EBL and sclerotherapy versus EBL alone for the secondary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal hemorrhage. We performed a systematic review of two computerized databases (MEDLINE and EMBASE) along with manual-searching of published abstracts to identify relevant citations without language restrictions from 1990 to 2002. Eight studies met explicit inclusion criteria. We performed meta-analysis of these studies to pool the relative risk for the following outcomes: esophageal variceal rebleeding, death, number of endoscopic sessions to achieve variceal obliteration, and therapeutic complications. There were no significant differences between EBL and sclerotherapy versus EBL alone in the risk of esophageal variceal rebleeding (RR = 1.05; 95% CI = 0.67-1.64; P = 0.83), death (RR = 0.99; 95% CI = 0.68-1.44; P = 0.96), or number of endoscopic sessions to variceal obliteration (RR = 0.23; 95% CI = 0.055-0.51; P = 0.11). However, the incidence of esophageal stricture formation was significantly higher in the EBL group than in the sclerotherapy group. There is no evidence that the addition of sclerotherapy to endoscopic band ligation changes clinically relevant outcomes (variceal rebleeding, death, time to variceal obliteration) in the secondary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal hemorrhage. Moreover, combination EBL and sclerotherapy had more esophageal stricture formation than EBL alone.

Esophageal and Gastric Varices↗