Vitamin D plays a role in several immune-mediated diseases, but its association with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the ...association between IBD and vitamin D deficiency.
We searched electronic databases from inception to December 2014 for observational studies reporting the presence of vitamin D deficiency (defined as serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol 25(OH)D level of ≤20 ng/mL) in IBD patients and having a control group without IBD. Odds ratios (ORs) were combined using a random-effects model. Meta-regression was performed using latitude as a moderator. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.
Out of 816 citations, 14 eligible studies were identified, comprising 1891 participants (938 IBD cases and 953 controls). Meta-analysis showed that patients with IBD had 64% higher odds of vitamin D deficiency when compared with controls (OR = 1.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-2.08; I = 7%; P < 0.0001). Patients with ulcerative colitis had more than double the odds of vitamin D deficiency when compared with normal controls (OR = 2.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-4.41; I = 41%; P = 0.01). Latitude did not influence the association between IBD and vitamin D deficiency (P = 0.34). Generalizability of our results might be limited as we summarized unadjusted ORs, because of nonavailability of adjusted ORs in individual studies.
IBD is significantly associated with having higher odds of vitamin D deficiency. Well-designed randomized controlled trials and longitudinal studies are needed to further explain the role of vitamin D in IBD pathogenesis and its therapy.
Five medications have been approved for the management of obesity, but data on comparative effectiveness are limited.
To compare weight loss and adverse events among drug treatments for obesity using ...a systematic review and network meta-analysis.
MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Central from inception to March 23, 2016; clinical trial registries.
Randomized clinical trials conducted among overweight and obese adults treated with US Food and Drug Administration-approved long-term weight loss agents (orlistat, lorcaserin, naltrexone-bupropion, phentermine-topiramate, or liraglutide) for at least 1 year compared with another active agent or placebo.
Two investigators identified studies and independently abstracted data using a predefined protocol. A Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed and relative ranking of agents was assessed using surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) probabilities. Quality of evidence was assessed using GRADE criteria.
Proportions of patients with at least 5% weight loss and at least 10% weight loss, magnitude of decrease in weight, and discontinuation of therapy because of adverse events at 1 year.
Twenty-eight randomized clinical trials with 29 018 patients (median age, 46 years; 74% women; median baseline body weight, 100.5 kg; median baseline body mass index, 36.1) were included. A median 23% of placebo participants had at least 5% weight loss vs 75% of participants taking phentermine-topiramate (odds ratio OR, 9.22; 95% credible interval CrI, 6.63-12.85; SUCRA, 0.95), 63% of participants taking liraglutide (OR, 5.54; 95% CrI, 4.16-7.78; SUCRA, 0.83), 55% taking naltrexone-bupropion (OR, 3.96; 95% CrI, 3.03-5.11; SUCRA, 0.60), 49% taking lorcaserin (OR, 3.10; 95% CrI, 2.38-4.05; SUCRA, 0.39), and 44% taking orlistat (OR, 2.70; 95% CrI, 2.34-3.09; SUCRA, 0.22). All active agents were associated with significant excess weight loss compared with placebo at 1 year-phentermine-topiramate, 8.8 kg (95% CrI, -10.20 to -7.42 kg); liraglutide, 5.3 kg (95% CrI, -6.06 to -4.52 kg); naltrexone-bupropion, 5.0 kg (95% CrI, -5.94 to -3.96 kg); lorcaserin, 3.2 kg (95% CrI, -3.97 to -2.46 kg); and orlistat, 2.6 kg (95% CrI, -3.04 to -2.16 kg). Compared with placebo, liraglutide (OR, 2.95; 95% CrI, 2.11-4.23) and naltrexone-bupropion (OR, 2.64; 95% CrI, 2.10-3.35) were associated with the highest odds of adverse event-related treatment discontinuation. High attrition rates (30%-45% in all trials) were associated with lower confidence in estimates.
Among overweight or obese adults, orlistat, lorcaserin, naltrexone-bupropion, phentermine-topiramate, and liraglutide, compared with placebo, were each associated with achieving at least 5% weight loss at 52 weeks. Phentermine-topiramate and liraglutide were associated with the highest odds of achieving at least 5% weight loss.
We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis to evaluate the overall and comparative effects of weight-loss medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration for long-term use on ...cardiometabolic risk profiles of obese adults.
We performed a systematic literature review through February 28, 2017 to identify randomized clinical trials of the effects of Food and Drug Administration−approved weight-loss medications (ie, orlistat, lorcaserin, naltrexone-bupropion, phentermine-topiramate, and liraglutide) administered to obese adults for 1 year or more, compared with placebo or another active agent. Outcomes of interest included changes in blood glucose (fasting blood glucose FBG and hemoglobin A1c), cholesterol profile (low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoproteins), blood pressure (BP; systolic/diastolic), and waist circumference (WC). We performed pair-wise and network meta-analyses with outcomes reported as weighted and standardized mean differences. Quality of evidence was rated using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation).
In a meta-analysis of 28 randomized controlled trials (29,018 participants; median body mass index, 36.1 kg/m2), we associated weight-loss medications with a modest decrease in FBG (weighted mean difference, 4.0 mg/dL; 95% confidence interval, –4.4 to –3.6 mg/dL) and WC (weighted mean difference, reduction of 3.3 cm; 95% confidence interval, –3.5 to –3.1 cm), without clinically meaningful changes in systolic/diastolic BP or cholesterol profile vs placebo (standardized mean difference <0.2); effects varied among drugs. Phentermine-topiramate use was associated with a substantial decrease in WC and a modest decrease in FBG, hemoglobin A1c, and BP, and had minimal effect on cholesterol. Liraglutide use was associated with a substantial decrease in FBG, hemoglobin A1c, and WC, and a minimal effect on BP and cholesterol. Naltrexone-bupropion use was associated with moderate increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but had a minimal effect on FBG and WC. Orlistat use was associated with a decrease in low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. No drug improved all cardiometabolic risk factors.
In a systematic review and network meta-analysis, we found Food and Drug Administration−approved weight-loss medications to have only modest positive effects on cardiometabolic risk profile. Further research is needed to evaluate the long-term cardiometabolic benefits of these medications. PROSPERO: CRD42016039486.
Background & Aims Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) has high mortality. We assessed the comparative effectiveness of pharmacological interventions for severe AH, through a network meta-analysis ...combining direct and indirect treatment comparisons. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review, through February 2015, for randomized controlled trials of adults with severe AH (discriminant function ≥32 and/or hepatic encephalopathy) that compared the efficacy of active pharmacologic interventions (corticosteroids, pentoxifylline, and N -acetylcysteine NAC, alone or in combination) with each other or placebo, in reducing short-term mortality (primary outcome) and medium-term mortality, acute kidney injury, and/or infections (secondary outcomes). We performed direct and Bayesian network meta-analysis for all treatments, and used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria to appraise quality of evidence. Results We included 22 randomized controlled trials (2621 patients) comparing 5 different interventions. In a direct meta-analysis, only corticosteroids decreased risk of short-term mortality. In a network meta-analysis, moderate quality evidence supported the use of corticosteroids alone (relative risk RR, 0.54; 95% credible interval CrI, 0.39-0.73) or in combination with pentoxifylline (RR, 0.53; 95% CrI, 0.36-0.78) or NAC (RR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.05-0.39), to reduce short-term mortality; low quality evidence showed that pentoxifylline also decreased short-term mortality (RR, 0.70; 95% CrI, 0.50-0.97). The addition of NAC, but not pentoxifylline, to corticosteroids may be superior to corticosteroids alone for reducing short-term mortality. No treatment was effective in reducing medium-term mortality. Imprecise estimates and the small number of direct trials lowered the confidence in several comparisons. Conclusions In patients with severe AH, pentoxifylline and corticosteroids (alone and in combination with pentoxifylline or NAC) can reduce short-term mortality. No treatment decreases risk of medium-term mortality.
Several drugs have been studied to improve outcomes for patients with hepatorenal syndrome, but trials have reported variable efficacy. We aimed to compare the efficacy of different management ...strategies for type 1 hepatorenal syndrome.
For this systematic review and network meta-analysis, we searched Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and Web of Science for papers published up to June 9, 2016. We selected randomised controlled trials of adults (>18 years) with decompensated cirrhosis and type 1 hepatorenal syndrome that compared the efficacy of active vasoactive drugs (terlipressin, midodrine, octreotide, noradrenaline, and dopamine; alone or in combination) with placebo or each other. The primary outcome was reduction in short-term mortality. Secondary outcomes were reversal of hepatorenal syndrome, relapse of hepatorenal syndrome after initial reversal, and adverse events. We did pairwise and network meta-analyses to produce odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. We used the GRADE criteria to appraise quality of evidence.
We identified 13 randomised controlled trials done in 739 adults with type 1 hepatorenal syndrome. All participants received supportive therapy with albumin. Moderate-quality evidence might support the use of terlipressin over placebo for reduction of short-term mortality (OR 0·65, 95% CI 0·41-1·05), whereas only low-quality evidence supported the use of noradrenaline, midodrine plus octreotide, and dopamine plus furosemide over placebo to reduce mortality, and no ORs for any of the comparisons versus placebo were significant. Moderate-quality evidence supported the use of terlipressin over midodrine plus octreotide (OR 26·25, 95% CI 3·07-224·21) to reverse hepatorenal syndrome, with low-quality evidence supporting the use of noradrenaline over placebo (4·17, 1·37-12·50) and over midodrine plus octreotide (10·00, 1·49-50·00) for this outcome. A median of 16% (range 5-20) of terlipressin-treated patients, and 33% (range 6-40) noradrenaline-treated patients with reversal of hepatorenal syndrome had recurrence on discontinuation of therapy. A median of 8% (range 4-22) terlipressin-treated patients required discontinuation of therapy due to serious adverse events.
Terlipressin with albumin might reduce short-term mortality compared with placebo in patients with type 1 hepatorenal syndrome. Terlipressin with albumin and noradrenaline with albumin are both superior to midodrine plus octreotide with albumin for reversal of hepatorenal syndrome. Pragmatic clinical trials of terlipressin with albumin are warranted to evaluate real-world effectiveness and safety in patients with type 1 hepatorenal syndrome.
None.
Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for obesity and may decrease the morbidity and mortality of obesity-associated cancers.
We investigated the risk of a new diagnosis of Barrett esophagus ...(BE) following bariatric surgery compared to screening colonoscopy controls.
Large national database including patients who received care in inpatient, outpatient, and specialty care services.
A national healthcare database (TriNetX, LLC) was used for this analysis. Cases included adults (aged ≥18 yr) who had undergone either sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Controls included adults undergoing screening colonoscopy and an esophagoduodenoscopy on the same day and had never undergone bariatric surgery. Cases and controls were propensity-matched for confounders. The risk of de novo diagnosis of BE at least 1 year after bariatric surgery was compared between cases and controls. Secondary analyses examined the effect of bariatric surgery on metabolic outcomes such as weight loss and body mass index (BMI). The risk of de novo diagnosis of BE in SG was compared with RYGB. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI were used to report on these associations.
In the propensity-matched analysis, patients who had undergone a bariatric surgical procedure showed a significantly reduced risk of de novo BE when compared with screening colonoscopy controls (.67 .48, .94). There was substantial reduction in weight and BMI in the bariatric surgery group when compared with baseline. There was no significant difference in de novo BE diagnosis between the propensity-matched SG and RYGB groups (.77 .5, 1.2).
Patients who underwent bariatric surgery (RYGB or SG) had a lower risk of being diagnosed with BE compared with screening colonoscopy controls who did not receive bariatric surgery. This effect appears to be largely mediated by reduction in weight and BMI.