IntroductionConstipation is one of the most common complications in patients with stroke. Acupuncture has gained increased popularity for the management of constipation. However, there is a lack of supportive evidence on the efficacy of acupuncture for poststroke constipation. This systematic review aims to collect and critically appraise all the available evidence about the efficacy and safety of the acupuncture for constipation in poststroke patients.Methods and analysisA comprehensive search of Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, four Chinese databases (National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literatures database (CBM), Wanfang Digital Periodicals (WANFANG) and Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals (VIP) database), one Japanese medical database (National Institute of Informatics, CiNii) and one Korean medical database (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, OASIS) will be conducted to identify randomised controlled trials of acupuncture for constipation in poststroke patients. There is no restriction on language or publication status. The primary outcome measure will be frequency of bowel movement. The risk of bias will be assessed using the approach recommended by Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We will conduct the meta-analysis to synthesise the evidence for each outcome, if possible. The heterogeneity will be statistically assessed using a χ2 test and I2 statistic. This protocol is developed following the guideline of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Protocols 2015.Ethics and disseminationThe ethical approval is not required because no primary data are collected. The findings will be presented at scientific conferences or a peer-reviewed scientific journal.PROSPERO registration number
CRD42017076880.
IntroductionThere is a growing interest in probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic supplements for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, a systematic review and evaluation is lacking. The purpose of the present study is to assess the efficacy and safety of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics for non-dialysis or non-renal transplant patients with CKD.Methods and analysisAn extensive literature search will be undertaken to identify potentially eligible studies from electronic databases including PubMed (1946 to present), EMBASE (1974 to present), Web of Science (1900 to present) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, all years). No language restriction will be applied to the search. Both parallel and crossover randomised controlled trials will be included. The risk of bias of each included study will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. The primary outcome measures are uraemic toxins. Secondary outcomes include kidney function, adverse cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, cause-specific death, progression to end-stage kidney disease, quality of life, gastrointestinal function and adverse events. Data will be synthesised using appropriate statistical methods. The quality of evidence for each outcome will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.Ethics and disseminationNo ethical approval is required as no primary data will be collected. We will publish findings from this systematic review in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and the data set will be made freely available.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017079177.
It has been over 20 years since the introduction of evidence‐based medicine (EBM) into the research of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The development of evidence‐based TCM research has profoundly influenced the process of clinical research and decision‐making, impelling researchers to pay attention to raise evidence quality, accumulate data, and explore appropriate evaluation methods adaptive to TCM original theories and knowledge. In this paper, the authors aim to summarize and review the existing work and seek promising research interests in this field, expecting to inspire more thoughts leading to breakthroughs in the near future.
This study describes the nurse-reported practices of Chinese nurses from Tianjin, including changing and selecting dressing types, manipulating chest tubes, clamping drains and replacing drainage bottles, and the study defines who the decision-makers were for these interventions. By focusing on nurses' self-report of behaviours in managing chest drains (actual nursing practice vs. nursing knowledge), this article also relates the literature to the research findings and denotes the gaps in knowledge for future research.
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