ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of bisphosphonates in preventing and treating glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis. MethodsDatabases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2016), CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related bisphosphonates for the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis from inception to January 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 20 RCTs were included, which involved 2 330 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the placebo group, the bisphosphonates group could significantly increase the bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar and femoral neck (MD=3.70, 95%CI 2.65 to 4.75, P<0.000 01; MD=2.18, 95%CI 1.30 to 3.06, P<0.000 01), but the bisphosphonates group could not decrease the incidence rates of vertebral fracture or non-vertebral fracture (OR=0.66, 95%CI 0.38 to 1.16, P=0.15; OR=0.73, 95%CI 0.42 to 1.28, P=0.28). There were no significant differences in the incidence rates of total adverse reactions and total severe adverse reactions between the two groups (OR=0.89, 95%CI 0.62 to 1.28, P=0.53; OR=0.93, 95%CI 0.62 to 1.39, P=0.72). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that, compared with placebo, bisphosphonates canld effectively prevent and treat the decrease of bone mineral density of glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis, not decrease the incidence of fracture, but not increase the incidence of adverse reactions.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of long-term inhaled salmeterol / fluticasone combined with low-dose oral erythromycin in patients with bronchiectasis. Methods Sixty-two patients with bronchiectasis after exacerbation and maintained stable were randomly divided into three groups. Group A was treated with low-dose oral erythromycin, group B inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone, and group C inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone plus low-dose oral erythromycin. The study duration lasted for 6 months. The clinical symptoms, dyspnea scale, exacerbation frequency, and pulmonary function parameters were measured and compared. Results Fifty-four patients completed the whole study and 8 cases withdrew. The results showed that 6 months of low-dose erythromycin therapy can improve the clinical symptoms, whille exacerbation frequency was also decreased. Inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone improved lung function, however, had no effect on cough, expectoration and exacerbation frequency. Inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone combined with erythromycin was more significantly effective in improving lung functions as well as symptoms. Conclusions Long-terminhaled salmeterol/fluticasone combined with low-dose oral erythromycin can improve the clinical symptoms and lung function, decrease the frequency of exacerbation in patients with bronchiectasis. It may be as an alternative to the maintenance treatment of bronchiectasis.
ObjectiveTo explore significance of glucocorticoid for rat liver transplantation model. MethodsTwo hundred rats were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. The experimental group rats were injected with sulfate atropine resulotion 0.1 mg/kg, cephazolin-Na 0.3 g/kg and hydrocortisone 5 mg/kg while the control group rats were injected with sulfate atropine resulotion 0.1 mg/kg, cephazolin-Na 0.3 g/kg and equal volume of normal saline with glucocorticoid at 30 min before operation. The donor surgery time, repairing liver time, recipient surgery time, anhepatic phase, and 1-day, 3-day and 7-day survival rates were compared between these two groups. ResultsThe donor surgery time, repairing liver time, recipient surgery time, and anhepatic phase had no significant differences between the experimental group and control group (P>0.05), while the 1-day, 3-day and 7-day survival rates of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group [96% (48/50) versus 80% (40/50), P<0.05; 92% (46/50) versus 72% (36/50), P<0.05; 90% (45/50) versus 54% (27/50), P<0.05]. ConclusionUsage of glucocorticoid might contribute to improve survival rate of rat liver transplantation model.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the association between inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and the risk of lung cancer in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MethodsPubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect cohort studies on the risk of lung cancer in COPD patients using ICS from inception to August 15, 2022. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed by using RevMan 5.4 software. ResultsA total of 8 cohort studies involving 1 184 238 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that ICS use decreased risk of lung cancer in COPD patients (HR=0.68, 95%CI 0.62 to 0.75, P<0.01). The dose of ICS was an influencing factor for the risk of lung cancer in COPD patients and a large dose of ICS could significantly reduce the risk. ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that the use of ICS can reduce the risk of lung cancer in patients with COPD, especially in high-dose patients. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To systematically review the efficacy and safety of glucocorticoids for severe COVID-19 and to provide references for the treatment strategy of severe COVID-19 patients. Methods PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, WanFang Data and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported glucocorticoid therapy for severe COVID-19 patients from inception to August 26th, 2021. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 7 RCTs involving 6 236 patients were included. The meta-analysis results showed that compared with usual care, glucocorticoids significantly reduced the all-cause mortality of severe COVID-19 (RR=0.84, 95%CI 0.77 to 0.91, P<0.000 1), whereas no significant difference was found in the progression of complex diseases between the two groups (RR=0.84, 95%CI 0.69 to 1.01, P=0.06). Glucocorticoids did not increase adverse effects in severe COVID-19 compared with usual care (general adverse events: RR=1.15, 95%CI 0.66 to 2.03, P=0.62; serious adverse events: RR=1.13, 95%CI 0.54 to 2.38, P=0.75). Conclusion Current evidence suggests that glucocorticoids are effective in treating severe COVID-19 without significantly increasing adverse events. However, due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the conclusion.
ObjectiveTo analyze the phasic changes of bone mass, bone turnover markers, and estrogen levels at different time points after glucocorticoid (GC) intervention in rat and their correlation. MethodsThirty-four female 3-month-old Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following 3 groups:baseline group (n=6), dexamethasone (DXM) group (n=14), and control group (n=14). Rats were injected with DXM at the dose of 0.75 mg/kg, twice a week for 12 weeks in DXM group, with salt solution lavage in control group, and no treatment was given in baseline group. The body mass, adrenal weight, and uterus weight were measured. Bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), and bone area (BA) of lumbar vertebral and femurs were detected by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Meanwhile, the serum levels of N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP), C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (β-CTX), and estrogen levels were determined by ELISA before experiment in baseline group and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after experiment in control and DXM groups. At last, the correlation was analyzed among body weight, BMD, PINP, β-CTX, estrogen levels, and GC intervention duration of DXM group. ResultsThe body mass, adrenal weight, and uterus weight in DXM group were significantly lower than those in baseline group and control group at all the time points (P<0.05). The levels of PINP and β-CTX elevated slowly in DXM group, significant difference was found at 12 weeks (P<0.05), but no significant difference at the 4 and 8 weeks (P>0.05) when compared with those in baseline group and control group. The estrogen level in DXM group was significantly lower than that in baseline group and control group at all the time points (P<0.05). BMD, BMC, and BA of lumbar vertebral and femurs in DXM group were significantly lower than those in control group at all the time points after GC intervention (P<0.05). Loss of bone mass of L2 and femoral trochanteric region in DXM group was the lowest of all ranges of interest (ROIs). BMC and BA of lumbar vertebrae and BA of femoral shaft in DXM group at 4 weeks were significantly lower than those in baseline group (P<0.05). But there was no significant difference in BMD, BMC, and BA of other lumbar vertebrae and femurs' ROIs between DXM group and baseline group at all the time points (P>0.05). After GC intervention, BMD of lumbar vertebrae and femurs had negative correlation with PINP and β-CTX (P<0.05) and positive correlation with estrogen level (P<0.05). ConclusionThe bone mass decreases rapidly at the early stage after GC intervention and then maintains a low level with time, the levels of bone turnover markers show a progressive increase, and the estrogen levels show a decrease trend. In addition, body weight, the levels of bone turnover markers and estrogen are associated with the change of bone mass.
Objective To explore the effect of early short-term use of low-dose steroids on early acute lung injury (EALI) after video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods Patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy in our department from January 2019 to January 2022 were selected for this retrospective cohort study. They were divided into an early steroid treatment group and a control group based on whether steroids were used in the early postoperative period. In the early steroid treatment group, in addition to routine postoperative treatment, low-dose methylprednisolone was administered intravenously, at 80-120 mg/d for 3 consecutive days. In the control group, routine postoperative treatment was given, but no steroids were used in the first 3 days. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan was performed on postoperative day (POD) 1, and POD3 or POD4 to assess lung injury. Chest CT scores, the EALI incidence, the length of hospital stay, and the incidence of poor incision healing were recorded. ResultsA total of 521 patients were included, consisting of 255 males and 266 females, aged 11-80 years. There were 203 patients in the early steroid treatment group and 318 patients in the control group. On POD1, the incidence of EALI was 16.0% in the control group and 13.8% in the steroid group, with no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). There was also no significant difference in the CT scores of patients with EALI in the two groups (P>0.05). On POD3/4, the incidence of EALI was 33.6% in the control group and 22.7% in the steroid group, showing a significant difference (P=0.007). When comparing the CT scores of patients with EALI in both groups, the scores were lower in the steroid group, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The overall incidence of EALI on POD1-4 was 37.4% in the control group and 26.1% in the steroid group, showing a significant difference (P=0.007). Of these, 28.9% of patients in the control group showed radiological progression, which means new EALI occurred or existing EALI progressed, while the progression rate was 14.8% in the steroid group (P<0.001). The length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the steroid group compared to the control group (P<0.001), but the incidence of poor incision healing was not (P>0.05). Conclusion Early use of corticosteroids cannot reduce the incidence and severity of EALI on POD1, but it can reduce the incidence of EALI on POD3/4 and decrease the risk of radiological progression, and also lower the overall risk of EALI after surgery, without extended postoperative hospital stays or increased incidence of poor incision healing. Therefore, early postoperative use of low-dose corticosteroids can help to inhibit the occurrence and progression of EALI. It is suggested to use as early as possible especially in patients with high risks of postoperative EALI.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of glucocorticoids in the treatment of non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION).MethodsGlucocorticoids published in the National Library of Medicine PubMed; Netherlands Medical Abstracts Database Embase; Cochrane Library, an evidence-based medical library; China Cnkipedia; China Biomedical Literature Service; Chongqing Vipul Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang Science and Technology Journal Full Text Database were searched about computer. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized controlled trials (NRCTs) for the treatments of NAION were subjected to meta-analysis. The search period was from the establishment of each database to March 2020. The literature was screened and data were extracted according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the RCT and NRCT studies was evaluated using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool and the MINORS evaluation scale, respectively. The data were analyzed using RevMan version 5.3 software which was provided by the Cochrane Collaboration Network.ResultsAn initial search of 395 papers was conducted, and 10 papers were finally included for this meta-analysis, including 3 RCT studies and 7 NRCT studies. A total of 1057 patients with NAION were included. The 3 RCT studies were analyzed descriptively as the outcome indicators were described in different ways. A meta-analysis of 7 NRCT studies showed that patients in the treatment group showed significantly better visual prognosis (relative risk=1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 1.51, P=0.003) and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness were obviously improved (mean difference=7.76, 95% confidence interval 1.58 to 13.94, P=0.01) than the control group. Four studies reported the occurrence of adverse reactions in the treatment versus control groups. None of the above studies provided a detailed analysis of the prognosis of patients with adverse reactions.ConclusionThe efficacy and safety of glucocorticoids in the treatment of NAION is unclear and needs to be validated in a larger sample of RCTs.