Fleming proposed the concept of evidence-based pathology (EBP) in 1996. In recent years, there have been a lot of evidence-based studies on the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. However, there are still limitations and challenges in the development, and the growth in application of evidence-based medicine in the pathology is still slow. This study introduced the history of evidence-based pathology, summarized the primary application areas and the latest research progress, analyzed current opportunities and challenges of evidence-based pathology, and provided some suggestions.
ObjectiveTo compare oncologic and short-term outcomes between the robotic and laparoscopic total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study using a prospectively collected database. Patients’ records were obtained from Gansu Provincial Hospital between July 2015 and October 2017. Eighty patients underwent robotic-assisted total mesorectal excision (R-TME group) and one hundred and sixteen with the same histopathological stage of the tumor underwent an laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (L-TME group). Both operations were performed by the same surgeon. Results The time to the first passage of flatus ［(3.28±1.64) d vs. (6.01±2.77) d, P<0.001］, the time to the first postoperative oral fluid intake ［(4.46±1.62) d vs. (6.28±2.74) d, P<0.001） and the length of hospital stay ［（11.20±5.80）d vs. (14.72±6.90) d, P=0.023］ of the R-TME group was about 3 days faster than the L-TME group. The incidence of postoperative urinary retention (2.50% vs 7.76%, P=0.016) was significantly lower in the R-TME group than the L-TME group. However, the intraoperative blood loss of the R-TME group was more than the L-TME group ［(175.06±110.77) mL vs. (123.91±99.61) mL, P=0.031, ）. The operative time, number of lymph nodes harvested and distal margin were similar intergroup（P>0.05）. The total cost was higher in the R-TME than in the L-TME group ［(85 623.91±13 310.50) CNY vs. (67 356.79±17 107.68) CNY, P=0.084), however, this difference was statistically insignificant. ConclusionsCompared with the L-TME, the R-TME has the same oncologic outcomes and rapid postoperative short-term recovery. However, the long-term outcome of the R-TME remains to be further observed.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the efficacy of tubular stomach and whole stomach reconstruction in the treatment of esophageal cancer.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP and CBM databases to collect the randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies on the efficacy comparison between tubular stomach and total gastric reconstruction of esophagus in esophagectomy from their date of inception to May 2019. Then meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of Twenty-nine RCTs were included, and 3 012 patients were involved. The results of meta-analysis showed that the postoperative complications such as anastomotic fistula [RR=0.64, 95%CI (0.50, 0.83), P=0.000 6], anastomotic stenosis [RR=0.65, 95%CI (0.50, 0.86), P=0.002], thoracic gastric syndrome [RR=0.19, 95%CI (0.13, 0.27), P<0.001], reflux esophagitis [RR=0.23, 95%CI (0.19, 0.30), P<0.001], gastric emptying disorder [RR=0.39, 95%CI (0.27, 0.57), P<0.001] and pulmonary infection [RR=0.44, 95%CI (0.31, 0.62), P<0.001] were significantly reduced, and the postoperative quality of life score and satisfaction were higher at 6 months and 1 year in the tubular stomach group (P<0.05). In terms of intraoperative blood loss and postoperative hospital stay, they were better in the tubular stomach group than those in the whole stomach group (P<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in operation time, postoperative gastrointestinal decompression time, postoperative closed drainage time, postoperative 1-year, 2-year and 3-year survival rate, postoperative quality of life score at 3 weeks and 3 months, and postoperative life satisfaction at 3 weeks.ConclusionThe tubular stomach is more advantageous than the whole stomach in the reconstruction of esophagus after esophagectomy.
Objectives To investigate calcium supplement in pregnancy for prevention of preeclampsia and relevant outcomes. Methods The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase, CBM, WanFang Data, VIP and CNKI databases were searched online to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of calcium supplement in pregnancy for prevention of preeclampsia and relevant outcomes from inception to July 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed by RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 33 RCTs involving 29 234 subjects were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: compared with control group, the calcium supplement group was associated with lower preeclampsia (RR=0.48, 95%CI 0.38 to 0.62, P<0.000 01) and gestational hypertension (RR=0.65, 95%CI 0.55 to 0.77,P<0.000 01) incidence. The incidence of premature delivery, intrauterine growth retardation and severe preeclampsia in calcium supplement group was lower than that in placebo group, and the neonatal weight in calcium was higher than that in placebo group. However, there was no significant difference in the pregnancy cycle between the two groups. Conclusions Current evidence shows that calcium supplement is associated with lower risk of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify the above conclusion.
ObjectiveTo systematically review safety and effectiveness of robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and laparoscopic RYGB for morbid obesity.MethodsThe systematic literatures were conducted by a comprehensive search in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, WanFang data, CNKI, and CBM, etc. Two reviewers independently selected the literatures and extracted the data. The meta-analysis was performed using the R statistical program version 3.4.2.ResultsA total of 19 studies involving 177 766 patients with morbid obesity were included, of which 172 234 underwent the laparoscopic RYGB (laparoscopic group) and 5 532 underwent the robotic RYGB (robotic group). The operative time was longer [MD=27.84, 95% CI (12.85, 42.83)] and the rate of death was higher [OR=2.05, 95% CI (1.03, 4.08)] in the robotic group as compared with the laparoscopic group. The hospitalization time, intraoperative blood loss, conversion rate, rates of reoperation and readmission of 30 d after the operation, and postoperative complications had no significant differences between these two groups.ConclusionRobotic RYGB is a safe and effective surgical procedure, but it is not found to be superior to laparoscopic RYGB.
ObjectivesTo investigate sources of evidence of the clinical pathways approved by the Chinese government.MethodsThe approved clinical pathways were obtained from the website of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Two reviewers independently extracted the basic information, approval date, types of evidence of the clinical pathways and time of evidence. The variance analysis was performed for the diagnosis and treatment parts of clinical pathways and the LSD method was further used for comparison.ResultsThe main types of evidence were guidelines, textbooks, standard indicators and consensus views. Approximately 80% of the pathways cited clinical practice guidelines and 36% cited the textbooks. The median number of evidence for each clinical pathway was 2. Approximately 85% of the evidence could be obtained the time when the evidence published. The average time interval (between the time when the pathways released and the time when the evidence published) was 5.2 years. Specifically, textbooks constituted the largest proportion in all evidence that was over 15 years of time interval. In addition to the textbook comparison standard indicators, there were significant differences in time interval between guidelines or consensus and textbooks or standard indicators.Conclusions The evidence types selection is based on the concept of evidence-based medicine, yet the time span of the referred evidence is larger. Therefore, developing clinical pathways not only need to refer to the latest research evidence comprehensively and enhance transparency of clinical pathways, but also use evidence quality evaluation standards to evaluate and select the referred evidences.