ABSTRACT
Trials within cohorts （TwiCs） are design methods derived from randomized controlled trials （RCTS）. They have been widely used in chronic disease areas such as tumors and cardiovascular diseases. The basis of the TwiCs design is a prospective cohort of specific diseases. When RCTS need to be implemented， some patients meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria are randomly sampled from the cohort to receive "trial interventions"， while the remaining patients in the cohort who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria continue to receive conventional treatment as control groups. By comparing the efficacy differences between the intervention measures of the trial group and the control group， the efficacy of intervention measures was evaluated. Within the cohort， the same process could be repeated to carry out multiple RCTS， so as to evaluate different intervention measures or compare the efficacy of different doses or timing of interventions. Compared with classical RCTS， TwiCs make it easier to recruit patients from the cohort and have higher external validity， providing a new research paradigm for improving the efficiency and applicability of RCTS in clinical practice. However， TwiCs may also face the challenge of poor compliance of patients in the cohort. Researchers need to take effective measures to control these patients in the design and operation of TwiCs. This article focused on the methodological key points during the implementation of TwiCs， including multi-stage informed consent （patients are informed of consent at three stages： entering the cohort， entering the trial group， and after the trial）， randomization procedures （only random sampling of patients from the cohort to receive "trial interventions"）， sample size calculation， and statistical analysis methods. The article also compared the differences between TwiCs and traditional RCTS and illustrated TwiCs research design and analysis with examples， so as to provide new research ideas and methods for clinical researchers.
ABSTRACT
The quality evaluation of the blind method is to evaluate the clinical blind data obtained from clinical trials adopting the blind method and judge the effectiveness of the blind method by investigating the blind effect of different blind objects. A successful blind method can avoid the influence of subjective factors on the test results of subjects and researchers to a certain extent. The quality evaluation of the blind method can reflect not only the effectiveness of the blind method but also the accuracy and credibility of clinical trial results. In recent years， randomized controlled trials have been widely used in the evaluation of the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， but the quality of the implementation of blind methods is uneven， and the evaluation criteria have not yet been formed. In this paper， the data collection methods， calculation principles， advantages， and disadvantages of two quantitative quality evaluation methods of blind methods， namely James Blinding Index （JBI） and Bang Blinding Index （BBI）， were introduced. The two indexes were analyzed in a randomized controlled trial of acupuncture and moxibustion to relieve postoperative oral pain. The calculation process of the results was demonstrated by R software and visualized by forest map. At the same time， a tool table was designed to facilitate the collection of evaluation data of blind methods in TCM clinical trials at different stages. Finally， the necessity and feasibility of quality evaluation of blind method in TCM research were discussed to provide a basis for evaluating and improving the quality of blind method implementation in TCM clinical trials.
ABSTRACT
Target trial emulation， using observational data to emulate a target trial， applies the study design principles of randomized controlled trials to observational studies that aim to estimate the effect of an intervention. The advantage of target trial emulation is that observational data is used to emulate a target trial when it is not appropriate to conduct randomized controlled trials. Target trial emulation can control bias caused by the design of observational studies， and improve the effectiveness of causal inference from observational data. This paper introduced the methodological framework and key points in terms of eligibility criteria， treatment strategies， assignment procedures， grace period， outcomes， follow-up period， effect contrasts， and statistical plan for implementing target trial emulation. This article elucidated the feasibility and necessity of applying target trail emulation in the realm of traditional Chinese medicine researches， and highlighted the challenges encountered in its implementation， such as the need for specialized personnel， data collection and integration， and the control of confounding factors.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To evaluate the reporting quality of clinical guidelines on skin diseases published in journals in China.Methods:The CNKI, VIP, Wanfang and SinoMed databases were searched from January 2009 to October 2019 for clinical guidelines on skin diseases published in journals in China. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, and extracted and cross-checked data. The reporting quality of these clinical guidelines was evaluated by using the Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare (RIGHT) , and statistical analysis was carried out with Excel 2017 software.Results:A total of 17 clinical guidelines on skin diseases were included, including 13 Western medicine guidelines and 4 Chinese medicine guidelines. Among the 13 Western medicine guidelines, the number of guidelines reporting the following areas in the RIGHT statement, namely basic information, background, evidence, recommendations, review and quality assurance, funding and declaration and management of interests, and other information, was 9, 6, 0, 4, 0, 1 and 1 respectively; among the 4 Chinese medicine guidelines, the number of guidelines reporting the above 7 areas in the RIGHT statement was 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2 and 2 respectively.Conclusion:There is still considerable room for improvement in the overall reporting quality of clinical guidelines on skin diseases published in journals in China during the past 10 years, and the RIGHT statement is recommended for improving the reporting quality in guideline development.
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Objective:To analyze clinical characteristics of cosmetics-related adverse reactions and main allergenic components of cosmetics, to provide guidance for cosmetics-related adverse reaction monitoring, and to provide an objective basis for risk assessment.Methods:A total of 512 patients with suspected cosmetic adverse reactions were collected from the outpatient clinic of Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from March 2018 to October 2019, including 14 males and 498 females. A uniform cosmetic adverse reaction report card was filled in, and medical history of patients and related information about the used cosmetics were recorded; 103 patients (3 males and 100 females) were subjected to patch test with their own cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients, and 48- and 72-hour patch test results were combined for comprehensive determination and analysis.Results:Among the 512 cases of suspected cosmetic adverse reactions, contact dermatitis (495 cases, 96.7%) was the most common manifestation. Cosmetic adverse reactions mainly manifested as erythema (501 cases, 97.9%), papules (313, 61.1%), edema (249, 48.6%), and scaling (166, 32.4%) ; main symptoms included itching (480, 93.8%), burning sensation (359, 70.1%), and tense sensation (297, 58.0%). Patch test with cosmetic ingredients showed positive reactions in 71 of 103 cases, and thimerosal was the allergen mostly liable to cause adverse reactions (31 cases, 30.1%), followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (29 cases, 28.2%), Peru balsam (17 cases, 16.5%), bronopol (12 cases, 11.7%) and triethanoamine (10 cases, 9.7%). The cosmetic allergens were divided into 14 categories, and the top 4 categories with high positive patch test rates were emulsifiers (54 cases, 45.8%), preservatives (47 cases, 39.8%), fragrances (17 cases, 14.4%) and surfactants (10 cases, 8.5%). Positive patch test reactions were observed in 2 males and 69 females, and there was no significant difference in the positive rate between males and females (2/3 vs. 69/100, χ2 = 0.01, P > 0.05) ; there was also no significant difference in the positive rate among the groups aged 18 - 29 years (34%), 30 - 49 years (34%) and 50 - 70 years (32.4%; χ2 = 0.693, P > 0.05) . Conclusions:Contact dermatitis is the most common adverse reaction to cosmetics. Among the diverse allergenic components of cosmetics, thimerosal is the allergen that is mostly liable to cause adverse reactions, followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate, Peru balsam, bronopol and triethanoamine.
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Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of fire needle in treating vitiligo and the characteristics of vitiligo image by the confocal laser scanning microscope(CLSM).Methods The randomized self-controlled experiment design was adopted.Each patient selected two symmetric or adjacent white patches and randomly received the fire needle treatment or tacrolimus treatment. The duration of treatment was 3 months.The CLSM images of white patches were recorded before treatment and after 3,6 times of fire needle treatment.Results Among 41 cases of stable stage vitiligo,The effective rates of the fire needle group and tacrolimus group were 82.9% and 78.0% respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).After fire needle treat-ment,dentritic melanin cells appeared,the pigment granules gradually appeared around the basal layer and corpora papillare,and formed the pigment ring.Conclusion Fire needle and tacrolimus have the similar effect in treating vitiligo,moreover CLSM can be used as the non-invasive,objective and reliable detection means of the recovery of vitiligo melanocyte.
ABSTRACT
Objective To detect the expression levels of peripheral blood CXCL10 and its receptor CXCR3 and T cell subsets in of the patients with advanced vitiligo and the influence of compound Chinese medicine on it.Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect the cellular proportions of peripheral blood T cell subsets,ELISA was employed to quantify serum CXCL10 and CXCR3 expression levels before and after treatment.Results After 1 month of taking Chinese medicine,the proportions of CD3+ CD4+ cells and CD3+ CD8+ cells were increased compared before treatment(P＜0.05).The expression level of peripheral serum CXCL10 before treatment was significantly increased compare with the healthy control group(P＜0.01),and the CXCL10 level after treatment was decreased significantly compared with that before treatment(P＜0.05).The expression level of peripheral serum CXCR3 was significantly increased compared with the healthy control group(P＜0.05),while which after treatment was still significantly higher than that in the healthy control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion CXCL10,CXCR3 and T cell subsets proportion may be involved in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.The compound Chinese medicine used in this study plays the curative effect possibly by regulating T cell subsets and expression levels of CXCL10 and CXCR3.
ABSTRACT
Randomized controlled trial (RCT) is considered as the gold standard for the efficacy assessment of medicines. With the increasing number of Chinese patent drugs for treatment of type 2 diabetes, the methodology of post-marketing RCTs evaluating the efficacy and specific effect has become more important.