ABSTRACT
Background: Burns are a serious public health problem worldwide, causing high morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to compare two forms of treatment for partial skin burns and to determine whether one is superior to the other in terms of efficacy and benefits through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. This article highlights the efficacy of tilapia skin in the treatment of burns. We performed a meta-analysis of 199 patients and highlighted the promising results that indicate the clinical relevance of this resource when we compared the cost of dressings with the daily need for dressing changes, healing potential, and reduction in pain level according to the VAS scale and reduced frequency of dressing changes. Methods: A search of PubMed, Cochrane Central, and LILACS was performed to identify randomized controlled trials comparing tilapia skin and silver-based dressings for treating burns. Studies involving overlapping populations and animals were excluded. The outcomes of interest were complete re-epithelialization, decreased pain level, and dressing change. Results: Summarize the article's main findings. Conclusions: Four randomized trials were included with a total of 199 patients with partial-thickness burns between the ages of 2 and 70 years. A total of 99 (49.74%) patients were treated with tilapia skin, and conventional treatment was used on 100 (50.25%) of the patients. Differences were found between the tilapia and silver-based treatments concerning re-epithelialization (MD -0.48; CI 95% -0.71 to -0.24; p < 0.01; I2 = 0%), decreased pain level (MD -0.79; CI 95% -1.10 to -0.47; p < 0.01; I2 = 0%), and dressing change outcome (MD -3.54; 95% CI -5.81 to -1.26; p = 0.02; I2 = 97%).
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Several studies point to antibacterial properties and beneficial effects of honey on scar tissue formation, which is a low-cost and easy-to-use option. This study aimed to compare honey versus a placebo for cicatrization and pain control of obstetric wounds, and determine if one is superior to the other, in terms of efficacy, through a meta-analysis. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science. Two independent investigators identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing honey and a placebo for obstetric wounds. The primary outcomes were wound healing and pain control. RESULTS: Five randomized controlled trials and 353 patients were included, of whom, 177 (50.1%) were treated with honey. Differences were not found in the final wound healing between the honey and placebo groups (MD -0.34; 95% CI -1.13, 0.44; p = 0.39); however, there was a decrease in pain levels in the middle of the treatment (SMD -0.54; 95% CI 0.83 to 0.25, p = 0.03), reduction in the use of pain medication (ORR 0.26; 95% CI 0.08, 0.86; p = 0.03), increase in personal satisfaction in women who underwent the intervention (ORR 0.81; 95% CI 0.65, 0.98), and reduction in complications. CONCLUSION: According to the study results, honey treatments showed greater efficiency and provided benefits to the patients by accelerating wound healing and decreasing reported pain.
Subject(s)
Cicatrix , Honey , Female , Pregnancy , Humans , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Pain Management , Pain/etiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A malfunction in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is associated with obesity in rare genetic syndromes; setmelanotide is a new drug that activates this receptor and is being used to treat severe obesity. This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of setmelanotide for weight loss in severe obesity linked to human MC4R deficiency. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane for randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials using setmelanotide. We considered a p-value ≤ 0.05 statistically significant. RESULTS: We included 376 patients, of whom 328 (87.2%) received setmelanotide for a mean follow-up of 52 weeks. The mean age was 32.8 (14.67) years. Weight loss was significant (MD -3.52; 95% CI -3.98, -3.05; p = 0.01; I2 = 92%), with an average proportion of -6.91% weight loss during treatment. Changes in BMI showed an MD of -10.55 kg/m2 in patients > 18 years and -0.61 kg/m2 in patients < 18 years (BMI score). However, the drug was associated with a higher risk of skin hyperpigmentation (OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.55, 0.80; p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the use of setmelanotide in treating severe obesity.