https://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/familymedicine/fpinfo/Docs/Chest%20Rx%20VTE%20Feb%202016.pdf

Antithrombotic Therapy for VTE Disease: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report

Background and Purpose- The purpose of these guidelines is to provide an up-to-date comprehensive set of recommendations in a single document for clinicians caring for adult patients with acute arterial ischemic stroke. The intended audiences are prehospital care providers, physicians, allied health professionals, and hospital administrators. These guidelines supersede the 2013 Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) Guidelines and are an update of the 2018 AIS Guidelines. Methods- Members of the writing group were appointed by the American Heart Association (AHA) Stroke Council's Scientific Statements Oversight Committee, representing various areas of medical expertise. Members were not allowed to participate in discussions or to vote on topics relevant to their relations with industry. An update of the 2013 AIS Guidelines was originally published in January 2018. This guideline was approved by the AHA Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee and the AHA Executive Committee. In April 2018, a revision to these guidelines, deleting some recommendations, was published online by the AHA. The writing group was asked review the original document and revise if appropriate. In June 2018, the writing group submitted a document with minor changes and with inclusion of important newly published randomized controlled trials with >100 participants and clinical outcomes at least 90 days after AIS. The document was sent to 14 peer reviewers. The writing group evaluated the peer reviewers' comments and revised when appropriate. The current final document was approved by all members of the writing group except when relationships with industry precluded members from voting and by the governing bodies of the AHA. These guidelines use the American College of Cardiology/AHA 2015 Class of Recommendations and Level of Evidence and the new AHA guidelines format. Results- These guidelines detail prehospital care, urgent and emergency evaluation and treatment with intravenous and intra-arterial therapies, and in-hospital management, including secondary prevention measures that are appropriately instituted within the first 2 weeks. The guidelines support the overarching concept of stroke systems of care in both the prehospital and hospital settings. Conclusions- These guidelines provide general recommendations based on the currently available evidence to guide clinicians caring for adult patients with acute arterial ischemic stroke. In many instances, however, only limited data exist demonstrating the urgent need for continued research on treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke: 2019 Update to the 2018 Guidelines for the Early Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

https://www.commed.vcu.edu/Chronic_Disease/2012/cochranrvwrschbias.pdf

The Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials

/pdf/2021-esc-guidelines-on-cardiovascular-disease-prevention-in-14ygu7kat1.pdf

2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice

2018 Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

Systematic Review of the Mediterranean Diet for Long-Term Weight Loss.

Anemia and mortality in acute coronary syndromes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background—We conducted a systematic review to examine the efficacy of the Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers (WW), and Zone diets, with a particular focus on sustained weight loss at ≥12 months. Methods and Results—We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library of Clinical Trials to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English with follow-up ≥4 weeks that examined the effects of these 4 popular diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors. We identified 12 RCTs (n=2559) with follow-up ≥12 months: 10 versus usual care (5 Atkins, 4 WW, and 1 South Beach) and 2 head-to-head (1 of Atkins, WW, and Zone, and 1 of Atkins, Zone, and control). At 12 months, the 10 RCTs comparing popular diets to usual care revealed that only WW was consistently more efficacious at reducing weight (range of mean changes: −3.5 to −6.0 kg versus −0.8 to −5.4 kg; P<0.05 for 3/4 RCTs). However, the 2 head-to-head RCTs suggest that Atkins (range: −2.1 to −4.7 kg), WW (−3.0 kg), Zone ...

Long-Term Effects of 4 Popular Diets on Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Risk Factors A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Importance Stent retrievers are a promising alternative for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Several recently completed clinical trials have examined the use of stent retrievers with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) compared with rtPA alone. Objective To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials to quantify the benefits and risks of using stent retrievers in addition to rtPA for the treatment of AIS. Data Sources The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library of Clinical Trials databases were searched from inception to July 2015 for the keywords stent*, retriev*, Solitaire, Trevo, Revive , and stroke . Trial registries were also searched. A total of 326 publications were identified and 213 potentially relevant records were screened. Study Selection Randomized clinical trials that examined stent retrievers with rtPA vs rtPA alone were included in the meta-analysis. Data Extraction and Synthesis Two independent reviewers extracted study data and performed quality assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. DerSimonian and Laird random-effects models were used to estimate relative risks (RRs), risk differences (RDs), and numbers needed to treat. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the proportion of patients achieving functional independence (defined as a score of 0-2 on the modified Rankin Scale, with 0 indicating no disability and 6 indicating death) at 90 days. Risks of all-cause mortality, intracranial hemorrhage, and parenchymal hematoma at 90 days were also assessed. Results Five randomized clinical trials met our inclusion criteria (n = 1287 patients). Patients randomized to stent-retriever therapy with rtPA had significantly improved rates of functional independence at 90 days compared with those randomized to rtPA alone (RR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.48-1.99; RD, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.13-0.25). When data were pooled across trials, the effect of stent-retriever therapy on all-cause mortality at 90 days was inconclusive (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.60-1.11; RD, −0.04; 95% CI, −0.08 to 0.1). There were similarly no detectable differences in the risks of intracranial hemorrhage (RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.67-1.97; RD, 0.00; 95% CI, −0.02 to 0.03) or parenchymal hematoma (RR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.71-1.94; RD, 0.01; 95% CI, −0.01 to 0.04), although the 95% CIs were wide. Fixed-effects sensitivity analyses produced similar results for all outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance The use of stent retrievers in conjunction with rtPA vs rtPA alone is associated with significant improvement of functional independence 90 days after AIS.

/pdf/stent-retrievers-for-the-treatment-of-acute-ischemic-stroke-227irijr19.pdf

Stent Retrievers for the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Dabigatran is a univalent low-molecular-weight direct thrombin inhibitor that has been developed as an alternative to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). However, uncertainty remains regarding dabigatran's safety profile with respect to bleeding. Our objective was to compare the risk of bleeding and all-cause mortality of dabigatran with that of VKAs in a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library of clinical trials to identify RCTs comparing the bleeding risk of dabigatran (150 mg twice daily) with that of VKAs. Included RCTs had treatment duration ≥90 days and were published in English or French. Data were meta-analyzed using random-effects models. Five RCTs (n = 20,332) were included in our systematic review. Study populations consisted of patients with atrial fibrillation (n = 18,615) and venous thromboembolism (n = 7,998). When data were pooled across the 4 RCTs (n = 17,466) without overlapping populations, dabigatran was not associated with an increased risk of major bleeding compared with VKAs (relative risk [RR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81 to 1.05). Dabigatran was associated with a decreased risk of intracranial bleeding (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.59) but an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (RR 1.51, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.84). Dabigatran was also associated with a trend toward decreased all-cause mortality (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.01). In conclusion, results suggest that dabigatran has a favorable safety profile with respect to bleeding compared with VKAs.

Renée Atallah

Papers

Systematic Review of the Mediterranean Diet for Long-Term Weight Loss.

Anemia and mortality in acute coronary syndromes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Long-Term Effects of 4 Popular Diets on Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Risk Factors A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Stent Retrievers for the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials on the Risk of Bleeding With Dabigatran