Humans ; Arthritis, Psoriatic/drug therapy* ; Interleukin-17 ; Interleukin Inhibitors ; Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/therapeutic use* ; Interleukin-23/therapeutic use*

BACKGROUND

Post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) remains the most common complication following endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Rectal indomethacin is one of the recommended medications given to prevent pancreatitis in high-risk patients undergoing ERCP.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of diclofenac in preventing PEP, to compare its different routes of administration, and to determine the severity of pancreatitis in patients who develop PEP.

Databases from PubMed, ScienceDirect and COCHRANE Library were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing diclofenac with placebo in the prevention of PEPup to August 2020. Risk ratio at 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated to evaluate the incidence of the interested outcomes.

Eleven RCTs with a total population of 2,012 were reviewed in this study. Diclofenac was associated with a significant reduction in overall risk of PEP compared with patients with placebo (RR = 0.59; 95%, 0.47 0.74; P < 0.000001), with a mild heterogeneity (P = 0.05; I2 = 41%). Subgroup analyses showed that rectal diclofenac was the superior choice to significantly reduce the overall incidence of PEP(RR = 0.34; 95%, 0.23-0.51; P < 0.000001).

Rectal diclofenac significantly reduces the risk of PEPand therefore, should be recommended as routine for clinical use in adult patients who will undergo ERCP.

BACKGROUND: Many nutritional supplements and pharmacological agents have been reported to show preventive effects on colorectal adenoma and colorectal cancer (CRC). We performed a network meta-analysis to summarize such evidence and assess the efficacy and safety of these agents. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for studies published in English until October 31, 2021 that fit our inclusion criteria. We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis to assess the comparative efficacy and safety of candidate agents (low-dose aspirin [Asp], high-dose Asp, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors [coxibs], calcium, vitamin D, folic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid [UDCA], estrogen, and progesterone, alone or in combination) for preventing colorectal adenoma and CRC. Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool was employed to evaluate the quality of each included study. RESULTS: Thirty-two randomized controlled trials (278,694 participants) comparing 13 different interventions were included. Coxibs significantly reduced the risk of colorectal adenoma (risk ratio [RR]: 0.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44-0.79, six trials involving 5486 participants), advanced adenoma (RR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.43-0.92, four trials involving 4723 participants), and metachronous adenoma (RR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.43-0.79, five trials involving 5258 participants) compared with placebo. Coxibs also significantly increased the risk of severe adverse events (RR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.13-1.47, six trials involving 7109 participants). Other interventions, including Asp, folic acid, UDCA, vitamin D, and calcium, did not reduce the risk of colorectal adenoma in the general and high-risk populations compared with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the balance between benefits and harms, regular use of coxibs for prevention of colorectal adenoma was not supported by the current evidence. Benefit of low-dose Asp for chemoprevention of colorectal adenoma still requires further evidence. REGISTRATION PROSPERO, No. CRD42022296376.
Humans ; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors ; Calcium ; Network Meta-Analysis ; Vitamins ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Chemoprevention ; Aspirin ; Adenoma/prevention & control* ; Vitamin D

Humans ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/adverse effects* ; Aspirin/therapeutic use* ; Respiration Disorders ; Respiratory Tract Diseases

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, is characterized by synovitis and progressive damage to the bone and cartilage of the joints, leading to disability and reduced quality of life. This study was a randomized clinical trial comparing the outcomes between withdrawal and dose reduction of tofacitinib in patients with RA who achieved sustained disease control. METHODS: The study was designed as a multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial. Eligible patients who were taking tofacitinib (5 mg twice daily) and had achieved sustained RA remission or low disease activity (disease activity score in 28 joints [DAS28] ≤3.2) for at least 3 months were enrolled at six centers in Shanghai, China. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to one of three treatment groups: continuation of tofacitinib (5 mg twice daily); reduction in tofacitinib dose (5 mg daily); and withdrawal of tofacitinib. Efficacy and safety were assessed up to 6 months. RESULTS: Overall, 122 eligible patients were enrolled, with 41 in the continuation group, 42 in the dose-reduction group, and 39 in the withdrawal group. After 6 months, the percentage of patients with a DAS28-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) of <3.2 was significantly lower in the withdrawal group than that in the reduction and continuation groups (20.5%, 64.3%, and 95.1%, respectively; P  < 0.0001 for both comparisons). The average flare-free time was 5.8 months for the continuation group, 4.7 months for the dose reduction group, and 2.4 months for the withdrawal group. CONCLUSION: Withdrawal of tofacitinib in patients with RA with stable disease control resulted in a rapid and significant loss of efficacy, while standard or reduced doses of tofacitinib maintained a favorable state. TRIAL REGISTRATION Chictr.org, ChiCTR2000039799.
Humans ; Quality of Life ; China ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Piperidines/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome ; Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Pyrroles/therapeutic use*

This study systematically reviewed the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding acupuncture for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMbase, Scopus, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, VIP database, and China biomedical literature service system (SinoMed) from database inception until August 1st, 2022. The Cochrane's risk of bias assessment tool was used to assess the risk of bias in all included studies, and Review Manager 5.3 software was used for statistical analysis of the extracted data. As a result, 12 RCTs, involving 1 087 patients with lumbar myofascial pain syndrome, were ultimately included. The Meta-analysis results showed that the visual analog scale (VAS) score of pain in the observation group was lower than those in the oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication control [SMD=-1.67, 95%CI (-2.44, -0.90), Z=4.26, P<0.000 1] and other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, electromagnetic wave irradiation combined with piroxicam gel, SMD=-1.98, 95%CI (-2.48, -1.48), Z=7.74, P<0.000 01]. The pain rating index (PRI) score in the observation group was lower than those in the lidocaine injection control [MD=-2.17, 95%CI (-3.41, -0.93), Z=3.44, P=0.000 6] and other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, MD=-5.75, 95%CI (-9.97, -1.53), Z=2.67, P=0.008]. The present pain intensity (PPI) score in the observation group was lower than that in other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, MD=-1.04, 95%CI (-1.55, -0.53), Z=4.01, P<0.000 1]. In conclusion, compared with oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, and electromagnetic wave irradiation combined with piroxicam gel, acupuncture is more effective in reducing pain in patients with lumbar myofascial pain syndrome; acupuncture also exhibites advantage over lidocaine injection in improving PRI score and showed better outcomes over tuina and low-frequency electrical stimulation in improving PRI and PPI scores.
Humans ; Piroxicam ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Pain ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes/therapy* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use* ; Lidocaine

BACKGROUND: Clinical trial evidence is limited to identify better topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for treating knee osteoarthritis (OA). We aimed to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of flurbiprofen cataplasms (FPC) with loxoprofen sodium cataplasms (LSC) in treating patients with knee OA. METHODS: This is an open-label, non-inferiority randomized controlled trial conducted at Peking University Shougang Hospital. Overall, 250 patients with knee OA admitted from October 2021 to April 2022 were randomly assigned to FPC and LSC treatment groups in a 1:1 ratio. Both medications were administered to patients for 28 days. The primary outcome was the change of pain measured by visual analog scale (VAS) score from baseline to day 28 (range, 0-10 points; higher score indicates worse pain; non-inferiority margin: 1 point; superiority margin: 0 point). There were four secondary outcomes, including the extent of pain relief, the change trends of VAS scores, joint function scores measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and adverse events. RESULTS: Among 250 randomized patients (One patient without complete baseline record in the flurbiprofen cataplasms was excluded; age, 62.8 ± 10.5 years; 61.4% [153/249] women), 234 (93.6%) finally completed the trial. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the decline of the VAS score for the 24-h most intense pain in the FPC group was non-inferior, and also superior to that in the LSC group (differences and 95% confidence interval, 0.414 (0.147-0.681); P <0.001 for non-inferiority; P = 0.001 for superiority). Similar results were observed of the VAS scores for the current pain and pain during exercise. WOMAC scores were also lower in the FPC group at week 4 (12.50 [8.00-22.50] vs . 16.00 [11.00-27.00], P = 0.010), mainly driven by the dimension of daily activity difficulty. In addition, the FPC group experienced a significantly lower incidence of adverse events (5.6% [7/124] vs . 33.6% [42/125], P <0.001), including irritation, rash and pain of the skin, and sticky hair uncovering pain. CONCLUSIONS This study suggested that FPC is superior to LSC for treating patients with knee OA in pain relief, joint function improvement, and safety profile.
Humans ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/drug therapy* ; Flurbiprofen/therapeutic use* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use* ; Pain/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome ; Double-Blind Method

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease that poses a major healthcare challenge. In China, approximately 5 million patients are reported to have RA. Notably, Chinese patients with RA often experience a prolonged disease course and increased disease activity, leading to a substantial disease burden. The Chronic Disease Management Group of the Special Committee on Rheumatology and Immunology of Cross-Straits Medicine Exchange Association has advocated for an all-encompassing, continuous, and proactive scientific management approach for RA. This initiative has culminated in the formulation of the "Expert Recommendations for the Chronic Disease Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis", a comprehensive guideline developed through extensive consultations and consideration of the unique characteristics of RA. We have outlined 16 expert recommendations, addressing 10 key aspects central to RA management. We aim to enhance treatment outcomes for patients, streamline the distribution of medical resources, and reduce treatment-related burden on society, families, and individuals affected by this condition.
Humans ; Rheumatic Fever ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Rheumatology ; Chronic Disease ; Disease Management ; Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic use*

Rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is an autoimmune disease that seriously affects the physical and mental health of patients, but its pathogenesis is still unclear. At present, clinical treatment drugs include conventional synthetic disease modifing anti-rheumatic drugs(csDMARDs), nonsteroid anti-inflammtory drugs(NSAIDs), hormones, small molecule targeted drugs, biological agents, etc. These drugs can relieve the clinical symptoms of most patients with RA to a certain extent, but there are still many limitations, such as drug adverse reactions and individual differences in drug efficacy. Therefore, the research on drug treatment targets and the development of low-toxicity drugs helps further improve the precise prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of RA. There is an urgent need for efficient and low-toxic treatments to delay the clinical progress of RA. As a treasure of Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is widely used as an alternative therapy in the treatment of various diseases, and has a significant clinical efficacy. TCM therapy(including monomer traditional Chinese medicine, classical compounds, and non-drug therapies) has a significant curative effect on RA. Based on the literature research in recent years, this paper reviewed the clinical and mechanism research of TCM therapy in the treatment of RA, and provided more in-depth thinking for the wide application of TCM therapy in clinical practice.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use*

Rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease characterized by inflammation. Due to the complex causes, no specific therapy is available. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and corticosteroids are often used(long-term, oral/injection) to interfere with related pathways for reducing inflammatory response and delaying the progression of RA, which, however, induce many side effects. Microneedle, an emerging transdermal drug delivery system, is painless and less invasive and improves drug permeability. Thus, it is widely used in the treatment of RA and is expected to be a new strategy in clinical treatment. This paper summarized the application of microneedles in the treatment of RA, providing a reference for the development of new microneedles and the expansion of its clinical application.
Humans ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Administration, Cutaneous ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Needles