Utility of non-invasive liver fibrosis markers to predict the incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD): A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) share common risk factors and pathogenesis mechanisms. However, the association between the degree of liver fibrosis and the incidence of CKD remains unclear. This study aims to examine the utility of non-invasive fibrosis markers to predict the occurrence of CKD.

METHODS

Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Medline were searched up to May 20th, 2023 using combined keywords. Literature that analyzes FIB-4, NFS, and APRI to predict CKD incidence was included in this review. We used random-effect models of odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to express the outcomes in this review.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies were included. Our meta-analysis showed that high FIB-4 was associated with a higher incidence of CKD (OR 2.51; 95%CI: 1.87-3.37, p < 0.00001, I2 = 96%). Further regression analysis revealed that this association was significantly influenced by hypertension (p = 0.0241), NAFLD (p = 0.0029), and body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.0025). Our meta-analysis also showed that high NFS (OR 2.49; 95%CI: 1.89-3.30, p < 0.00001, I2 = 96%) and high APRI (OR 1.40; 95%CI: 1.14-1.72, p = 0.001, I2 = 26%) were associated with a higher incidence of CKD.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that these non-invasive liver fibrosis markers can be routinely measured both in NAFLD patients and the general population to enable better risk stratification and early detection of CKD.

Comparison of core-needle biopsy and repeat fine-needle aspiration biopsy for thyroid nodules with initially inconclusive findings: a systematic review, diagnostic accuracy meta-analysis, and meta-regression

INTRODUCTION

The rate of nondiagnostic and indeterminate cytology findings from fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is quite high, resulting in repeated puncture and unnecessary surgery. The primary objective of this investigation is to compare diagnostic accuracy of core-needle biopsy (CNB) with repeat FNAB for thyroid nodules with initially inconclusive (nondiagnostic and/or atypia of undetermined significance) FNAB results.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A thorough search was performed on the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Europe PMC, and Medline databases until October 20th, 2024, employing a combination of pertinent keywords. This review incorporates literature that examines the comparison between CNB and repeat FNAB for thyroid nodule. Pooled odds ratio (OR) of nondiagnostic and inconclusive findings of CNB and repeat FNAB were calculated. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the diagnostic accuracy of both biopsy methods for malignancy diagnosis utilizing a bivariate random-effects model.

RESULTS

A total of 9 studies were incorporated. The results of our meta-analysis indicated lower rate of nondiagnostic (OR 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.06-0.23, P < 0.00001), atypia of undetermined significance (OR 0.34; 95%CI: 0.21-0.56, P < 0.0001), and inconclusive (OR 0.12; 95%CI: 0.07-0.22, P < 0.00001) findings from CNB compared to repeat FNAB. CNB also exhibited markedly superior cumulative sensitivity estimates (75.1%) compared to repeat FNAB (56.5%), however cumulative specificity did not show a significant difference between CNB (99.9%) and repeat FNAB (99.7%). No patients who received CNB or repeat FNAB encountered any major complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that CNB can be employed to diagnose thyroid nodules that were previously inconclusive on FNAB, rather than repeating the FNAB procedure.

The gut microbiota and its role in Graves' Disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Emerging research indicates the potential involvement of gut bacteria in the etiology of Graves' Disease (GD). However, the evidence regarding this matter is still conflicting. The primary objective of this investigation was to examine the correlation between gut microbiota and GD. A comprehensive search was conducted of the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Europe PMC, and Medline databases up until August 1, 2023, utilizing a combination of relevant keywords. This review incorporates literature that examined the composition of gut microbiota in patients with GD. We employed random-effect models to analyze the standardized mean difference (SMD) and present the outcomes together with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of ten studies were incorporated. The results of our meta-analysis indicated that patients with GD have a reduced alpha diversity of gut microbiota as evidence by a significant reduction of Chao1 (std. mean difference -0.58; 95% CI -0.90, -0.26, p=0.0004; I2 =61%), ACE (std. mean difference -0.64; 95% CI -1.09, -0.18, p=0.006; I2 =77%), and Shannon index (std. mean difference -0.71; 95% CI -1.25, -0.17, p=0.01; I2 =90%) when compared with healthy controls. At the phylum level, the abundance of Firmicutes was reduced in GD patients, while that of Bacteroidetes was increased. This study suggests a notable decrease in the richness and variety of gut microbiota among people diagnosed with GD in comparison with healthy controls.

The role of nutrition-based index in predicting survival of breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) are two model that incorporates the role of inflammation and nutrition factors to predict the progression of tumor. The primary objective of this investigation is to examine the ability of PNI and CONUT score for predicting the survival in breast cancer patients.

METHODS

A comprehensive search was conducted on the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Europe PMC, and Medline databases up until August 14th, 2023, utilizing a combination of relevant keywords. This review incorporates literature that examines the relationship between PNI, CONUT, and survival in breast cancer. We employed random-effect models to analyze the hazard ratio (HR) and present the outcomes together with their corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

A total of sixteen studies were incorporated. The results of our meta-analysis indicated that high PNI was associated with better overall survival (OS) (HR 0.38; 95%CI: 0.28-0.51, p < 0.00001, I2 = 32 %), but not disease-free survival (DFS) (HR 0.60; 95%CI: 0.33-1.10, p = 0.10, I2 = 78 %) than low PNI in breast cancer patients. Meta-analysis also indicated that high CONUT was associated with worse OS (HR 1.66; 95%CI: 1.21-2.28, p = 0.002, I2 = 78 %) and worse DFS (HR 2.09; 95%CI: 1.60-2.73, p < 0.00001, I2 = 41 %) in breast cancer patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests the prognostic role of both PNI and CONUT score for predicting survival in breast cancer patients.

THE DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG INDONESIAN ADULTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Introduction: COVID-19 outbreak has caused changes around the world with many polices remade to stop the spread of this virus since it started in 2019. Indonesia with the overall highest positive cases in South-East Asia has been challenged with prolonged restriction policy issued from early 2020 until now due to continuous increase of cases. This study aims to know the mental health of Indonesia citizens during early quarantine before it changed into restriction. Method: Indonesian version DASS-21 questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study to assess Indonesian adults aged > 25 years old using an online platform from 22nd April, 2020 to 28th May, 2020, then analyzed using T-test and one-way ANOVA. Result: All participants have no depression and stress symptoms that meet the threshold for probable depression according to the DASS-21 instrument. On the other hand, 26.3% participants showed anxiety symptom with severity classified into mild (16.0%), moderate (8.9%), and severe (0.4%). Conclusion: This study also found relationship of depression, anxiety, and stress characteristic with gender, age marital status, and income in adults during pandemic. Where in this study shows male, younger age, unmarried status, and lower income people have higher scale of depression, anxiety, and stress characteristic. This finding may help Indonesia’s government and citizens to assess the restriction to mental health of Indonesian adults for further effective policy implementation.