• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2017

Objectives: To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) for chronic gastritis (CG). Methods: We searched twelve English, Chinese and Korean databases using relevant keywords up to September 2017. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CMT for CG were considered for inclusion. The methodological quality of included RCTs was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: Seven RCTs with 403 CG patients were included. The meta-analysis of 6 studies showed that CMT had statistically significant effects (p<0.0001) on effective rate for CG compared to conventional medication. Conclusions: This systematic review suggests that CMT seems effective for CG, but limited evidence from risk of bias. For future studies, high-quality RCTs such as sham-controlled studies with standardized interventions are needed to provide sufficient evidence on the effects of CMT for CG.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.55-65
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• 2020

Objective: The most important goal of hippotherapy is to improve function, gait, and balance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hippotherapy on function, gait, and balance of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We've searched the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library CENTRAL databases for English experimental studies published up until September 2018. To analyze the effects of hippotherapy on the function, gait, and balance of children with cerebral palsy, the systematic review and meta-analysis were performed on Patient/Participants/Population Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome with Timing, Setting Study Design. Papers retrieved from the database were removed from the literature management database. Methodological quality evaluation was evaluated using Cochrane's risk of bias. Data was analyzed using the Revman 5.3 program of the Cochrane library. Results: In this study, we found that the effect size of hippotherapy, denoted as d, was -3.82, and that hippotherapy had the most effect on gait, but no statistical significant difference was observed. We also found no significant difference in function and balance after hippotherapy. It was found from the funnel plot that there was no publication bias as the plot was symmetrically distributed around the dotted line. Conclusions: There are many unclear studies and a lack of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in this research area. More RCTs on the effects of hippotherapy on children with CP should be conducted in the future.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.397-411
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• 2021

This systematic review aimed to assess the effect of premedication on postoperative pain after root canal treatment in vital teeth. Five electronic databases were searched for randomized clinical trials, and two independent reviewers selected eligible studies, extracted data, and assessed the quality of studies using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Meta-analysis was conducted using the random-effects model, and the pooled effect estimate of the standardized mean difference (SMD) between premedication and placebo was calculated. Subgroup analysis was conducted based on the class and route of the drug. Studies with a high risk of bias were excluded from the sensitivity analysis. Ten trials satisfied the inclusion criteria, of which eight were included in the meta-analysis. Premedication was more effective in reducing postoperative pain than placebo at 6 hours (SMD = -1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.33 to -0.66), 12 hours (SMD = -0.80; 95% CI = -1.05 to -0.56), and 24 hours (SMD = -0.72; 95% CI = -1.02 to -0.43). The results of the sensitivity analysis confirmed the findings of the primary analysis. Based on these results, it can be concluded that premedication is effective in reducing postoperative pain in teeth with irreversible pulpitis. However, additional quality studies are required for further validation.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.36-47
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• 2022

Objectives The purpose of this study was to systematically review previous studies on constitutional herbal medicine treatment for the obesity. Methods A total of 11 databases were searched in English, Chinese, and Korean. Standard methodologies for the systematic review were used to search, analyze and synthesize data for undertaking review and meta-analysis for intervention. The risk of bias was assessed by two independent researchers using the Cochrane risk of bias. Results A total of 2 RCTs were selected and analyzed. The results of the meta-analysis showed a significantly positive effect in the body weight and body mass index for the patient group treated with Taeeumjowi-tang compared to the placebo control group. Conclusions Our results suggested that Taeeumjowi-tang could be considered for improvement of symptoms in obese patients, without serious adverse events. Due to the low quality of the clinical evidence in this study, further studies are needed to evaluate efficacy and safety of constitutional herbal medicines for obesity.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.259-266
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• 2022

The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and diverse types of pain conditions have been proposed. However, no consensus on the relationship between OSA and painful temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) has been established. Therefore, this systematic review has been conducted to review the existing literatures and provide comprehensive synthesis of such literatures about OSA and painful TMDs using the evidence-based methodology. A literature search was conducted using two electronic databases, Scopus, and PubMed. Risk of bias was assessed using the risk-of-bias assessment tool for non-randomized study version 2.0. A total of 158 articles were screened from the initial search and eventually, 5 articles were included in this systematic review. One study adopted both the longitudinal prospective cohort and case-control designs and other 4 articles adopted the cross-sectional design. Two studies employed polysomnography (PSG) for the diagnosis of OSA and mentioned the results from the PSG. All cross-sectional studies demonstrated higher OSA prevalence among patients with TMD, and one cohort study suggested OSA as a risk factor for TMD. OSA appears to have potential influences on the development of TMD; however, the role of TMD in the development of OSA remains to be unknown owing to the lack of high-quality evidences.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-138
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to review previous literature to determine the effects of nature-based program for workers. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency's guidance for undertaking systematic reviews for intervention. Literature search was performed using National Assembly Digital Library, Korean Studies Information Service System, and Korea Education & Research Information Service for literature published until March 2019. The participants were full-time workers, and intervention of nature-based programs was conducted in the outdoor, indoor, and indirect nature contact exposures, with comparators in the control group who did not receive the treatment. The results showed that the programs were effective in physical, psychological, and social health. The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials (RCT) was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias(RoB) tool, while non-randomized controlled trials (N-RCT) were assessed using the Cochrane Risk of bias assessment tool for non-randomized studuies (RoBANS). A total of 16 studies were selected for assessment: two RCTs, 10 N-RCTs, and four one-group pretest-posttest designs. Most interventions were provided at the workplace and in the community. There were many kinds of nature-based interventions, and forest therapy and horticultural therapy programs were most common. Various interventions for workers effectively improved job stress, depression, serum cortisol and stress-response. However, the included studies lacked methodological rigor. Future research is needed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of nature-based programs for workers using rigorous research designs.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.22
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• 2023

This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed to answer the following focused research question: "Does the type of endodontic sealer affect the postoperative pain in patients who received endodontic treatment?" Different databases and grey literature were surveyed. Only one randomized controlled trial were included. The risk of bias in the studies was evaluated by using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to compare the risk and intensity of postoperative pain. The quality of the body of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Out of 11,601 studies, 15 remained for qualitative analyses and 12 for meta-analysis. Seven studies were classified at high risk of bias, and 8 studies raised some concerns. No significant differences between the endodontic materials were observed in the direct comparisons, both in risk and in intensity of postoperative pain (pairwise comparisons with 2 studies: I² = 0%; p > 0.05 and 8 studies: I² = 23%; p > 0.05, respectively). The certainty of the evidence was graded as low or moderate. There was no difference in the risk and intensity of postoperative pain after filling with different endodontic sealers. Further systematic reviews should be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2022

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is an essential component of the cerebral cortex and is associated with cognitive function. In this systematic review, the effects of PS on cognitive function in the elderly population are examined. The literature search included PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases. Subsequently, nine studies, including five randomized controlled trials and four pre-post studies, were selected. There were 961 participants in the selected studies; PS dosage varied from 100 to 300 mg/d, and the experimental period ranged from 6 weeks to 6 months. Five out of the nine selected studies were assessed to have a 'low' risk of bias, whereas the other four studies were assessed to have 'some concerns' regarding the risk of bias. The results of the meta-analysis concluded that PS had a positive effect on the memory of older adults with cognitive decline. Thus, PS appears to improve age-associated cognitive decline, especially memory, with no adverse effects.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.177-184
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• 2023

Objective: Manual therapy is a commonly utilized approach in managing chronic pain, but its specific impact on pain catastrophizing remains uncertain. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effects of manual therapy on pain catastrophizing in individuals with chronic pain. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in electronic databases to identify relevant studies published from 2014 onwards. Studies that evaluated the impact of manual therapy on pain catastrophizing in individuals with chronic pain were incorporated. The risk of bias in the selected studies was evaluated using the Cochrane tool for risk of bias in qualitative analysis. For the quantitative analysis, RevMan 5.4 software was utilized, employing a random-effects model as the analysis model. The effect measure used in the analysis was the standardized mean difference (SMD). Results: In total, 26 studies were collected, and following the screening process, three of them were incorporated into the final analysis. The included studies involved a total of 153 patients with chronic pain. The interventions comprised various manual therapy techniques targeting different areas of the body. Pain catastrophizing and pain intensity were the primary outcomes of interest. The meta-analysis revealed a significant reduction in pain catastrophizing scores following manual therapy intervention compared to control conditions (SMD = -0.91, 95% CI: -1.25 to -0.58). However, heterogeneity between the studies was observed. Conclusions: Despite the limited quantity and heterogeneity of studies, it has been demonstrated that manual therapy intervention is effective in reducing pain catastrophizing in individuals with chronic pain.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.36-47
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• 2019

[Purpose] We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of Taekwondo training on the physical fitness factors in Korean elementary students comprehensively and quantitatively. [Methods] We classified research studies published until November 2018 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and selected a total of 17 research items; a meta-analysis of these items was then conducted. We used the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0 and Review Manager 5.3 to analyze the mean effect size, study quality, and publication bias. [Results] Taekwondo training improved the cardiopulmonary endurance, muscle endurance, and power of the elementary students, but was not practical or less useful on other physical fitness factors. The meta-regression analysis of the cardiopulmonary endurance and power items showed that the effect size was large when the sample size was small. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the sample size in interpreting the effect size for these two items. Further, during correction of the publication bias for the power items, the improvement effect by Taekwondo training was eliminated. [Conclusion] Taekwondo training is helpful for improving the cardiopulmonary endurance and muscle endurance of Korean elementary students but is not useful for other physical fitness factors.