Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Evidenzbasierte Medizin der AGMB

The working group Evidence-Based Medicine (AG-EBM) of the German Medical Library Association (AGMB) celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2024. It continues its work in the years 2023 and 2024 in the form of virtual meetings. The group meeting of the AG-EBM at the annual conference of the AGMB 2024 in Mainz provides an opportunity to get in touch with the group and its members.Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft Evidenzbasierte Medizin (AG-EBM) der Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Medizinisches Bibliothekswesen (AGMB) feiert im Jahr 2024 ihr fünfjähriges Bestehen. In den Jahren 2023 und 2024 setzt sie ihre Arbeit in virtuellen Fortbildungsmeetings fort. Auf der Jahrestagung der AGMB 2024 in Mainz wird wie die Jahre zuvor ein Treffpunkt stattfinden, der allen Interessierten die Gelegenheit gibt, sich über die Arbeit der AG zu informieren und auszutauschen

Efficacy of pembrolizumab in advanced cancer of the vulva: a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis

IntroductionVulvar cancer carries a favourable prognosis in early stages. However, therapeutic options for advanced or recurrent cases are limited despite a variety of therapeutic modalities, such as extensive surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The most important emerging treatment modalities are immune checkpoint inhibitors. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, in women with advanced vulvar cancer.Materials and methodsFollowing a comprehensive search, review, and appraisal, two relevant single-arm studies were included. Meta-analysis was conducted using R4.3.0 software and RStudio 2023.03.0, presenting the overall effect size with a 95% confidence interval. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 and the Cochrane Q χ2 statistics.ResultsOut of 154 studies screened for eligibility, two single-arm studies involving 119 patients receiving pembrolizumab for advanced vulvar cancer were included. The pooled objective response rate (ORR) was overall 10% (95% CI: 0.00-0.84) and 9% (95% CI: 0.00-0.89) in the PD-L1 positive subgroup. In the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, 31% (95% CI: 0.04-0.85) exhibited any clinical benefit (complete response, partial response, or stable disease). In the ITT population at six months, progression-free survival (PFS) was 19% (95% CI: 0.01-0.82), and overall survival (OS) was 48% (95% CI: 0.08-0.90). At 12 months, PFS decreased to 9% (95% CI: 0.00-0.85), and OS was 33% (95% CI: 0.04-0.85). No statistically significant heterogeneity was observed in PFS and OS analyses.Discussion and conclusionThis study suggests that one-third of women with advanced or recurrent vulvar cancer may, without the influence of PD-L1 status, benefit from pembrolizumab treatment despite a decline in both PFS and OS at 12 months. These findings provide support for considering pembrolizumab in the treatment paradigm for this specific subset of cancer patients.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD4202339188

Soluciones libres para bibliotecas médicas: reducimos costes, mantenemos calidad y profesionalidad

Introduction The current economic situation has forced librarians to sharpen their wits and to find alternatives to reduce costs. In a climate of austerity, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is presented as a complementary solution to meet librarians’ goals without sacrificing quality. The aim of this study is to show not only the most used FOSS in Health Libraries but also those options which are not as well known but with great potential for the community. Materials and Methods Firstly, a literature review was performed to identify FOSS experiences in libraries. Secondly, those experiences were analysed and also tested their suitability and practicality for Health Librarians. Results Content management systems like Joomla and Drupal, institutional repositories such as DSpace, E-Prints and Greenstone and integrated library systems as Koha or PMB have become popular among information professionals. Other programs as Moodle, a course management system, and Zotero, a bibliographic management tool, have seen how their popularity has recently increased. Furthermore, FOSS facilitates the performance of daily tasks for librarians. Instant messaging tools such as Pidgin or web platforms for collaboration and real-time meetings as Dimdim or WebHuddle help communication between library staff. Also project management is simplified with DotProject. Tasks and services assessment can be also done with software as the on-line survey generator LimeSurvey, web statistics program Piwik or reference statistics program Libstats. Other administrative tasks can be as well performed by programs like MRBS which manages the meeting room booking or Reserves Direct a program which enables library staff to manage reserve lists. Conclusions The successful implementation of Koha, Moodle or Drupal and the proliferation of new programs that facilitate the performance of library daily tasks has let to FOSS become a professional and quality solution for Health Librarians

Mit der Bibliothek zur Promotion

Many medicine and dentistry students aspire to continue their research or academic career after graduation, leading them to choose a doctorate. Mainz University Medical School receives around 250 to 300 doctoral thesis submissions annually, and the Departmental Library of Mainz University Medical School (BBUM) plays a crucial part in this process. During the four-year PhD programme, the BBUM provides a variety of indispensable services, courses and resources for doctoral candidates. The poster illustrates how the BBUM endeavours to assist, advise, educate and communicate with its PhD students. Additionally, it outlines the key partnerships, both formal and informal, with other stakeholders

Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Evidenzbasierte Medizin der AGMB

The activities of the recently founded Evidence Based Medicine Working Group within the German Medical Library Association (AGMB) continued in the first half of 2021 with a whole series of virtual training events and exchange of training materials. At the AGMB meeting 2021 the group and guests will explore further training opportunities and will continue the discussion on the greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks medical librarians in the D-A-CH countries are confronted with when they want to implement a systematic reviews service

Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Evidenzbasierte Medizin der AGMB

The working group Evidence-Based Medicine (AG-EBM), which was established within the German Medical Library Association (AGMB) in 2019, continued its activities in 2022/2023 on a regular basis. At numerous virtual training sessions and the meeting at the AGMB 2022 annual conference in Würzburg the working group looked at the training needs of AG-EBM members and established informal training formats

Systematic review of instruments for the assessment of patient reported outcomes and quality of life in childhood glaucoma patients

Topic To identify patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), that have been used in children and adolescents with glaucoma, and to evaluate their methodological quality. Clinical relevance Childhood glaucoma impairs vision and quality of life throughout all stages of life. Thus, a PROM needs to cover many different age groups and topics. Various instruments have been used to evaluate patient-reported outcomes in patients with childhood glaucoma, however it is unclear which PROM has the highest methodological quality and complies best with the needs of childhood glaucoma patients. Methods A systematic literature review was performed searching MEDLINE (PubMed), The Cochrane Library, Web of Science and PsycINFO (EBSCO). We included peer-reviewed full-text articles of the past ten years in English, German or Spanish language that reported PROMs in children with glaucoma. The study selection and methodological quality assessment of the identified PROMs was performed by two independent reviewers using a seven-point checklist. The content was mapped onto the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The systematic review was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (ID CRD42022353936). Results The search strategy retrieved 3295 matches. 2901 studies were screened, and 11 relevant articles were identified using ten different instruments. The instruments addressed functional visual ability (FVA), vision-related quality of life (VRQoL), health-related QoL (HRQoL), and life satisfaction (LS). Six instruments were applicable for the use in children. Seven of the questionnaires received the highest number of positive ratings (5/7). None of the instruments considered the views of childhood glaucoma patients during their development. Conclusion This systematic review provides a descriptive catalogue of vision-specific and generic health PRO instruments that have been used in childhood glaucoma cohorts. An instrument specifically developed for childhood glaucoma is lacking which might result in missing important factors, such as permanent treatment with eye drops, repeated surgeries and heritability of the disease, when investigating the quality of life in children with glaucoma

Social inequalities in the association between partner/marital status and health among workers in Spain

The objectives of this study are to examine the association between partner/marital status and several health outcomes among workers and to assess whether it depends on gender and occupational social class. The sample was composed of all workers aged 21-64 years interviewed in the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey (8563 men and 5881 women). Partner/marital status had seven categories: married and living with the spouse (reference category), married and not living with the spouse, cohabiting, single and living with parents, single and not living with parents, separated/divorced and widowed. Four health outcomes were analysed: self-perceived health status, mental health, psychiatric drugs consumption and hypertension. Multiple logistic regression models stratified by sex and social class were fitted. Female manual workers who were cohabiting were more likely to report poor self-perceived health status, poor mental health status, psychiatric medication consumption and hypertension than their married and living with the spouse counterparts. In that group the prevalence of poor health outcomes was even higher when compared with single people. Among male non-manual workers, being married and not living with the spouse was associated with poor self-perceived health status, poor mental health status and hypertension. There were almost no differences in health between being married and the rest of partner/marital status categories for different combinations of gender and social class and, even, some groups of single people reported better health outcomes than people who were married. Our results show no evidence that being married and living with the spouse is unequivocally linked to better health status among Spanish workers. They emphasize the importance of not only considering marital status, but also partner status, as well as the role of gender, social class and the sociocultural context in the analysis of the association between family characteristics and health.Spain Marital status Family characteristics Gender Social factors Work