Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Telecoaching for Self-Care Management among Persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: In response to the need for safe care for people with diabetes mellitus in the current outbreak of COVID-19, it is critical to evaluate the model, service delivery, feasibility, and efficiency of diabetes mellitus telecoaching. Objective: This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the model and efficacy of telecoaching to improve self-care and clinical outcomes. Methods: This study uses the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). We searched on 22 March 2022, using keywords that matched the MeSH browser in four databases to find relevant studies, namely, PubMed/Medline, Proquest, Scopus, and EBSCOhost. Additionally, we collected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Google Scholar using the snowball technique. A quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias tool (RoB)2. The meta-analysis used the DerSimonian–Laird random-effects model to analyze the pooled mean difference (MD) and its p-value. Results: Thirteen RCT studies were included for the systematic review and meta-analysis with a total number of participants of 3300. The model of telecoaching is a form of using nurses-led telephone and mobile apps, which are relatively cost-effective. The meta-analysis showed a positively improved statistically significance in clinical outcomes, including in HbA1c (a pooled MD of −0.33; 95% CI: −0.51–−0.15; p = 0.0003), blood glucose (−18.99; 95% CI: −20.89–−17.09; p = 0.00001), systolic blood pressure (−2.66; 95% CI: −3.66–−1.66; p = 0.00001), body mass index (−0.79; 95% CI: −1.39–−0.18; p = 0.01), and weight (−2.16 kg; 95% CI: −3.95–−0.38; p = 0.02). It was not, however, statistically significant in diastolic blood pressure (−0.87; 95% CI: −2.02–0.28; p = 0.14), total cholesterol (−0.07; 95% CI: −0.26–0.12; p = 0.46), low-density lipoprotein (−2.19; 95% CI: −6.70–2.31; p = 0.34), triglycerides (−13.56; 95% CI: −40.46–13.35; p = 0.32) and high-density protein (0.40; 95% CI: −1.12–1.91; p = 0.61). Conclusions: The telecoaching with nurses-led telephone and mobile apps significantly affected clinical outcomes on HbA1c, systolic blood pressure, weight, and BMI. Moreover, there was no significant effect on the total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein. Thus, telecoaching has the potential as a care model in diabetes mellitus during COVID-19 and similar pandemics to improve self-care and clinical outcomes, but all the studies analyzed involved non-COVID-19 patients, limiting the generalizability of the results to COVID-19

The efficacy of herbs as complementary and alternative therapy in recovery and clinical outcome among people with Covid-19: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and this condition has caused many cases in various countries around the world, resulting in more than 6 million deaths worldwide. Herbal medicines can act as immunomodulators, anti-inflammatories, antioxidants, antimicrobials, and others depending on the type and content of the herbs used. Previous studies have shown that several types of herbs, such as Echinacea purpurea, Curcumin or Turmeric, Nigella sativa, and Zingiber officinale, have proven their effectiveness as herbal plants for COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search through five databases, namely, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Wiley, and ProQuest to assess the efficacy of phytopharmaceuticals until July 12, 2022. We used the Cochrane RoB 2.0 for the quality assessment of the study. Results: Phytopharmaceuticals significantly improved patients’ recovery rate (OR = 3.54; p 0.05)]. Conclusion: Herbal medicine has the potential as an adjuvant therapy in the management of COVID-19

Systematic literature review with meta-analysis on essential oil interventions for agitated behavior in dementia patients

Introduction: Essential oil treatment has been explored as a potential alternative medicine, as these therapies can induce calming and sedative effects by acting on the neuro-limbic system and upregulating neurotransmitter synthesis. Objectives: This paper aims to assess the impact of essential oil interventions on aggressive behavior in people with dementia. Methods: The literature search was carried out through six databases. The outcomes of interest were the survival risk and post-treatment score of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), and Quality of Life (QoL). Quality appraisal was done using RoB 2.0, while meta-analysis was done using RevMan 5.4. This systematic review has been registered to the PROSPERO database (CRD42023476844). Results: We analyzed 11 included studies with 1,418 patients. RoB 2.0 analysis resulted in eight low-risk-of-bias and three high-risk-of-bias studies. This study suggests that essential oil interventions lead to statistically significant improvements in survival risk with moderate heterogeneity [OR = 0.63 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.98, p = 0.04; I2 = 74%)]. This study also found a significant improvement in NPI scores following the use of essential oils [SMD = -2.97 (95% CI = -5.61, -0.32, p = 0.03; I2 = 98%)], but no statistically significant improvements were found in CMAI scores [SMD = 0.17 (95% CI = 0.37, 0.71, p = 0.53; I2 = 74%)]. The QoL assessment showed a trend favoring the control group after implementing essential oil treatments [SMD = 4.89 (95% CI = 1.51, 8.27, p = 0.005; I2 = 98%)]. Conclusions: Essential oil is a potential approach in alleviating the agitated behavior of dementia patients considering its survival risk and some parameters, such as NPI, CMAI, and QoL score. However, more studies regarding essential oils on these parameters should be done, especially studies with specific main ingredients of the essential oil

Revealing Edible Bird Nest as Novel Functional Foods in Combating Metabolic Syndrome: Comprehensive In Silico, In Vitro, and In Vivo Studies

Metabolic dysfunction, which includes intra-abdominal adiposity, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, manifests into metabolic syndrome and related diseases. Therefore, the discovery of new therapies in the fight against metabolic syndrome is very challenging. This study aims to reveal the existence of an edible bird nest (EBN) as a functional food candidate that may be a new alternative in fighting metabolic syndrome. The study included three approaches: in silico molecular docking simulation, in vitro, and in vivo in rats fed on cholesterol- and fat-enriched diets. Four terpenoids of Bakuchiol, Curculigosaponin A, Dehydrolindestrenolide, and 1-methyl-3-(1-methyl-ethyl)-benzene in EBN have been identified through LCMS/MS-QTOF. In molecular docking simulations, Bakuchiol and Dehydrolindestrenolide are considered very potent because they have higher inhibitory power on the four receptors (iNOS, ROS1 kinase, FTO, and lipase) than standard drugs. In vitro tests also provide insight into the antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antiobesity activities of EBN, which is quite feasible due to the smaller EC50 value of EBN compared to standard drugs. Interestingly, in vivo studies also showed significant improvements (p < 0.05) in the lipid profile, blood glucose, enzymatic levels, and inflammatory biomarkers in rats given high-dose dietary supplementation of EBN. More interestingly, high-dose dietary supplementation of EBN upregulates PGC-1α and downregulates HMG-CoA reductase. Comprehensively, it has been revealed that EBN can be novel functional foods for combating metabolic syndrome