Benefits and harms of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2-I) and renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors (RAAS-I) versus SGLT2-Is alone in patients with type 2 diabetes:A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

INTRODUCTION: It is uncertain if the combination of sodium‐glucose co‐transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2‐Is) and renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system inhibitors (RAAS‐Is) provides better cardio‐renal clinical outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) compared with SGLT2‐Is alone. Using a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), we evaluated the efficacy and safety with respect to cardio‐renal outcomes of the combination of SGLT2 and RAAS inhibitors vs SGLT2‐Is in patients with T2DM. METHODS: Studies were identified from MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library and search of bibliographies to May 2021. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias of each study. Study‐specific risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled. Quality of the evidence was assessed using GRADE. RESULTS: Nine articles comprising 8 RCT evaluations (n = 34,551 participants) that compared SGLT2‐Is with placebo in patients with T2DM against a background of standard care and reported subgroup results for those treated with or without RAAS‐Is at baseline were included. No RCT specifically investigated the combination of SGLT2 and RAAS inhibitors compared with SGLT2‐Is alone. The RRs (95% CIs) for composite cardiovascular outcome and composite CVD death/heart failure hospitalization comparing SGLT2‐Is vs placebo in patients on RAAS‐Is were 0.93 (0.85–1.01) and 0.88 (0.76–1.02), respectively. The corresponding estimates for patients not on RAAS‐Is were 0.78 (0.65–0.93) and 0.73 (0.65–0.82), respectively. There was no evidence of interactions between RAAS‐I status and the effects of SGLT2‐Is for both outcomes. Single study results showed that SGLT2‐Is vs placebo reduced the risk of composite kidney outcome and cardiovascular death in patients with RAAS inhibition. The effect of SGLT2 inhibition vs placebo on kidney parameters, genital infections, volume depletion, hyperkalaemia, hypokalaemia, hypoglycaemia and other adverse events was similar in patients with or without RAAS inhibition. The quality of the evidence ranged from very low to moderate. CONCLUSIONS: Aggregate published data suggest that the combination of SGLT2 and RAAS inhibitors in the treatment of patients with T2DM may be similar in efficacy and safety if not superior to SGLT2‐Is alone. Head‐to‐head comparisons of the two interventions are warranted to inform T2DM management. The use of SGLT2 inhibition as a first‐line therapy in T2DM or its early use in the prevention of renal deterioration and cardiovascular complications in addition to its glycaemic control deserves further study

Indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalisations for cardiometabolic conditions and their management:A systematic review

BackgroundThe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a dramatic crisis in health care systems worldwide. These may have significant implications for the management of cardiometabolic diseases. We conducted a systematic review of published evidence to assess the indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalisations for cardiovascular diseases and their management.MethodsStudies that evaluated volume of hospitalisations for cardiometabolic conditions and their management with comparisons between the COVID-19 and pre-COVID periods were identified from MEDLINE, Embase and the reference list of relevant studies from January 2020 to 25 February 2021.ResultsWe identified 103 observational studies, with most studies assessing hospitalisations for acute cardiovascular conditions such as acute coronary syndrome, ischemic strokes and heart failure. About 89% of studies reported a decline in hospitalisations during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times, with reductions ranging from 20.2 to 73%. Severe presentation, less utilization of cardiovascular procedures, and longer patient- and healthcare-related delays were common during the pandemic. Most studies reported shorter length of hospital stay during the pandemic than before the pandemic (1–8 vs 2–12 days) or no difference in length of stay. Most studies reported no change in in-hospital mortality among hospitalised patients.ConclusionClinical care of patients for acute cardiovascular conditions, their management and outcomes have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients should be educated via population-wide approaches on the need for timely medical contact and health systems should put strategies in place to provide timely care to patients at high risk.</div

Effect of Construction Project Performance on Economic Development of Nigeria

Construction projects located in Nigeria suffer from many problems and complex issues and this ultimately impact on the country’s economic development. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to assess the effect of construction performance on economic development of Nigeria with a view to providing better construction project performance and improving economic development in the process. Using a survey design, a total of 74 construction professionals were sampled and data were analyzed using related descriptive tools. The study revealed that the major factors affecting project performance include; project design cost, cost of reworks, unavailability of resources, average delay in regular payment, quality of equipment and raw materials and unavailability of competent staffs to handle construction process. Also findings revealed that the areas where construction project performance have more effect on economic development are; improvement in technology, extension of infrastructures, increase in employment opportunities and government expenditure. The study further recommends that human resources in the construction industry should be developed through proper and continuous training programs about construction projects performance. Also elements required for better performance in construction have to be fully integrated into every construction projects in Nigeria. Keywords: Construction, Economic development, Performance, Nigeria

Statins and risk of thromboembolism:A meta-regression to disentangle the efficacy-to-effectiveness gap using observational and trial evidence

Background and aims Meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies indicate a lower risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with statin treatment. We aimed to compare the effect of statin therapy in these two settings and to identify and quantify potential factors to explain statin efficacy and effectiveness. Methods and results We electronically searched on December 11th, 2018, articles reporting on first VTE events in RCTs (statin vs placebo) and in observational studies (participants exposed vs non-exposed to statin). We performed Knapp-Hartung random-effect meta-analyses to calculate pooled relative risks (RRs) of VTE events associated with statin treatment, separately for RCTs and observational studies; and estimated the ratio of the relative risk (RRR) comparing RCTs and observational studies using meta-regressions, progressively adjusted for study-level characteristics. Twenty-one RCTs (115,107 participants; 959 events) and 8 observational studies (2,898,096 participants; 19,671 events) were included. Pooled RRs for RCTs and observational studies were 0.82 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.67–1.00; I2 19.2%) and 0.60 (95% CI: 0.42–0.86; I2 86.3%), respectively. In meta-regressions, the unadjusted RRR indicated a nonsignificant 23% smaller benefit in RCTs (RRR 0.77; 95% CI: 0.52–1.13); accounting for age, sex, geographical region, and duration of follow-up, there was a sensible change of the RRR which resulted 0.30 (95% CI: 0.13–0.68). Conclusion Differences in the characteristics between patients included in RCTs and those in observational studies may account for the differential effect of statins in preventing VTE in the two settings