Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial Meta Analysis
Reduced costs for Staphylococcus aureus carriers treated prophylactically with mupirocin and chlorhexidine in cardiothoracic and orthopaedic surgery.
A multi centre double-blind randomised-controlled trial (M-RCT), carried out in the Netherlands in 2005-2007, showed that hospitalised patients with S. aureus nasal carriage who were treated prophylactically with mupirocin nasal ointment and chlorhexidine gluconate medicated soap (MUP-CHX), had a significantly lower risk of health-care associated S. aureus infections than patients receiving placebo (3.4% vs. 7.7%, RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23-0.75). The objective of the present study was to determine whether treatment of patients undergoing elective cardiothoracic or orthopaedic surgery with MUP-CHX (screen-and-treat strategy) affected the costs of patient care. ⋯ In conclusion, in patients undergoing cardiothoracic or orthopaedic surgery, screening for S. aureus nasal carriage and treating carriers with MUP-CHX results in a substantial reduction of hospital costs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Oral antimicrobial rinse to reduce mycobacterial culture contamination among tuberculosis suspects in Uganda: a prospective study.
Contamination by bacterial or fungal organisms reduces the effectiveness of mycobacterial culture for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). We evaluated the effect of an anti-microbial and an anti-fungal oral rinse prior to expectoration on culture-contamination rates. ⋯ Oral rinse prior to sputum expectoration is a promising strategy to reduce mycobacterial culture contamination in areas with high HIV prevalence, if strategies can be devised to reduce the adverse impact of oral rinse on smear- and culture-positivity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Ketamine decreases resting state functional network connectivity in healthy subjects: implications for antidepressant drug action.
Increasing preclinical and clinical evidence underscores the strong and rapid antidepressant properties of the glutamate-modulating NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine. Targeting the glutamatergic system might thus provide a novel molecular strategy for antidepressant treatment. Since glutamate is the most abundant and major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, pathophysiological changes in glutamatergic signaling are likely to affect neurobehavioral plasticity, information processing and large-scale changes in functional brain connectivity underlying certain symptoms of major depressive disorder. ⋯ Here, using a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover rsfMRI challenge in healthy subjects we demonstrate that ketamine decreases functional connectivity of the DMN to the DN and to the pregenual anterior cingulate (PACC) and medioprefrontal cortex (MPFC) via its representative hub, the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). These findings in healthy subjects may serve as a model to elucidate potential biomechanisms that are addressed by successful treatment of major depression. This notion is further supported by the temporal overlap of our observation of subacute functional network modulation after 24 hours with the peak of efficacy following an intravenous ketamine administration in treatment-resistant depression.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of pregabalin on central sensitization in patients with chronic pancreatitis in a randomized, controlled trial.
Intense abdominal pain is the dominant feature of chronic pancreatitis. During the disease changes in central pain processing, e.g. central sensitization manifest as spreading hyperalgesia, can result from ongoing nociceptive input. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of pregabalin on pain processing in chronic pancreatitis as assessed by quantitative sensory testing (QST). ⋯ Our study provides first evidence that pregabalin has moderate inhibitory effects on central sensitization manifest as spreading hyperalgesia in chronic pancreatitis patients. These findings suggest that QST can be of clinical use for monitoring pain treatments in the context of chronic pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Tailored vs. standardized internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for depression and comorbid symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.
Major depression can be treated by means of cognitive behavior therapy, delivered via the Internet as guided self-help. Individually tailored guided self-help treatments have shown promising results in the treatment of anxiety disorders. This randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of an Internet-based individually tailored guided self-help treatment which specifically targeted depression with comorbid symptoms. The treatment was compared both to standardized (non-tailored) Internet-based treatment and to an active control group in the form of a monitored online discussion group. Both guided self-help treatments were based on cognitive behavior therapy and lasted for 10 weeks. The discussion group consisted of weekly discussion themes related to depression and the treatment of depression. ⋯ This study shows that tailored Internet-based treatment for depression is effective and that addressing comorbidity by tailoring may be one way of making guided self-help treatments more effective than standardized approaches in the treatment of more severe depression.