Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
ReviewLumbar supports for prevention and treatment of low back pain.
Lumbar supports are used in the treatment of low-back pain patients, to prevent the onset of low-back pain (primary prevention) or to prevent recurrences of a low-back pain episode (secondary prevention). ⋯ There is moderate evidence that lumbar supports are not more effective than no intervention or training in preventing low-back pain, and conflicting evidence whether they are effective supplements to other preventive interventions. It remains unclear whether lumbar supports are more effective than no or other interventions for treating low-back pain. There is still a need for high quality randomized trials on the effectiveness of lumbar supports. One of the most essential issues to tackle in these future trials seems to be the realization of an adequate compliance. Special attention should be paid to different outcome measures, types of patients and types of lumbar support.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
ReviewAnti-histamines for prolonged non-specific cough in children.
Non-specific cough is defined as non-productive cough in the absence of identifiable respiratory disease or known aetiology. It is commonly seen in paediatric practice. These children are treated with a variety of therapies including anti-histamines. Also, anti-histamines are advocated as an empirical treatment in adults with chronic cough. ⋯ This review has significant limitations. However, our finding of uncertain efficacy of anti-histamines for chronic cough are similar to that for acute cough in children. In contrast to recommendations in adults with chronic cough, anti-histamines cannot be recommended as empirical therapy for children with chronic cough. If anti-histamines were to be trialled in these children, current data suggest a clinical response (time to response) occurs within two weeks of therapy. However the use of anti-histamines in children with non-specific cough has to be balanced against the well known risk of adverse events especially in very young children.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
ReviewWITHDRAWN: Antibiotics for persistent nasal discharge (rhinosinusitis) in children.
Nasal discharge (rhinosinusitis) is extremely common in children. It is the result of inflammation of the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, and is usually due to either infection or allergy. Infections may be caused by bacteria. ⋯ For children with persistent nasal discharge or older children with radiographically confirmed sinusitis, the available evidence suggests that antibiotics will reduce the probability of persistence in the short to medium-term. The benefits appear to be modest and around eight children must be treated in order to achieve one additional cure (number needed to treat (NNT) 8, 95% CI 5 to 29). No long term benefits have been documented. These conclusions are based on a small number of small randomised controlled trials and may require revision as additional data become available.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
ReviewAntenatal lower genital tract infection screening and treatment programs for preventing preterm delivery.
Preterm birth is birth before 37 weeks' gestation. Genital tract infection is one of the causes of preterm birth. Infection screening during pregnancy has been used to reduce preterm birth. However, infection screening may have some adverse effects, e.g. increased antibiotic drug resistance, increased costs of treatment. ⋯ There is evidence that infection screening and treatment programs in pregnant women may reduce preterm birth and preterm low birthweights. Future trials should evaluate the effects of types of infection screening program, gestational ages at screening test and the costs of introducing an infection screening program.
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Enteral tube feeding is routinely used in many cystic fibrosis centres when weight for height percentage is less than 85%, when there has been weight loss for longer than a two-month period or when there has been no weight gain for two to three months (under five years old) or for six months (over five years old). ⋯ Supplemental enteral tube feeding is widely used throughout the world to improve nutritional status in people with cystic fibrosis. The methods mostly used, nasogastric or gastrostomy feeding, are invasive, expensive, and may have a negative effect on self-esteem and body image. Reported use of enteral tube feeding suggests that it results in nutritional and respiratory improvement and it is disappointing that their efficacy has not been fully assessed by randomised controlled trials. With the more frequent recommendations to use enteral tube feeding as an early rather than a late intervention, this systematic review identifies the need for a multicentre, randomised controlled trial assessing both efficacy and possible adverse effects of enteral tube feeding in cystic fibrosis. There are no trials included in the review and we have not identified any relevant trials up to November 2007. We therefore do not plan to update this review until new trials are published.