Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
ReviewDental fillings for the treatment of caries in the primary dentition.
Childhood caries (tooth decay) consists of a form of tooth decay that affects the milk teeth (also known as baby or primary teeth) of children. This may range from tooth decay in a single tooth to rampant caries affecting all the teeth in the mouth. Primary teeth in young children are vital to their development and every effort should be made to retain these teeth for as long as is possible. Dental fillings or restorations have been used as an intervention to repair these damaged teeth. Oral health professionals need to make astute decisions about the type of restorative (filling) material they choose to best manage their patients with childhood caries. This decision is by no means an easy one as remarkable advances in dental restorative materials over the last 10 years has seen the introduction of a multitude of different filling materials claiming to provide the best performance in terms of durability, aesthetics, symptom relief, etc when placed in the mouth. This review sought to compare the different types of dental materials against each other for the same outcomes. ⋯ It was disappointing that only three trials that compared three different types of materials were suitable for inclusion into this review. There were no significant differences found in all three trials for all of the outcomes assessed. Well designed, randomised controlled trials comparing the different types of filling materials for similar outcomes are urgently needed in dentistry. There was insufficient evidence from the three included trials to make any recommendations about which filling material to use.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
ReviewMechanical ventilation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neuron disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Without mechanical ventilation, death from respiratory failure usually follows within two to five years of the onset of symptoms. ⋯ Evidence from a single randomised trial of non-invasive ventilation in 41 participants suggests that it significantly prolongs survival and improves or maintains quality of life in people with ALS. Survival and some measures of quality of life were significantly improved in the subgroup of people with better bulbar function, but not in those with severe bulbar impairment.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
Review Meta AnalysisSugammadex, a selective reversal medication for preventing postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade.
Abrishami et al.'s Cochrane review of 18 RCTs totalling 1,300 patients confirmed the superiority of sugammadex compared with neostigmine at all studied levels of blockade. They identified sugammadex dosing of:
- 2 mg/kg - for reversal of rocuronium neuromuscular blockade at TOF-T2 reappearance.
- 4 mg/kg - for reversal at post-tetanic count of 1 to 2.
- 16 mg/kg - for reversal 3 to 5 minutes after a rocuronium intubating dose.
Importantly there was similar frequency of adverse events compared to neostigmine (< 1%), although overall small sample sizes mean no conclusion can be made regarding rare serious adverse events.
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The majority of strokes are due to blockage of an artery in the brain by a blood clot. Prompt treatment with thrombolytic drugs can restore blood flow before major brain damage has occurred and could improve recovery after stroke. Thrombolytic drugs, however, can also cause serious bleeding in the brain, which can be fatal. One drug, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), is licensed for use in highly selected patients within three hours of stroke. ⋯ Overall, thrombolytic therapy appears to result in a significant net reduction in the proportion of patients dead or dependent in activities of daily living. This overall benefit was apparent despite an increase both in deaths (evident at seven to 10 days and at final follow up) and in symptomatic intracranial haemorrhages. Further trials are needed to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from treatment and the environment in which thrombolysis may best be given in routine practice.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
ReviewHypothermia for neuroprotection in adults after cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Good neurologic outcome after cardiac arrest is hard to achieve. Interventions during the resuscitation phase and treatment within the first hours after the event are critical. Experimental evidence suggests that therapeutic hypothermia is beneficial, and a number of clinical studies on this subject have been published. ⋯ Conventional cooling methods to induce mild therapeutic hypothermia seem to improve survival and neurologic outcome after cardiac arrest. Our review supports the current best medical practice as recommended by the International Resuscitation Guidelines.