Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2010
Review Meta AnalysisLay health workers in primary and community health care for maternal and child health and the management of infectious diseases.
Lay health workers (LHWs) are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of LHW interventions. ⋯ LHWs provide promising benefits in promoting immunisation uptake and breastfeeding, improving TB treatment outcomes, and reducing child morbidity and mortality when compared to usual care. For other health issues, evidence is insufficient to draw conclusions about the effects of LHWs.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2010
Review Meta AnalysisAnthelmintics for people with neurocysticercosis.
Neurocysticercosis is an infection of the brain by the larval stage of the pork tapeworm. In endemic areas it is a common cause of epilepsy. Anthelmintics (albendazole or praziquantel) may be given to kill the parasites. However, there are potential adverse effects, and the parasites may eventually die without treatment. ⋯ In patients with viable lesions, evidence from trials of adults suggests albendazole may reduce the number of lesions. In trials of non-viable lesions, seizure recurrence was substantially lower with albendazole, which is counter-intuitive. It may be that steroids influence headache during treatment, but further research is needed to test this.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2010
Review Meta AnalysisTailored interventions to overcome identified barriers to change: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes.
In the previous version of this review, the effectiveness of interventions tailored to barriers to change was found to be uncertain. ⋯ Interventions tailored to prospectively identified barriers are more likely to improve professional practice than no intervention or dissemination of guidelines. However, the methods used to identify barriers and tailor interventions to address them need further development. Research is required to determine the effectiveness of tailored interventions in comparison with other interventions.
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Bisphosphonates are specific inhibitors of osteoclastic activity and are currently used as supportive therapy for multiple myeloma (MM). However, the exact clinical role of bisphosphonates in MM remains unclear. ⋯ Adding bisphosphonates to the treatment of MM reduces pathological vertebral fractures, SREs and pain but not mortality. Assuming the baseline risk of 20% to 50% for vertebral fracture without treatment, we estimate that between eight and 20 MM patients should be treated to prevent vertebral fracture(s) in one patient. Assuming the baseline risk of 31% to 76% for pain amelioration without treatment, we estimate that between five to 13 MM patients should be treated to reduce pain in one patient. Also, with the baseline risk of 35% to 86% for SREs without treatment, we estimate that between six and 15 MM patients should be treated to prevent SRE(s) in one patient. No bisphoshphonate appears to be superior to others.
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Tinnitus is described as the perception of sound or noise in the absence of real acoustic stimulation. Although an outright cure for tinnitus remains elusive, various management strategies have been developed to help to lessen the impact of the symptom. Following the publication of a neurophysiological model of tinnitus, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) was developed. Using a combination of directive counselling and sound therapy in a strict framework, this is one of the most commonly used treatment modalities for tinnitus. Many studies refer to the use of TRT where in fact a modified version of this therapy is actually being implemented. It is therefore important to confirm the use of authentic TRT when reviewing any study that reports its use. ⋯ A single, low-quality randomised controlled trial suggests that TRT is much more effective as a treatment for patients with tinnitus than tinnitus masking.