Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2010
Review Meta AnalysisEffect of outpatient pharmacists' non-dispensing roles on patient outcomes and prescribing patterns.
The roles of pharmacists in patient care have expanded from the traditional tasks of dispensing medications and providing basic medication counseling to working with other health professionals and the public. Multiple reviews have evaluated the impact of pharmacist-provided patient care on health-related outcomes. Prior reviews have primarily focused on in-patient settings. This systematic review focuses on services provided by outpatient pharmacists in community or ambulatory care settings. This is an update of the Cochrane review published in 2000. ⋯ Only one included study compared pharmacist services with other health professional services, hence we are unable to draw conclusions regarding comparisons 1 and 3. Most included studies supported the role of pharmacists in medication/therapeutic management, patient counseling, and providing health professional education with the goal of improving patient process of care and clinical outcomes, and of educational outreach visits on physician prescribing patterns. There was great heterogeneity in the types of outcomes measured across all studies. Therefore a standardized approach to measure and report clinical, humanistic, and process outcomes for future randomized controlled studies evaluating the impact of outpatient pharmacists is needed. Heterogeneity in study comparison groups, outcomes, and measures makes it challenging to make generalised statements regarding the impact of pharmacists in specific settings, disease states, and patient populations.
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Herbal medicines are being used for treating viral diseases including viral myocarditis, and many controlled trials have been done to investigate their efficacy. ⋯ Some herbal medicines may lead to improvement of symptoms, ventricular premature beat, electrocardiogram, level of myocardial enzymes, and cardiac function in viral myocarditis. However, interpretation of these findings should be taken with care due to the low methodological quality, small sample size, and limited number of trials on individual herbs. Further robust trials are needed to explore the use of herbal medicines in viral myocarditis.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2010
Review Meta AnalysisNutritional support in children and young people with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
Malnutrition can often be a consequence of cancer itself or a result of chemotherapy. Nutritional support aims to reverse malnutrition seen at diagnosis, prevent malnutrition associated with treatment and promote weight gain and growth. The most effective and safe forms of nutritional support in children and young people with cancer are unclear. ⋯ There is limited evidence from individual trials to suggest that parenteral nutrition is more effective than enteral nutrition in well-nourished children and young people with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. The evidence for other methods of nutritional support remains unclear. No studies were identified comparing the nutritional content in the PN or EN groups of studies. Further research, incorporating larger sample sizes and rigorous methodology utilising valid and reliable outcome measures, is essential.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2010
Review Meta AnalysisLactulose versus Polyethylene Glycol for Chronic Constipation.
Constipation is a common clinical problem. Lactulose and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) are both commonly used osmotic laxatives that have been shown to be effective and safe treatments for chronic constipation. However, there is no definitive data as to which provides the best treatment. ⋯ Polyethylene Glycol should be used in preference to Lactulose in the treatment of Chronic Constipation.