Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jun 2013
Review Meta AnalysisElectrical stimulation with non-implanted electrodes for urinary incontinence in men.
Electrical stimulation with non-implanted devices is used for patients with different types of urinary incontinence and symptoms of urgency, frequency and nocturia. The current review focused on electrical stimulation with non-implanted devices for the treatment of urinary incontinence in men. ⋯ There was some evidence that electrical stimulation enhanced the effect of PFMT in the short term but not after six months. There were, however, more adverse effects (pain or discomfort) with electrical stimulation.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jun 2013
Review Meta AnalysisSurgery versus thrombolysis for initial management of acute limb ischaemia.
Peripheral arterial thrombolysis is technique used in the management of peripheral arterial ischaemia. Much is known about the indications, risks and benefits of thrombolysis. However, it is not known whether thrombolysis works better than surgery in the initial treatment of acute limb ischaemia. ⋯ Universal initial treatment with either surgery or thrombolysis cannot be advocated on the available evidence. There is no overall difference in limb salvage or death at one year between initial surgery and initial thrombolysis. Thrombolysis may be associated with a higher risk of ongoing limb ischaemia and haemorrhagic complications including stroke. The higher risk of complications must be balanced against risks of surgery in each person.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jun 2013
Review Meta AnalysisRetinoids for preventing the progression of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia.
Invasive cervical carcinoma is preceded by a precancerous phase, cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN), which can be detected on cervical smears and confirmed by colposcopy and biopsy. Moderate and severe cases of intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN2 and CIN3) are treated mainly with surgery to prevent progression to invasive carcinoma. Medical methods of preventing the progression or inducing the regression of CIN are needed. Retinoids are potent modulators of epithelial cell growth and differentiation that may have potential for the treatment of CIN. ⋯ The retinoids studied are not effective in causing regression of CIN3 but may have some effect on CIN2. The data on CIN1 are inadequate. Retinoids are not effective in preventing progression of CIN of any grade. At the doses given for the duration of treatment studied, the retinoids were reasonably well tolerated.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jun 2013
Review Meta AnalysisInterferon after surgery for women with advanced (Stage II-IV) epithelial ovarian cancer.
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a life-threatening disease. Most often women become symptomatic only in the advanced stages of the disease, increasing the difficulty of treatment. Whilst the disease responds well to surgery and chemotherapy, the relapse rate is high. New treatments to prevent disease recurrence or progression, prolong survival, and increase the quality of life are needed. ⋯ Three of the five trials included in this review were stopped early and were, therefore, underpowered to detect any true effect of the intervention. The trials did not report the results of important outcomes in a uniform manner, preventing statistical aggregation of the results. Trial methodology was poorly reported resulting in unclear risk of bias. For clear recommendations to be made regarding the effectiveness of interferon in the treatment of advanced EOC, long-term, well conducted and adequately powered RCTs would be needed. However, the available data do not suggest that interferon has an adequately advantageous effect to warrant further investigation.
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Hypertriglyceridaemia is associated with many diseases including atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension and chylomicronaemia. Chinese herbal medicines have been used for a long time as lipid-lowering agents. ⋯ The present systematic review suggests that Chinese herbal medicines may have positive effects on hypertriglyceridaemia. The trials did not report serious adverse effects following Chinese herbal medicines treatment. However, based on an unclear risk of bias in included studies and lack of patient-important long-term outcomes, no definite conclusion could be reached.