Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2013
Review Meta AnalysisPerioperative statin therapy for improving outcomes during and after noncardiac vascular surgery.
Patients undergoing vascular surgery are a high-risk population with widespread atherosclerosis, an adverse cardiovascular risk profile and often multiple co-morbidities. Postoperative cardiovascular complications, including myocardial infarct (MI), are common. Statins are the medical treatment of choice to reduce high cholesterol levels. Evidence is accumulating that patients taking statins at the time of surgery are protected against a range of perioperative complications, but the specific benefits for patients undergoing noncardiac vascular surgery are not clear. ⋯ Evidence was insufficient to allow review authors to conclude that statin use resulted in either a reduction or an increase in any of the outcomes examined. The existing body of evidence leaves questions about the benefits of perioperative use of statins for vascular surgery unanswered. Widespread use of statins in the target population means that it may now be difficult for researchers to undertake the large RCTs needed to demonstrate any effect on the incidence of postoperative cardiovascular events. However, participant-reported outcomes have been neglected and warrant further study.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2013
Review Meta AnalysisNebulized and oral thiol derivatives for pulmonary disease in cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition resulting in thickened, sticky respiratory secretions. Respiratory failure, due to recurrent pulmonary infection and inflammation, is the most common cause of mortality. Muco-active therapies (e.g. dornase alfa and nebulized hypertonic saline) may decrease sputum viscosity, increase airway clearance of sputum, reduce infection and inflammation and improve lung function. Thiol derivatives, either oral or nebulized, have shown benefit in other respiratory diseases. Their mode of action is likely to differ according to the route of administration. There are several thiol derivatives, and it is unclear which of these may be beneficial in cystic fibrosis. ⋯ We found no evidence to recommend the use of either nebulized or oral thiol derivatives in people with cystic fibrosis. There are very few good quality trials investigating the effect of these medications in cystic fibrosis, and further research is required to investigate the potential role of these medications in improving the outcomes of people with cystic fibrosis.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2013
Review Meta AnalysisProtocolized versus non-protocolized weaning for reducing the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation in critically ill paediatric patients.
Mechanical ventilation is a critical component of paediatric intensive care therapy. It is indicated when the patient's spontaneous ventilation is inadequate to sustain life. Weaning is the gradual reduction of ventilatory support and the transfer of respiratory control back to the patient. Weaning may represent a large proportion of the ventilatory period. Prolonged ventilation is associated with significant morbidity, hospital cost, psychosocial and physical risks to the child and even death. Timely and effective weaning may reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation and may reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with prolonged ventilation. However, no consensus has been reached on criteria that can be used to identify when patients are ready to wean or the best way to achieve it. ⋯ Limited evidence suggests that weaning protocols reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation, but evidence is inadequate to show whether the achievement of shorter ventilation by protocolized weaning causes children benefit or harm.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2013
Review Meta AnalysisPharmacotherapy for the prevention of chronic pain after surgery in adults.
Chronic pain can often occur after surgery, substantially impairing patients' health and quality of life. It is caused by complex mechanisms that are not yet well understood. The predictable nature of most surgical procedures has allowed for the conduct of randomized controlled trials of pharmacological interventions aimed at preventing chronic postsurgical pain. ⋯ Additional evidence from better, well designed, large-scale trials is needed in order to more rigorously evaluate pharmacological interventions for the prevention of chronic pain after surgery. Furthermore, available evidence does not support the efficacy of gabapentin, pregabalin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, intravenous steroids, oral NMDA blockers, oral mexiletine, intravenous fentanyl, intravenous lidocaine, oral venlafaxine or inhaled nitrous oxide for the prevention of chronic postoperative pain.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2013
Review Meta AnalysisAntiplatelet and anticoagulation for patients with prosthetic heart valves.
Patients with prosthetic heart valves are at increased risk for valve thrombosis and arterial thromboembolism. Oral anticoagulation alone, or the addition of antiplatelet drugs, has been used to minimise this risk. An important issue is the effectiveness and safety of the latter strategy. ⋯ Adding antiplatelet therapy, either dipyridamole or low-dose aspirin, to oral anticoagulation decreases the risk of systemic embolism or death among patients with prosthetic heart valves. The risk of major bleeding is increased with antiplatelet therapy. These results apply to patients with mechanical prosthetic valves or those with biological valves and indicators of high risk such as atrial fibrillation or prior thromboembolic events. The effectiveness and safety of low-dose aspirin (100 mg daily) appears to be similar to higher-dose aspirin and dipyridamole. In general, the quality of the included trials tended to be low, possibly reflecting the era when the majority of the trials were conducted (1970s and 1980s when trial methodology was less advanced).