Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2015
Review Meta AnalysisPositron emission tomography-adapted therapy for first-line treatment in individuals with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a B-cell lymphoma accounting for 10% to 15% of all lymphoma in industrialised countries. It has a bimodal age distribution with one peak around the age of 30 years and another after the age of 60 years. Although HL accounts for fewer than 1% of all neoplasms worldwide, it is considered to be one of the most common malignancies in young adults and, with cure rates of 90%, one of the most curable cancers worldwide. Current treatment options for HL comprise more- or less-intensified regimens of chemotherapy plus radiotherapy, depending on disease stage. [18F]-fluorodeoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET, also called PET scanning) is an imaging tool that can be used to illustrate a tumour's metabolic activity, stage and progression. Therefore, it could be used as a standard interim procedure during HL treatment, to help distinguish between individuals who are good or poor early responders to therapy. Subsequent therapy could then be de-escalated in PET-negative individuals (good responders) or escalated in those who are PET-positive (poor responders). It is currently unknown whether such response-adapted therapeutic strategies are of benefit to individuals in terms of overall and progression-free survival, and the incidence of long-term adverse events (AEs). ⋯ To date, no robust data on OS, response rate, TRM, QoL, or short- and long-term AEs are available. However, this systematic review found moderate-quality evidence that PFS was shorter in individuals with early-stage HL and a negative PET scan receiving chemotherapy only (PET-adapted therapy) than in those receiving additional radiotherapy (standard therapy). More RCTs with longer follow ups may lead to more precise results for AEs, TRM and QoL, and could evaluate whether this PFS advantage will translate into an overall survival benefit.It is still uncertain whether PET-positive individuals benefit from PET-based treatment adaptation and the effect of such an approach in those with advanced HL.
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Mailuoning is widely used in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke in China. Animal experimental studies and clinical pharmacological research indicate that mailuoning might improve blood circulation, prevent ischaemic injury, and protect heart and brain tissue. This review was last published in 2009. As new data have become available, it is necessary to reassess the evidence from randomised controlled trials. ⋯ This review did not provide sufficient evidence to support the routine use of mailuoning for the treatment of people with acute ischaemic stroke. High-quality large-scale randomised controlled trials are needed to confirm the efficacy of mailuoning.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2015
Review Meta AnalysisAntibiotics for community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections secondary to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children.
Background. Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is widely recognised as an important cause of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in children. Pulmonary manifestations are typically tracheobronchitis or pneumonia but M. pneumoniae is also implicated in wheezing episodes in both asthmatic and non-asthmatic individuals. ⋯ Authors' conclusions There is insufficient evidence to draw any specific conclusions about the efficacy of antibiotics for this condition in children (although one trial suggests macrolides may be efficacious in some children with LRTI secondary to Mycoplasma). The use of antibiotics has to be balanced with possible adverse events. There is still a need for high quality, double-blinded RCTs to assess the efficacy and safety of antibiotics for LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae in children.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2015
Review Meta AnalysisParent-infant psychotherapy for improving parental and infant mental health.
Parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a dyadic intervention that works with parent and infant together, with the aim of improving the parent-infant relationship and promoting infant attachment and optimal infant development. PIP aims to achieve this by targeting the mother's view of her infant, which may be affected by her own experiences, and linking them to her current relationship to her child, in order to improve the parent-infant relationship directly. ⋯ Although the findings of the current review suggest that PIP is a promising model in terms of improving infant attachment security in high-risk families, there were no significant differences compared with no treatment or treatment-as-usual for other parent-based or relationship-based outcomes, and no evidence that PIP is more effective than other methods of working with parents and infants. Further rigorous research is needed to establish the impact of PIP on potentially important mediating factors such as parental mental health, reflective functioning, and parent-infant interaction.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2015
Review Meta AnalysisSingle induction dose of etomidate versus other induction agents for endotracheal intubation in critically ill patients.
The use of etomidate for emergency airway interventions in critically ill patients is very common. In one large registry trial, etomidate was the most commonly used agent for this indication. Etomidate is known to suppress adrenal gland function, but it remains unclear whether or not this adrenal gland dysfunction affects mortality. ⋯ Although we have not found conclusive evidence that etomidate increases mortality or healthcare resource utilization in critically ill patients, it does seem to increase the risk of adrenal gland dysfunction and multi-organ system dysfunction by a small amount. The clinical significance of this finding is unknown. This evidence is judged to be of moderate quality, owing mainly to significant attrition bias in some of the smaller studies, and new research may influence the outcomes of our review. The applicability of these data may be limited by the fact that 42% of the patients in our review were intubated for "being comatose", a population less likely to benefit from the haemodynamic stability inherent in etomidate use, and less at risk from its potential negative downstream effects of adrenal suppression.