Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Aug 2015
Review Meta AnalysisPharmacological treatments for preventing epilepsy following traumatic head injury.
Head injury is a common event and can cause a spectrum of motor and cognition disabilities. A frequent complication is seizures. Antiepileptic drugs (AED) such as phenytoin are often used in clinical practice with the hopes of preventing post-traumatic epilepsy. Whether immediate medical intervention following head trauma with either AEDs or neuroprotective drugs can alter the process of epileptogenesis and lead to a more favorable outcome is currently unknown. This review attempted to address the effectiveness of these treatment interventions. This review updates and expands on the earlier Cochrane review. ⋯ This review found low-quality evidence that early treatment with an AED compared with placebo or standard care reduced the risk of early post-traumatic seizures. There was no evidence to support a reduction in the risk of late seizures or mortality. There was insufficient evidence to make any conclusions regarding the effectiveness or safety of other neuroprotective agents compared with placebo or for the comparison of phenytoin, a traditional AED, with another AED.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Aug 2015
Review Meta AnalysisAlpha-2 adrenergic agonists for the prevention of shivering following general anaesthesia.
Shivering after general anaesthesia is common. It is unpleasant but can also have adverse physiological effects. Alpha-2 (α-2) adrenergic agonist receptors, which can lead to reduced sympathetic activity and central regulation of vasoconstrictor tone, are a group of drugs that have been used to try to prevent postoperative shivering. ⋯ There is evidence that clonidine and dexmedetomidine can reduce postoperative shivering, but patients given dexmedetomidine may be more sedated. However, our assessment of the quality of this evidence is very low.
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Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that can markedly reduce life quality. Several systemic therapies exist for moderate to severe psoriasis, including oral fumaric acid esters (FAE). These contain dimethyl fumarate (DMF), the main active ingredient, and monoethyl fumarate. FAE are licensed for psoriasis in Germany but used off-licence in many countries. ⋯ Evidence suggests that FAE are superior to placebo and possibly similar in efficacy to MTX for psoriasis; however, the evidence provided in this review was limited, and it must be noted that four out of six included studies were abstracts or brief reports, restricting study reporting. FAE are associated with nuisance adverse effects, including flushing and gastrointestinal disturbance, but short-term studies reported no serious adverse effects.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Aug 2015
Review Meta AnalysisInterventions for idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) has an estimated incidence of one to three people per 100,000 people per year, and occurs most commonly in obese, young women. IIH is associated with severe morbidity, notably due to a significant threat to sight and severe headache. Several different management options have been proposed. Conservative measures centre on weight loss. Pharmacological therapy includes use of diuretics. Refractory and sight-threatening cases demand surgical intervention, most often in the form of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion or optic nerve sheath fenestration. Other treatments include venous sinus stenting and bariatric surgery. ⋯ Although the two included RCTs showed modest benefits for acetazolamide for some outcomes, there is insufficient evidence to recommend or reject the efficacy of this intervention, or any other treatments currently available, for treating people with IIH. Further high-quality RCTs are required in order to adequately assess the effect of acetazolamide therapy in people with IIH.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Aug 2015
Review Meta AnalysisTotal or near-total thyroidectomy versus subtotal thyroidectomy for multinodular non-toxic goitre in adults.
Total thyroidectomy (TT) and subtotal thyroidectomy (ST) are worldwide treatment options for multinodular non-toxic goitre in adults. Near TT, defined as a postoperative thyroid remnant less than 1 mL, is supposed to be a similarly effective but safer option than TT. ST has been shown to be marginally safer than TT, but it may leave an undetected thyroid cancer in place. ⋯ The body of evidence on TT compared with ST is limited. Goiter recurrence is reduced following TT. The effects on other key outcomes such as re-interventions due to goitre recurrence, adverse events and thyroid cancer incidence are uncertain. New long-term RCTs with additional data such as surgeons level of experience, treatment volume of surgical centres and details on techniques used are needed.