Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Nov 2018
ReviewLaryngeal mask airway versus endotracheal tube for percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy in critically ill adults.
Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is one of the most common bedside surgical procedures performed in critically ill adults, on intensive care units (ICUs), who require long-term ventilation. PDT is associated with relevant life-threatening complications: Cuff rupture or accidental extubation may lead to hypoxia, aspiration or loss of airway. Puncture of the oesophagus, or creating a false passage during dilatation or replacement of the tracheostomy tube, can lead to pneumothorax or emphysema. Wound infections may occur which can cause mediastinits, especially after creation of false passage or in early tracheotomized post-sternotomy patients after cardiac surgery. During the procedure, the patient's airway can be secured with an endotracheal tube (ETT) or a laryngeal mask airway (LMA). This is an updated version of the review first published in 2014. ⋯ Evidence on the safety of LMA for PDT is too limited to allow conclusions to be drawn on either its efficacy or safety compared with ETT. Although the LMA procedure may shorten the period during which the airway is insecure, it may also lead to higher conversion rates. Also, late complications have not been investigated sufficiently. These results are primarily based on single-centre trials with small sample sizes, and therefore the level of evidence remains low. Studies with low risk of bias focusing on late complications and relevant patient-related outcomes are necessary for definitive conclusions on safety issues related to this procedure. The dependency of the successful placement of a LMA on the type of LMA used should also be further assessed.There are two studies awaiting classification that may alter the conclusions once assessed.
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Elevated blood pressure (hypertension) affects about one billion people worldwide. It is important as it is a major risk factor for stroke and myocardial infarction. However, it remains a challenge for the medical profession as many people with hypertension have blood pressure (BP) that is not well controlled. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, acupuncture has the potential to lower BP. ⋯ At present, there is no evidence for the sustained BP lowering effect of acupuncture that is required for the management of chronically elevated BP. The short-term effects of acupuncture are uncertain due to the very low quality of evidence. The larger effect shown in non-sham acupuncture controlled trials most likely reflects bias and is not a true effect. Future RCTs must use sham acupuncture controls and assess whether there is a BP lowering effect of acupuncture that lasts at least seven days.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Nov 2018
Meta AnalysisFirst-line drugs inhibiting the renin angiotensin system versus other first-line antihypertensive drug classes for hypertension.
This is the first update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2015. Renin angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors include angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and renin inhibitors. They are widely prescribed for treatment of hypertension, especially for people with diabetes because of postulated advantages for reducing diabetic nephropathy and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Despite widespread use for hypertension, the efficacy and safety of RAS inhibitors compared to other antihypertensive drug classes remains unclear. ⋯ All-cause death is similar for first-line RAS inhibitors and first-line CCBs, thiazides and beta-blockers. There are, however, differences for some morbidity outcomes. First-line thiazides caused less HF and stroke than first-line RAS inhibitors. First-line CCBs increased HF but decreased stroke compared to first-line RAS inhibitors. The magnitude of the increase in HF exceeded the decrease in stroke. Low-quality evidence suggests that first-line RAS inhibitors reduced stroke and total CV events compared to first-line beta-blockers. The small differences in effect on blood pressure between the different classes of drugs did not correlate with the differences in the morbidity outcomes.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Nov 2018
Meta AnalysisStrategies to improve the implementation of workplace-based policies or practices targeting tobacco, alcohol, diet, physical activity and obesity.
Given the substantial period of time adults spend in their workplaces each day, these provide an opportune setting for interventions addressing modifiable behavioural risk factors for chronic disease. Previous reviews of trials of workplace-based interventions suggest they can be effective in modifying a range of risk factors including diet, physical activity, obesity, risky alcohol use and tobacco use. However, such interventions are often poorly implemented in workplaces, limiting their impact on employee health. Identifying strategies that are effective in improving the implementation of workplace-based interventions has the potential to improve their effects on health outcomes. ⋯ Available evidence regarding the effectiveness of implementation strategies for improving implementation of health-promoting policies and practices in the workplace setting is sparse and inconsistent. Low certainty evidence suggests that such strategies may make little or no difference on measures of implementation fidelity or different employee health behaviour outcomes. It is also unclear if such strategies are cost-effective or have potential unintended adverse consequences. The limited number of trials identified suggests implementation research in the workplace setting is in its infancy, warranting further research to guide evidence translation in this setting.
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The reading skills of 16% of children fall below the mean range for their age, and 5% of children have significant and severe reading problems. Phonics training is one of the most common reading treatments used with poor readers, particularly children. ⋯ Phonics training appears to be effective for improving literacy-related skills, particularly reading fluency of words and non-words, and accuracy of reading irregular words. More studies are needed to improve the precision of outcomes, including word and non-word reading accuracy, reading comprehension, spelling, letter-sound knowledge, and phonological output. More data are also needed to determine if phonics training in English-speaking poor readers is moderated by factors such as training type, intensity, duration, group size, or administrator.