Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Long-term mechanical ventilation is the most common situation where tracheostomy is indicated for patients in intensive care units (ICU). 'Early' and 'late' tracheostomies are two categories of the timing of tracheostomy. The evidence on the advantages attributed to early over late tracheostomy is somewhat conflicting but includes shorter hospital stays and lower mortality rates. ⋯ Updated evidence is of low quality, and potential differences between early and late tracheostomy need to be better investigated by means of randomized controlled trials. At present there is no specific information about any subgroup or individual characteristics potentially associated with better outcomes with either early or late tracheostomy.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2012
ReviewImmediate versus deferred delivery of the preterm baby with suspected fetal compromise for improving outcomes.
Immediate delivery of the preterm fetus with suspected compromise may decrease the risk of damage due to intrauterine hypoxia. However, it may also increase the risks of prematurity. ⋯ Currently there is insufficient evidence on the benefits and harms of immediate delivery compared with deferred delivery in cases of suspected fetal compromise at preterm gestations to make firm recommendations to guide clinical practice. Where there is uncertainty whether or not to deliver a preterm fetus with suspected fetal compromise, there seems to be no benefit to immediate delivery. Deferring delivery until test results worsen or increasing gestation favours delivery may improve the outcomes for mother and baby. More research is needed to guide clinical practice.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2012
ReviewAntibiotics for treating community acquired pneumonia in people with sickle cell disease.
As a consequence of their condition, people with sickle cell disease are at high risk of developing an acute infection of the pulmonary parenchyma called community-acquired pneumonia. Many different bacteria can cause this infection and antibiotic treatment is generally needed to resolve it. There is no standardized approach to antibiotic therapy and treatment is likely to vary from country to country. Thus, there is a need to identify the efficacy and safety of different antibiotic treatment approaches for people with sickle cell disease suffering from community-acquired pneumonia. ⋯ The updated review was unable to identify randomized controlled trials on efficacy and safety of the antibiotic treatment approaches for people with sickle cell disease suffering from community-acquired pneumonia. Randomized controlled trials are needed to establish the optimum antibiotic treatment for this condition. The trials regarding this issue should be structured and reported according to the CONSORT statement for improving the quality of reporting of efficacy and improved reports of harms in clinical research. Triallists should consider including the following outcomes in new trials: number of days to become afebrile; mortality; onset of pain crisis or complications of SCD following CAP; diagnosis; hospitalisation (admission rate and length of hospital stay); respiratory failure rate; and number of participants receiving a blood transfusion.There are no trials included in the review and we have not identified any relevant trials up to May 2012. We therefore do not plan to update this review until new trials are published.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2012
ReviewAntibiotic treatment for Burkholderia cepacia complex in people with cystic fibrosis experiencing a pulmonary exacerbation.
Chronic pulmonary infection is one of the hallmarks of lung disease in cystic fibrosis. Infections dominated by organisms of the Burkholderia cepacia complex, a group of at least 17 closely-related species of gram-negative bacteria, are particularly difficult to treat. These infections may be associated with a fulminant necrotising pneumonia, and are greatly feared by patients. Burkholderia cepacia bacteria are innately resistant to many common antibiotics and able to acquire resistance against many more. Since strict patient segregation was introduced to cystic fibrosis medical care, the incidence of the more virulent epidemic strains has fallen, and new infections are more likely to be with environmentally-acquired strains which seem to exhibit less virulence. Nonetheless, exacerbations of respiratory symptoms require effective therapy directed against the dominant bacterial species. Although evidence-based guidelines exist for the treatment of respiratory exacerbations involving Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the most common chronic infection in cystic fibrosis, these cannot be directly extended to Burkholderia cepacia complex infections. The aim of this review is to assess the available trial evidence for choice and application of treatments for Burkholderia cepacia complex infections. ⋯ Burkholderia cepacia complex infections present a significant challenge for cystic fibrosis clinicians and patients alike. The incidence is likely to increase as the cystic fibrosis population ages and the problem of how to manage and treat these infections becomes more important. There is a lack of trial evidence to guide decision making and no conclusions can be drawn from this review about the optimal antibiotic regimens for cystic fibrosis patients with chronic Burkholderia cepacia complex infections. Clinicians must continue to assess each patient individually, taking into account in vitro antibiotic susceptibility data, previous clinical responses and their own experience. There is a clear need for multi-centre randomised clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of different antibiotic regimens in cystic fibrosis patients infected with organisms of the Burkholderia cepacia complex.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2012
ReviewVitamin K for upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with acute or chronic liver diseases.
Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the most frequent causes of morbidity and mortality in the course of liver cirrhosis. Several treatments are used for upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with liver diseases. One of them is vitamin K administration, but it is not known whether it benefits or harms patients with acute or chronic liver disease and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. ⋯ This updated review found no randomised clinical trials on the benefits and harms of vitamin K for upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with liver diseases. The effects of vitamin K need to be tested in randomised clinical trials. Until randomised clinical trials are conducted to assess the trade off between benefits and harms, we cannot recommend nor refute vitamin K for upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with liver diseases.