Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2005
Review Meta AnalysisVitamin A for non-measles pneumonia in children.
Acute respiratory infections, mostly in the form of pneumonia, are the leading causes of death in children under five years of age in developing countries. Some clinical trials have demonstrated that vitamin A supplementation reduces the severity of respiratory infection and mortality in children with measles. ⋯ The evidence did not suggest a significant reduction with vitamin A adjunctive treatment in mortality, measures of morbidity, nor an effect on the clinical course of pneumonia in children with non-measles pneumonia. However, not all studies measured all outcomes, limiting the number of studies that could be incorporated into the meta-analyses, so that there may have been a lack of statistical power to detect statistically significant differences.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2005
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudyHospital at home versus in-patient hospital care.
Hospital at home is defined as a service that provides active treatment by health care professionals, in the patient's home, of a condition that otherwise would require acute hospital in-patient care, always for a limited period. ⋯ Despite increasing interest in the potential of hospital at home services as a cheaper alternative to in-patient care, this review provides insufficient objective evidence of economic benefit. Early discharge schemes for patients recovering from elective surgery and elderly patients with a medical condition may have a place in reducing the pressure on acute hospital beds, providing the views of the carers are taken into account. For these clinical groups hospital length of stay is reduced, although this is offset by the provision of hospital at home. Future primary research should focus on rigorous evaluations of admission avoidance schemes and standards for original research should aim at assisting future meta-analyses of individual patient data from these and future trials.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2005
Review Meta AnalysisPrevention and treatment of urinary incontinence after stroke in adults.
Urinary incontinence can affect 40-60% of people admitted to hospital after a stroke, with 25% still having problems on hospital discharge and around 15% remaining incontinent at one year. ⋯ There was suggestive evidence that specialist professional input through structured assessment and management of care and specialist continence nursing may reduce urinary incontinence after stroke. Data from trials of other physical, behavioural, complementary and anticholinergic drug interventions are insufficient to guide continence care of adults after stroke.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2005
Review Meta AnalysisAntibiotic regimens for suspected late onset sepsis in newborn infants.
Late onset neonatal sepsis (systemic infection after 48 hours of age) continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Early treatment with antibiotics is essential as infants can deteriorate rapidly. It is not clear which antibiotic regimen is most suitable for initial treatment of suspected late onset sepsis. ⋯ There is inadequate evidence from randomised trials in favour of any particular antibiotic regimen for the treatment of suspected late onset neonatal sepsis. The available evidence is not of high quality. Although suspected sepsis and antibiotic use is common, quality research is required to specifically address both narrow and broad spectrum antibiotic use for late onset neonatal sepsis. Future research also needs to assess cost effectiveness and the impact of antibiotics in different settings such as developed or developing countries and lower gestational age groups.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2005
Review Meta AnalysisIntravenous secretin for autism spectrum disorder.
Secretin is a gastro-intestinal hormone which has been presented as an effective treatment for autism based on anecdotal evidence. ⋯ There is no evidence that single or multiple dose intravenous secretin is effective and as such it should not currently be recommended or administered as a treatment for autism. Further experimental assessment of secretin's effectiveness for autism can only be justified if methodological problems of existing research can be overcome.