Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisHyperbaric oxygen therapy for late radiation tissue injury.
Cancer is a significant global health problem. Radiotherapy is a treatment for many cancers and about 50% of patients having radiotherapy with be long-term survivors. Some will experience LRTI developing months or years later. HBOT has been suggested for LRTI based upon the ability to improve the blood supply to these tissues. It is postulated that HBOT may result in both healing of tissues and the prevention of problems following surgery. ⋯ These small trials suggest that for people with LRTI affecting tissues of the head, neck, anus and rectum, HBOT is associated with improved outcome. HBOT also appears to reduce the chance of osteoradionecrosis following tooth extraction in an irradiated field. There was no such evidence of any important clinical effect on neurological tissues. The application of HBOT to selected patients and tissues may be justified. Further research is required to establish the optimum patient selection and timing of any therapy. An economic evaluation should be also be undertaken. There is no useful information from this review regarding the efficacy or effectiveness of HBOT for other tissues.
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For many years antidepressant drugs have been used to manage neuropathic pain, and are often the first choice treatment. It is not clear, however, which antidepressant is more effective, what role the newer antidepressants can play in treating neuropathic pain, and what adverse effects are experienced by patients. ⋯ Antidepressants are effective for a variety of neuropathic pains. The best evidence available is for amitriptyline. There are only limited data for the effectiveness of SSRIs. It is not possible to identify the most effective antidepressant until more studies of SSRIs are conducted.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisPreoperative fasting for preventing perioperative complications in children.
Children, like adults, are required to fast before general anaesthesia with the aim of reducing the volume and acidity of their stomach contents. It is thought that fasting reduces the risk of regurgitation and aspiration of gastric contents during surgery. Recent developments have encouraged a shift from the standard 'nil-by-mouth-from-midnight' fasting policy to more relaxed regimens. Practice has been slow to change due to questions relating to the duration of a total fast, the type and amount of intake permitted. ⋯ There is no evidence that children who are not permitted oral fluids for more than six hours preoperatively benefit in terms of intraoperative gastric volume and pH over children permitted unlimited fluids up to two hours preoperatively. Children permitted fluids have a more comfortable preoperative experience in terms of thirst and hunger. This evidence applies only to children who are considered to be at normal risk of aspiration/regurgitation during anaesthesia.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisInterventions for the treatment of burning mouth syndrome.
The complaint of a burning sensation in the mouth can be said to be a symptom of other disease or a syndrome in its own right of unknown aetiology. In patients where no underlying dental or medical causes are identified and no oral signs are found, the term burning mouth syndrome (BMS) should be used. The prominent feature is the symptom of burning pain which can be localised just to the tongue and/or lips but can be more widespread and involve the whole of the oral cavity. Reported prevalence rates in general populations vary from 0.7% to 15%. Many of these patients show evidence of anxiety, depression and personality disorders. ⋯ Given the chronic nature of BMS, the need to identify an effective mode of treatment for sufferers is vital. However, there is little research evidence that provides clear guidance for those treating patients with BMS. Further trials, of high methodological quality, need to be undertaken in order to establish effective forms of treatment for patients suffering from BMS.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisFluoxetine versus other types of pharmacotherapy for depression.
Depression is common in primary care and it is associated with marked personal, social and economic morbidity, and creates significant demands on service providers in terms of workload. Treatment is predominantly pharmaceutical or psychological. Fluoxetine, the first of a group of antidepressant (AD) agents known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), has been studied in many randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in comparison with tricyclic (TCA), heterocyclic and related ADs, and other SSRIs. These comparative studies provided contrasting findings. In addition, systematic reviews of RCTs have always considered the SSRIs as a group, and evidence applicable to this group of drugs might not be applicable to fluoxetine alone. The present systematic review assessed the efficacy and tolerability profile of fluoxetine in comparison with TCAs, SSRIs and newer agents. ⋯ There are statistically significant differences in terms of efficacy and tolerability between fluoxetine and certain ADs, but the clinical meaning of these differences is uncertain, and no definitive implications for clinical practice can be drawn. From a clinical point of view the analysis of antidepressants' safety profile (adverse effect and suicide risk) remains of crucial importance and more reliable data about these outcomes are needed. Waiting for more robust evidence, treatment decisions should be based on considerations of clinical history, drug toxicity, patient acceptability, and cost. We need for large, pragmatic trials, enrolling heterogeneous populations of patients with depression to generate clinically relevant information on the benefits and harms of competitive pharmacological options. A meta-analysis of individual patient data from the randomised trials is clearly necessary.