Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2004
ReviewAntibiotics for preventing recurrent urinary tract infection in non-pregnant women.
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common health care problem. Recurrent UTI (RUTI) in healthy non-pregnant women is defined as three or more episodes of UTI during a twelve month period. Long-term antibiotics have been proposed as a prevention strategy for RUTI. ⋯ Continuous antibiotic prophylaxis for 6-12 months reduced the rate of UTI during prophylaxis when compared to placebo. After prophylaxis two studies showed nodifference between groups. There were more adverse events in the antibiotic group. One RCT compared postcoital versus continuous daily ciprofloxacin and found no significant difference in rates of UTIs, suggesting that postcoital treatment could be offered to woman who have UTI associated with sexual intercourse.
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Trifluoperazine is an inexpensive accessible 'high potency' antipsychotic drug, widely used to treat schizophrenia or related psychoses. ⋯ Although there are shortcomings and gaps in the data, there appears to be enough consistency over different outcomes and periods to confirm that trifluoperazine is an antipsychotic of similar efficacy to other commonly used neuroleptics for people with schizophrenia. Its adverse events profile is similar to that of other drugs. It has been claimed that trifluoperazine is effective at low doses for patients with schizophrenia but this does not appear to be based on good quality trial based evidence.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2004
Review Meta AnalysisAzithromycin for acute lower respiratory tract infections.
The spectrum of acute lower respiratory tract infection ranges from acute bronchitis and acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis to pneumonia. Annually approximately five million people die of acute respiratory tract infections. Among these, pneumonia represents the most frequent cause of mortality, hospitalization and medical consultation. Azithromycin is a new macrolide antibiotic, structurally modified from erythromycin and is noted for its activity against some gram-negative organisms associated with respiratory tract infections, particularly Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae). ⋯ There is unclear evidence that azithromycin is superior to amoxicillin or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid in treating acute LRTI. Future trials with high methodological quality are needed.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2004
ReviewTreatment of latent tuberculosis infection in HIV infected persons.
Individuals with HIV infection are at an increased risk of developing active tuberculosis. It is known that treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), also referred to as preventive therapy or chemoprophylaxis, helps to prevent progression to active disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative populations. However, the extent and magnitude of protection (if any) associated with preventive therapy in those infected with HIV should be quantified. ⋯ Treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) reduces the risk of active tuberculosis in HIV positive individuals with a positive tuberculin skin test. The choice of regimen will depend on factors such as cost, adverse effects, adherence and drug resistance. Future studies should assess these aspects. In addition, trials evaluating the long-term effects of anti-tuberculosis chemoprophylaxis and the influence of level of immunocompromise on effectiveness are needed.
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Antibiotic treatment of acute bronchitis, which is one of the most common illnesses seen in primary care, is controversial. Most clinicians prescribe antibiotics in spite of expert recommendations against this practice. ⋯ Overall, antibiotics appear to have a modest beneficial effect in patients who are diagnosed with acute bronchitis. The magnitude of this benefit, however, is similar to that of the detriment from potential adverse effects.