Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2003
Review Meta AnalysisAntithrombotic agents for preventing thrombosis after infrainguinal arterial bypass surgery.
Chronic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is frequently treated by implantation of either an infrainguinal autologous venous or artificial graft. One-year occlusion rates for infrainguinal bypasses vary between 15 and 75%, depending on the site of distal anastomosis, length, quality, and material of the graft, but also on other factors such as proximal inflow and distal outflow conditions. To prevent graft occlusion, patients are usually treated with either an antiplatelet or antithrombotic drug, or a combination of both. Little is known about which drug is optimal to prevent infrainguinal graft occlusion. ⋯ Patients operated for an infrainguinal venous graft might benefit from treatment with VKA, whereas patients receiving an artificial graft might profit more from platelet inhibitors (aspirin). However, the evidence is not conclusive. Randomised controlled trials with larger patient numbers comparing antithrombotic therapies with either placebo or antiplatelet therapies are called for in the future.
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Nausea and vomiting are the most common symptoms experienced in early pregnancy, with nausea affecting between 70 and 85% of women. About half of pregnant women experience vomiting. ⋯ Anti-emetic medication appears to reduce the frequency of nausea in early pregnancy. There is some evidence of adverse effects, but there is very little information on effects on fetal outcomes from randomised controlled trials. Of newer treatments, pyridoxine (vitamin B6) appears to be more effective in reducing the severity of nausea. The results from trials of P6 acupressure are equivocal. No trials of treatments for hyperemesis gravidarum show any evidence of benefit. Evidence from observational studies suggests no evidence of teratogenicity from any of these treatments.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2003
Review Meta AnalysisFluoride mouthrinses for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents.
Fluoride mouthrinses have been used extensively as a caries-preventive intervention in school-based programmes and individually at home. ⋯ This review suggests that the supervised regular use of fluoride mouthrinse at two main strengths and rinsing frequencies is associated with a clear reduction in caries increment in children. In populations with caries increment of 0.25 D(M)FS per year, 16 children will need to use a fluoride mouthrinse (rather than a non-fluoride rinse) to avoid one D(M)FS; in populations with a caries increment of 2.14 D(M)FS per year, 2 children will need to rinse to avoid one D(M)FS. There is a need for complete reporting of side effects and acceptability data in fluoride mouthrinse trials.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2003
ReviewConservative interventions for treating distal radial fractures in adults.
Fracture of the distal radius is a common clinical problem particularly in elderly white women with osteoporosis. ⋯ There remains insufficient evidence from randomised trials to determine which methods of conservative treatment are the most appropriate for the more common types of distal radial fractures in adults. Therefore, at present, practitioners applying conservative management should use an accepted technique with which they are familiar, and which is cost-effective from the perspective of their provider unit. Patient preferences and circumstances, and the risk of complications should also be considered. Prioritising research questions to clarify the most appropriate conservative treatment for this common fracture is warranted. Researchers should differentiate between extra-articular and intra-articular, and non-displaced and displaced fractures, ascertain patient preferences, and agree a core outcome data set.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2003
ReviewTransient neurologic symptoms (TNS) following spinal anaesthesia with lidocaine versus other local anaesthetics.
Spinal anaesthesia has been in use since the turn of the late 19th century. The most serious complication of this technique is damage to the spinal cord or nerve roots resulting in lasting neurologic sequelae. Such serious adverse effects seldom happen. There has been an increase in the number of reports during the last nine years implicating lidocaine as a possible cause of temporary and permanent neurologic complications after spinal anaesthesia. Follow-up of patients who received uncomplicated spinal anaesthesia revealed that some of them developed pain in the lower extremities after an initial full recovery. This painful condition that occurs in the immediate post-operative period was named "transient neurologic symptoms" (TNS). ⋯ The risk of developing TNS after spinal anaesthesia with lidocaine was significantly higher than when bupivacaine, prilocaine and procaine were used. The term "TNS", which implies a positive neurologic finding, should not be used for this painful condition, which is in fact comparable to another common adverse effect after spinal anaesthesia - lower back pain. How much the pain in the lower extremities influences patient satisfaction is not elucidated clearly in the literature.