Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Chronic wounds mainly affect the elderly and those with multiple health problems. Despite the use of modern dressings, some of these wounds take a long time to heal, fail to heal, or recur, causing significant pain and discomfort to the person and cost to health services. Topical negative pressure is used to promote healing of surgical wounds by using suction to drain excess fluid from wounds. ⋯ The two small trials provide weak evidence suggesting that TNP may be superior to saline gauze dressings in healing chronic human wounds. However, due to the small sample sizes and methodological limitations of these trials, the findings must be interpreted with extreme caution. The effect of TNP on cost, quality of life, pain and comfort was not reported. It was not possible to determine which was the optimum TNP regimen.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2001
ReviewTroleandomycin as an oral corticosteroid steroid sparing agent in stable asthma.
Patients with chronic severe asthma are often dependent on the long term prescription of oral corticosteroids. The use of steroids is associated with serious side effects. Physicians treating such patients continue to search for alternative therapies that reduce the need for chronic dosing with oral steroids. troleandomycin is a compound that is established as an effective antibiotic but may also have non antibacterial actions that may be useful in the treatment of asthma. ⋯ There is insufficient evidence to support the use of troleandomycin in the treatment of steroid dependent asthma.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2001
ReviewOral immunoglobulin for preventing necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm and low birth-weight neonates.
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common emergency of the gastrointestinal tract occurring in the neonatal period. There have been published reports which suggest that oral immunoglobulins IgA and IgG produce an immunoprotective effect in the gastrointestinal mucosa. This systematic review was undertaken to clarify the issue. ⋯ Based on the available trials, the evidence does not support the administration of oral immunoglobulin for the prevention of NEC. There are no randomised controlled trials of oral IgA alone for the prevention of NEC.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2001
ReviewCondom effectiveness in reducing heterosexual HIV transmission.
The amount of protection that condoms provide for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases is unknown. Cohort studies of sexually active HIV serodiscordant couples with follow-up of the seronegative partner, provide a situation in which a seronegative partner has known exposure to the disease and disease incidence can be estimated. When some individuals use condoms and some do not, namely some individuals use condoms 100% of the time and some never use (0%) condoms, condom effectiveness can be estimated by comparing the two incidence rates. Condom effectiveness is the proportionate reduction in disease due to the use of condoms. ⋯ This review indicates that consistent use of condoms results in 80% reduction in HIV incidence. Consistent use is defined as using a condom for all acts of penetrative vaginal intercourse. Because the studies used in this review did not report on the "correctness" of use, namely whether condoms were used correctly and perfectly for each and every act of intercourse, effectiveness and not efficacy is estimated. Also, this estimate refers in general to the male condom and not specifically to the latex condom, since studies also tended not to specify the type of condom that was used. Thus, condom effectiveness is similar to, although lower than, that for contraception.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2001
ReviewDouble bag or Y-set versus standard transfer systems for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in end-stage renal disease.
Peritonitis is the most frequent serious complication of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). It has a major influence on the number of patients switching from CAPD to haemodialysis and has probably restricted the wider acceptance and uptake of CAPD as an alternative mode of dialysis. ⋯ Double bag systems should be the preferred exchange systems in CAPD.