Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewTranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for knee osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease that affects synovial joints, which mainly causes degeneration and destruction of hyaline cartilage. To date, no curative treatment for OA exists. The primary goals for OA therapy are to relieve pain, maintain or improve functional status, and minimize deformity. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a noninvasive modality in physiotherapy that is commonly used to control both acute and chronic pain arising from several conditions. A number of trials evaluating the efficacy of TENS in OA have been published. ⋯ TENS and AL-TENS are shown to be effective in pain control over placebo in this review. Heterogeneity of the included studies was observed, which might be due to the different study designs and outcomes used. More well designed studies with a standardized protocol and adequate number of participants are needed to conclude the effectiveness of TENS in the treatment of OA of the knee.
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A number of different anticonvulsants are used to control eclamptic fits and to prevent future seizures. ⋯ Magnesium sulphate appears to be substantially more effective than diazepam for treatment of eclampsia.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewInterventions to promote collaboration between nurses and doctors.
Lack of nurse-doctor collaboration contributes to problems in quality and efficiency of patient care. ⋯ Increasing collaboration improved outcomes of importance to patients and to health care managers. These gains were moderate and affected health care processes rather than outcomes. Further research is needed to confirm these findings. The logistic challenge presented by the complexity of the interventions and the need for large sample sizes due to the likely modest impact and rarity of outcome events may best be met by multi-centre studies. Before launching such studies qualitative research is needed to identify barriers to collaboration. Interventions other than nurse-doctor ward rounds and team meetings should also be tested.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewRescue high frequency oscillatory ventilation versus conventional ventilation for pulmonary dysfunction in preterm infants.
This section is under preparation and will be included in the next issue. ⋯ There is insufficient information on the use of rescue HFOV to make recommendations for practice. The small amount of data that exists suggest that harm might outweigh any benefit. Any future use of HFOV as rescue therapy for preterm infants with severe RDS should be within randomized controlled trials and address important outcomes such as longer term pulmonary and neurological function.
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To track down the best estimate of efficacy of the various conservative management strategies for mechanical neck disorders, a four-part systematic review was prepared. Part four investigates the efficacy of patient education strategies as the therapeutic intervention. ⋯ Patient education utilising individualised or group instructional strategies has not been shown to be beneficial in reducing pain for mechanical neck disorders.