BMJ open
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Approximately 25% of all babies in North America are delivered via Caesarean section (C-section). Though a common surgical procedure, C-section recovery can be painful. Opioids, specifically codeine, are commonly used to ease pain; however, its active metabolite, morphine, passes into breast milk, and may produce unwanted side effects in neonates; therefore, alternatives to opioids are being sought. Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of healing where practitioners transfer healing energy through light touch and positive healing intention. Although 1.2 million Americans use reiki to reduce pain or depression, there is a lack of strong evidence supporting its effectiveness. A recent systematic review showed existing studies to be of poor methodological quality, with the common limitation of lack of blinding. To overcome this issue, the authors used distant reiki to assess its effectiveness in reducing pain following an elective C-section. ⋯ Distant reiki had no significant effect on pain following an elective C-section. Clinical Trial Registration Number ISRCTN79265996.
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Objectives To evaluate the adequacy of reporting of protocols for randomised trials on diseases of the digestive system registered in http://ClinicalTrials.gov and the consistency between primary outcomes, secondary outcomes and sample size specified in http://ClinicalTrials.gov and published trials. Methods Randomised phase III trials on adult patients with gastrointestinal diseases registered before January 2009 in http://ClinicalTrials.gov were eligible for inclusion. From http://ClinicalTrials.gov all data elements in the database required by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) member journals were extracted. ⋯ Several data elements of the required ICMJE data list were not filled in, with missing data in 22% and 11%, respectively, of cases concerning the primary outcome measure and sample size. In 26% of the published papers, data on sample size calculations were missing and discrepancies between sample size reporting in http://ClinicalTrials.gov and published trials existed. Conclusion The quality of registration of randomised controlled trials still needs improvement.
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Background There is growing interest in the potential utility of real-time PCR in diagnosing bloodstream infection by detecting pathogen DNA in blood samples within a few hours. SeptiFast is a multipathogen probe-based real-time PCR system targeting ribosomal DNA sequences of bacteria and fungi. It detects and identifies the commonest pathogens causing bloodstream infection and has European regulatory approval. ⋯ Furthermore, differences in circulating immune-inflammatory markers in patient groups differentiated by the presence/absence of culturable pathogens and pathogen DNA will help elucidate further the patho-physiology of infection developing in the critically ill. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been granted by the North West 6 Research Ethics Committee (09/H1003/109). Based on the results of this first non-commercial study, independent recommendations will be made to The Department of Health (open-access health technology assessment report) as to whether SeptiFast has sufficient clinical diagnostic accuracy to move forward to efficacy testing during the provision of routine clinical care.
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Objective In order to illustrate the important public health impact of syphilis, which is a preventable infection, the epidemiology of syphilis-related hospitalisations in Spain was studied over a 10-year period. Methods A retrospective study was conducted using the National Epidemiological Surveillance System for Hospital Data (Minimum Data Set). All hospitalisations due to syphilis infection in any diagnostic position (ICD-9-CM 090-097) between 1997 and 2006 were analysed, according to the Spanish version of the International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision (ICD-9-CM). Results There were 9556 hospitalisations associated with syphilis in Spain. ⋯ The hospitalisation rate increased significantly after 2000 and was higher in men. Conclusion Syphilis remains a major public health problem because of both potential complications and its close association with HIV infection. It is necessary to promote early diagnosis, ensure treatment in patients with syphilis and emphasise health promotion and prevention programmes.
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Background Trauma patients are characterised by alterations in the immune system, increased exposure to infectious complications, sepsis and potentially organ failure and death. Glutamine supplementation to parenteral nutrition has been proven to be associated with improved clinical outcomes. However, glutamine supplementation in patients receiving enteral nutrition and its best route are still controversial. ⋯ Discussion This study is the first trial to investigate the effect of intravenous alanyl-glutamine supplementation in multiple trauma patients receiving enteral nutrition on reducing severity of organ failure and infectious complications and preservation of lean body mass. Trial registration number This trial is registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. NCT01240291.