BMJ open
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Review Meta Analysis
Lung protective ventilation in patients undergoing major surgery: a systematic review protocol.
There is growing interest in the use of low tidal volume ventilation in patients undergoing general anaesthesia. However, its potential benefit has long been debated and conflicting results have been reported. We describe here the protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis for investigating the beneficial effects of low tidal volume ventilation in patients undergoing general anaesthesia. ⋯ The study protocol has been registered in PROSPERO (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/) under registration number CRD42013006416.
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Review Meta Analysis
Pain in patients with COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To systematically investigate the prevalence of pain, factors related with pain and pain management interventions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ Although literature on this topic is limited and shows substantial heterogeneity, pain seems to be a significant problem in patients with COPD and is related to several other symptoms, comorbidity and QoL. Data synthesis suggests that pain is more prevalent in patients with moderate COPD compared to patients with severe or very severe COPD. Further research is needed and should focus on determining a more accurate pain prevalence, investigating the relationship between pain prevalence, disease severity and comorbidity and explore implementation and efficacy of pain management interventions in patients with COPD.
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Review Meta Analysis
Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 for managing infant colic: protocol for an individual participant data meta-analysis.
Infant colic, or excessive crying of unknown cause in infants less than 3 months old, is common and burdensome. Its aetiology is undetermined, and consensus on its management is still lacking. Recent studies suggest a possible link between infant colic and gut microbiota, indicating probiotics to be a promising treatment. However, only a few strains have been tested, and results from randomised controlled trials are conflicting. It is important to clarify whether probiotics are effective for treating infant colic in general, and to identify whether certain subgroups of infants with colic would benefit from particular strains of probiotics. ⋯ Approved by the Royal Children's Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 34081). Results will be reported in a peer-reviewed journal in 2015.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Management of chronic neuropathic pain: a protocol for a multiple treatment comparison meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Chronic neuropathic pain is associated with reduced health-related quality of life and substantial socioeconomic costs. Current research addressing management of chronic neuropathic pain is limited. No review has evaluated all interventional studies for chronic neuropathic pain, which limits attempts to make inferences regarding the relative effectiveness of treatments. ⋯ We do not require ethics approval for our proposed review. We will disseminate our findings through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.
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Review Meta Analysis
Targeting intensive versus conventional glycaemic control for type 1 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review with meta-analyses and trial sequential analyses of randomised clinical trials.
To assess the benefits and harms of targeting intensive versus conventional glycaemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. ⋯ There was no significant effect towards improved all-cause mortality when targeting intensive glycaemic control compared with conventional glycaemic control. However, there may be beneficial effects of targeting intensive glycaemic control on the composite macrovascular outcome and on nephropathy, and detrimental effects on severe hypoglycaemia. Notably, the data for retinopathy and ketoacidosis were inconsistent. There was a severe lack of reporting on patient relevant outcomes, and all trials had poor bias control.