BMJ open
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To summarise evidence on the effectiveness of behaviour change interventions to encourage prescribing of generic forms of prescription drugs where clinically appropriate in the UK National Health Service (NHS) and similar settings. ⋯ The existing evidence remains insufficient to determine which behaviour change intervention or combination of interventions is most effective due to methodological weaknesses and conflicting results. Based on the evidence, financial incentives with educational intervention and audit/feedback look promising but decision-makers should take into account the practicality and costs of the interventions before implementation.
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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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Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is one of the most common complications following herpes zoster. Clinical trials indicate that acupuncture could reduce pain and discomfort among patients with PHN. This protocol aims to describe how to accumulate the current evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for treating PHN. ⋯ This systematic review does not need ethical approval because there are no data used in our study that are linked to individual patient data. Also, the findings will be disseminated through a peer-review publication or conference presentation.