BMJ open
-
Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) affects up to 50% of the world's population. It impacts negatively on quality of life; entailing high costs on our medical systems, and translates to economic burden due to work loss. Aetiology of CNCP is complex and multifactorial, embracing the somatosensory, cognitive and affective domains. Opioid analgesia and other invasive interventions are often inadequate for clinical management of CNCP. Recently, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has become a popular therapy for various medical conditions, including CNCP. However, studies reported varying efficacies, and relevant systematic reviews have included clinical trials with inherent heterogeneity either in study conditions or types of interventions used. Our study aims to provide an updated and more critical evaluation of the efficacy of MBSR as the intervention for non-somatisation CNCP. ⋯ No ethics approval is deemed necessary. Results of this study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and scientific meetings.
-
Meta Analysis
Interventions for migraine prophylaxis: protocol of an umbrella systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Multiple interventions are effective for migraine prophylaxis. However, the comparative effectiveness of these interventions is still not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study is to summarise the direct and indirect evidence for pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to prevent migraine attack. ⋯ The result of this network meta-analysis will provide direct and indirect evidence of treatments for migraine prophylaxis, and it may provide a ranking of the treatments for patients and clinicians to help them select the best option.