Current medical research and opinion
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Review Meta Analysis
Efficacy and safety of local anesthetics bupivacaine, ropivacaine and levobupivacaine in combination with sufentanil in epidural anesthesia for labor and delivery: a meta-analysis.
In epidural analgesia, synthetic opioids increase the potency of amide local anesthetics by modifying their analgesic properties. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to compare the efficacy and safety of bupivacaine with ropivacaine and levobupivacaine in combination with sufentanil (BUPI-, ROPI-, and LBUPI-SUF respectively) in epidural analgesia for labor. ⋯ Whereas significantly longer labor analgesia can be achieved with ROPI-SUF and LBUPI-SUF and ropivacaine is associated with comparatively less motor blockade, labor duration after epidural analgesia has been found to be shorter in BUPI-SUF and there is a low incidence of instrumental delivery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12 week trial of acetaminophen extended release for the treatment of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Determine efficacy and safety of acetaminophen extended release (ER) 1300 mg given three times daily compared to placebo for relieving signs and symptoms of hip or knee osteoarthritis. ⋯ Acetaminophen ER 1300 mg, a nonprescription drug, given three times daily, can provide effective relief of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis of the hip or knee and was well tolerated. ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00240799.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Fixed ratio (2:1) prolonged-release oxycodone/naloxone combination improves bowel function in patients with moderate-to-severe pain and opioid-induced constipation refractory to at least two classes of laxatives.
The effects of combined oxycodone/naloxone prolonged release tablets (OXN PR) were investigated in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic cancer-related or non-cancer pain. All patients had opioid-induced constipation (OIC) which persisted despite substantial laxative therapy. ⋯ OXN PR significantly improved bowel function and reduced the use of laxatives in patients with OIC, previously unresponsive to at least two different classes of laxatives. OXN also provided effective analgesia for patients with moderate-to-severe cancer-related pain and non-cancer-related pain.
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Review
The influence of female gender on cardiac arrest outcomes: a systematic review of the literature.
Sudden cardiac arrest is an important cause of cardiovascular mortality. The impact of gender on the outcome of cardiac arrest is not clear and data about that is limited. ⋯ In the reported literature female gender seems to offer survival and outcome advantages following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest over male gender. This is in contrast to most other aspects of heart disease in which women tend to have a worse prognosis.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Impact of low-grade adverse events on health-related quality of life in adult patients receiving imatinib or nilotinib for newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myelogenous leukemia in chronic phase.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treatment relies on tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but their use can be associated with low-grade adverse events (AEs). This analysis aimed to identify the low-grade AEs which significantly impact the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of CML patients in chronic phase (CP) and to compare the incidence of such AEs among nilotinib- and imatinib-treated patients. ⋯ The impact of low-grade AEs on HRQoL should be taken into account, along with other factors, when selecting the optimal treatment for patients newly diagnosed with CML-CP.