Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder that occurs throughout the world with its highest incidence in areas of Africa where malaria is endemic. It affects up to one in 60 infants born in some areas of Africa. There are a number of potentially serious complications associated with the condition, and it is suggested that early treatment (before symptoms develop) can improve both morbidity and mortality. Screening for the condition in the neonatal period would enable early diagnosis and therefore early treatment. ⋯ There is a lack of evidence from trials of neonatal screening for sickle cell disease. There is evidence of benefit from early treatment which is made possible by screening and there are a number of reviews and economic analyses of non-trial literature suggesting that screening is appropriate. Health care providers must therefore assess whether the information provided by these documents is relevant to their practice and situation when making decisions regarding neonatal screening for sickle cell disease. Systematic reviews of early treatments/interventions, including penicillin prophylaxis, pneumococcal vaccine and parental education should be considered.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewPeripheral retinal ablation for threshold retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants.
This section is under preparation and will be included in the next issue. ⋯ Peripheral retinal ablation reduces the incidence of adverse ophthalmic outcome in premature infants with threshold ROP. In sighted eyes, peripheral retinal ablation may reduce the size of the visual field. At this stage, long term outcomes remain unknown.
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Thioridazine is a piperidine phenothiazine used for the treatment of people with schizophrenia. It has often been considered the drug of choice in the elderly because of reputed lower levels of extrapyramidal adverse events. It may, however, be more likely to cause cognitive adverse events, such as delirium or worsening of memory, and, on rare occasions, thioridazine has caused pigmentary retinopathy. ⋯ Although there are shortcomings and gaps in the data, there appears to be enough consistency over different outcomes and periods to confirm that thioridazine is an antipsychotic of similar efficacy to other commonly used neuroleptics for people with schizophrenia. Its adverse events profile is similar to that of other drugs, but it may have a lower level of extrapyramidal problems. (ABSTRACT TRU
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This systematic review assessed the effect of maximal androgen blockade (MAB) on survival when compared to castration (medical or surgical) alone for patients with advanced prostate cancer. ⋯ MAB produces a modest overall and cancer-specific survival at 5 years but is associated with increased adverse events and reduced quality of life.
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Typical antipsychotic drugs are widely used as the first line treatment for people with schizophrenia. However, the atypical class of antipsychotic drugs are making important inroads into this approach. Atypical is a widely used term used to describe some antipsychotics which have a low propensity to produce movement disorders and raise serum prolactin. There is some suggestion that the different adverse effect profiles of atypical antipsychotic group make them more acceptable to people with schizophrenia. Ziprasidone is one of the newer atypicals with a high serotonin receptor affinity. ⋯ Currently data are limited. Ziprasidone may be an effective antipsychotic with less extrapyramidal effects than haloperidol. It also, however, causes more nausea and vomiting than the typical drugs, and, at present, there is no data suggesting that it is different to other atypical compounds. Well planned, conducted and reported long term randomised trials are needed if ziprasidone is to be accepted into everyday use.