Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
Review Meta AnalysisProphylactic methylxanthine for extubation in preterm infants.
When preterm infants have been given intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) for respiratory failure, weaning from support and tracheal extubation may be difficult. A significant contributing factor is thought to be the relatively poor respiratory drive and tendency to develop hypercarbia and apnea, particularly in very preterm infants. Methylxanthine treatment started before extubation might stimulate breathing and increase the chances of successful weaning from IPPV. ⋯ Implications for practice. Methylxanthines might increase the chances of successful extubation of some preterm infants but the results of this meta-analysis do not allow firm recommendations to be made for clinical practice. One trial suggests that this benefit is principally in infants of extremely low birth weight extubated in the first week. There are no trial data to support the routine use of methylxanthines for the extubation of infants with a birth weight over 1000 gms or those that are older than one week. Implications for research. Further trials are required comparing methylxanthines with placebo for extubation of very preterm infants. There is a need to stratify infants by gestational age (a better indicator of immaturity) rather than birth weight in future studies. Caffeine, with its wider therapeutic margin (Blanchard 1992) would be the better treatment to evaluate against placebo. Side effects and neuro-developmental status at follow up should be included in as outcomes.
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Pre-eclampsia is a relatively common complication of pregnancy. Anticonvulsants are used in the belief they help prevent eclamptic fits and subsequent poor outcomes for mother and infant. ⋯ There is not enough evidence to establish the benefits and hazards of anticonvulsants for women with pre-eclampsia. If an anticonvulsant is used, magnesium sulphate appears to be the best choice.
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Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is an important cause of ill health in women. Medical therapy, with the avoidance of possibly unnecessary surgery, is an attractive treatment option. A wide variety of medications are available to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding but there is considerable variation in practice and uncertainty about the most appropriate therapy. Plasminogen activators are a group of enzymes that cause fibrinolysis (the dissolution of clots). An increase in the levels of plasminogen activators has been found in the endometrium of women with heavy menstrual bleeding compared to those with normal menstrual loss. Plasminogen activator inhibitors (antifibrinolytic agents) have therefore been promoted as a treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding. There has been a reluctance to prescribe tranexamic acid due to possible side effects of the drugs such as an increased risk of thrombogenic disease (deep venous thrombosis). Long term studies in Sweden, however, have shown that the rate of incidence of thrombosis in women treated with tranexamic acid is comparable with the spontaneous frequency of thrombosis in women. ⋯ Antifibrinolytic therapy causes a greater reduction in objective measurements of heavy menstrual bleeding when compared to placebo or other medical therapies (NSAIDS, oral luteal phase progestagens and ethamsylate). This treatment is not associated with an increase in side effects compared to placebo, NSAIDS, oral luteal phase progestagens or ethamsylate. Flooding and leakage and sex life is significantly improved after tranexamic acid therapy when compared with oral luteal progestogens but no other measures of quality of life were assessed. No study has used resource cost as an outcome. There are no data available within randomised controlled trials which record the frequency of thromboembolic events.
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The burden of cardiovascular disease world-wide is one of great concern to patients and health care agencies alike. Circulatory diseases, including myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, kill more people than any other disease. Cardiac rehabilitation aims to restore patients who have suffered myocardial infarction to optimal health through exercise only based rehabilitation or comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (eg. smoking cessation advice, diet and counselling as well as exercise). Data from two published and widely cited meta-analyses (Oldridge 1988, O'Connor 1989) of over 4,000 patients each have demonstrated that patients randomised to exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation after MI have a statistically significant reduction in all-cause and cardiac mortality of about 20 to 25% compared to patients receiving conventional care. However, the trials included were small and often of poor methodological quality. Incomplete literature review methods may have resulted in publication bias thereby resulting in an over-estimate of the benefit of cardiac rehabilitation. The randomised controlled trials used in the reviews have focused almost exclusively on low-risk, middle-aged males post MI, thereby excluding women and the elderly. ⋯ Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation appears to be effective in reducing cardiac deaths but the evidence base is weakened by poor quality trials. It is not clear from this review whether exercise only or a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation intervention is more beneficial. The population studied in this review is still predominately male, middle aged and low risk. Identification of the ethnic origin of the participants was seldom reported. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewSingle dose oxycodone and oxycodone plus paracetamol (acetominophen) for acute postoperative pain.
Oxycodone is a strong opioid agonist which is useful for the management of severe pain. It is becoming increasingly important to assess the relative efficacy and harm caused by different treatments. This can be determined when an analgesic is compared with control under similar clinical circumstances. ⋯ Single-dose oral oxycodone, with or without paracetamol, appears to be of comparable efficacy to intramuscular morphine and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Central nervous system adverse effects were common.