Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2004
Review Meta AnalysisCranberries for preventing urinary tract infections.
Cranberries (particularly in the form of cranberry juice) have been used widely for several decades for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs). The aim of this review is to assess the effectiveness of cranberries in preventing such infections. ⋯ There is some evidence from two good quality RCTs that cranberry juice may decrease the number of symptomatic UTIs over a 12 month period in women. If it is effective for other groups such as children and elderly men and women is not clear. The large number of dropouts/withdrawals from some of the trials indicates that cranberry juice may not be acceptable over long periods of time. In addition it is not clear what is the optimum dosage or method of administration (e.g. juice or tablets). Further properly designed trials with relevant outcomes are needed.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2004
ReviewNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) versus opioids for acute renal colic.
Renal colic is a common cause of acute severe pain. Both opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are recommended for treatment, but the relative efficacy of these drugs is uncertain. ⋯ Both NSAIDs and opioids can provide effective analgesia in acute renal colic. Opioids are associated with a higher incidence of adverse events, particularly vomiting. Given the high rate of vomiting associated with the use of opioids, particularly pethidine, and the greater likelihood of requiring further analgesia, we recommend that if an opioid is to be used it should not be pethidine.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2004
Review Meta AnalysisCorticosteroid therapy for nephrotic syndrome in children.
In nephrotic syndrome protein leaks from the blood to the urine through the glomeruli resulting in hypoproteinaemia and generalised oedema. Children with untreated nephrotic syndrome frequently die from infections. The majority of children with nephrotic syndrome respond to corticosteroids. However about 70% of children experience a relapsing course with recurrent episodes of oedema and proteinuria. Corticosteroid usage has reduced the mortality rate in childhood nephrotic syndrome to around 3%, with infection remaining the most important cause of death. However corticosteroids have known adverse effects such as obesity, poor growth, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis and adrenal suppression. The original treatment schedules for childhood nephrotic syndrome were developed in an ad hoc manner. The optimal doses and durations of corticosteroid therapy that are most beneficial and least harmful have not been clarified. ⋯ Children in their first episode of SSNS should be treated for at least three months with an increase in benefit being demonstrated for up to seven months of treatment. In a population with a baseline risk for relapse following the first episode of 60% with two months of prednisone, daily prednisone for four weeks followed by alternate day therapy for six months would be expected to reduce the number of children experiencing a relapse by about 33%. In children who relapse frequently, deflazacort deserves further study.
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Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related death among North American and Western European women. Recent progress in understanding the genetic basis of breast cancer, along with rising incidence rates, have resulted in increased interest in prophylactic mastectomy as a method of preventing breast cancer, particularly in those with familial susceptibility. ⋯ While published observational studies demonstrated that BPM was effective in reducing both the incidence of, and death from, breast cancer, more rigorous prospective studies (ideally randomized trials) are needed. The studies need to be of sufficient duration and make better attempts to control for selection biases to arrive at better estimates of risk reduction. The state of the science is far from exact in predicting who will get or who will die from breast cancer. By one estimate, most of the women deemed high risk by family history (but not necessarily BRCA 1 or 2 mutation carriers) who underwent these procedures would not have died from breast cancer, even without prophylactic surgery. Therefore, women need to understand that this procedure should be considered only among those at very high risk of the disease. For women who had already been diagnosed with a primary tumor, the data were particularly lacking for indications for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy. While it appeared that contralateral mastectomy may reduce the incidence of cancer in the contralateral breast, there was insufficient evidence about whether, and for whom, CPM actually improved survival. Physical morbidity is not uncommon following PM, and many women underwent unanticipated re-operations (usually due to problems with reconstruction); however, these data need to be updated to reflect changes in surgical procedures and reconstruction. Regarding psychosocial outcomes, women generally reported satisfaction with their decisions to have PM but reported satisfaction less consistently for cosmetic outcomes, with diminished satisfaction often due to surgical complications. Therefore, physical morbidity and post-operative surgical complications were areas that should be considered when deciding about PM. With regard to emotional well-being, most women recovered well postoperatively, reporting reduced cancer worry and showing reduced psychological morbidity from their baseline measures; exceptions also have been noted. Of the psychosocial outcomes measured, body image and feelings of femininity were the most adversely affected.
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Surgical abortion up to 63 days by vacuum aspiration or dilatation and curettage has been the method of choice since the 1960s. Medical abortion became an alternative method of first trimester pregnancy termination with the availability of prostaglandins in the early 1970s and anti-progesterones in the 1980s. The most widely researched drugs are prostaglandins (PGs) alone, mifepristone alone, methotrexate alone, mifepristone with prostaglandins and methotrexate with prostaglandins. ⋯ Safe and effective medical abortion methods are available. Combined regimens are more effective than single agents. In the combined regimen, the dose of mifepristone can be lowered to 200 mg without significantly decreasing the method effectiveness. Misoprostol vaginally is more effective than orally. Some of the results are based on small studies only and therefore carry some uncertainty. Almost all trials were conducted in hospital settings with good access to support and emergency services. It is therefore not clear if the results are readily applicable to under-resourced settings where such services are lacking even if the agents used are available.