Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisInterventions to prevent hypothermia at birth in preterm and/or low birthweight babies.
Hypothermia incurred during routine postnatal resuscitation is a world-wide issue (across all climates), with associated morbidity and mortality. Keeping vulnerable preterm infants warm is problematic even when recommended routine thermal care guidelines are followed in the delivery suite. ⋯ Plastic wraps or bags, skin-to-skin care and transwarmer mattresses all keep preterm infants warmer, leading to higher temperatures on admission to neonatal units and less hypothermia. Given the low NNT, consideration should be given to using these interventions in the delivery suite. However, the small numbers of infants and studies and the absence of long term follow-up mean that firm recommendations for clinical practice cannot be given. There is a need to conduct large, high quality randomised controlled trials looking at long-term outcomes.
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For many years antidepressant drugs have been used to manage neuropathic pain, and are often the first choice treatment. It is not clear, however, which antidepressant is more effective, what role the newer antidepressants can play in treating neuropathic pain, and what adverse effects are experienced by patients. ⋯ Antidepressants are effective for a variety of neuropathic pains. The best evidence available is for amitriptyline. There are only limited data for the effectiveness of SSRIs. It is not possible to identify the most effective antidepressant until more studies of SSRIs are conducted.
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Surgical investigations and interventions account for large health care utilisation and costs, but the scientific evidence for most procedures is still limited. ⋯ Limited evidence is now available to support some aspects of surgical practice. Surgeons should be encouraged to perform further RCTs in this field.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisHyperbaric oxygen therapy for acute coronary syndrome.
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) includes acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina. ACS is common and may prove fatal. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) will improve oxygen supply to the threatened heart and may reduce the volume of heart muscle that will perish. The addition of HBOT to the standard treatment may reduce death rate and other major adverse outcomes. ⋯ For people with ACS, individual small trials suggest the addition of HBOT reduced the risk of Major Adverse Cardiac Events, some dysrrhythmias, and reduced the time to relief from ischaemic pain, but did not reduce mortality. In view of the modest number of patients, methodological shortcomings and poor reporting, this result should be interpreted cautiously, and an appropriately powered trial of high methodological rigour is justified to define those patients (if any) who can be expected to derive most benefit from HBOT. The routine application of HBOT to these patients cannot be justified from this review.
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Neck disorders are common, disabling and costly. The effectiveness of electrotherapy as a physiotherapy option has remained unclear. ⋯ We can not make any definitive statements on electrotherapy for MND. The current evidence on Galvanic current (direct or pulsed), iontophoresis, TENS, EMS, PEMF and permanent magnets is either lacking, limited, or conflicting. Possible new trials on these interventions should have larger patient samples and include more precise standardization and description of all treatment characteristics.