Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisNon-nutritive sucking for promoting physiologic stability and nutrition in preterm infants.
Non-nutritive sucking is used during gavage feeding and in the transition from gavage to breast/bottle feeding in preterm infants. The rationale for this intervention is that non-nutritive sucking facilitates the development of sucking behaviour and improves digestion of enteral feedings. Non-nutritive sucking has been considered to be a benign intervention, although it has the potential to have a negative effect on breastfeeding or on the incidence of later oral aversion. ⋯ This review found a significant decrease in length of stay in preterm infants receiving a NNS intervention. The review did not reveal a consistent benefit of NNS with respect to other major clinical variables (weight gain, energy intake, heart rate, oxygen saturation, intestinal transit time, age at full oral feeds and behavioral state). The review identified other positive clinical outcomes of NNS: transition from tube to bottle feeds and better bottle feeding performance. No negative outcomes were reported in any of the studies. There were also a number of limitations of the presently available evidence related to the design of the studies, outcome variability, and lack of long-term data. Based on the available evidence, NNS in preterm infants would appear to have some clinical benefit. It does not appear to have any short-term negative effects. In view of the fact that there are no long-term data, further investigations are recommended. In order to facilitate meta-analysis of these data, future research in this area should involve outcome measures consistent with those used in previous studies. In addition, published reports should include all relevant data.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisSpinal cord stimulation for non-reconstructable chronic critical leg ischaemia.
Patients suffering from inoperable chronic critical leg ischaemia (NR-CCLI), face amputation of the leg. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been proposed as a helpful treatment in addition to standard conservative treatment. ⋯ There is evidence to favour SCS over standard conservative treatment to improve limb salvage and clinical situation in patients with NR-CCLI. The benefits of SCS against the possible harm of relatively mild complications and costs must be considered.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
ReviewLocal anesthetic sympathetic blockade for complex regional pain syndrome.
Local anesthetic blockade of the sympathetic chain is widely used to treat reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and causalgia. These two pain syndromes are now conceptualized as variants of a single entity: complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). A recent meta-analysis of the topic has been published. However, this study only evaluated studies in English language and therefore it could have overlooked some randomized controlled trials. ⋯ This systematic review revealed the scarcity of published evidence to support the use of local anesthetic sympathetic blockade as the 'gold standard' treatment for CRPS. The two randomized studies that met inclusion criteria had very small sample sizes, therefore, no conclusion concerning the effectiveness of this procedure could be drawn. There is a need to conduct randomized controlled trials to address the value of sympathetic blockade with local anesthetic for the treatment of CRPS.
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Obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Surgery for morbid obesity is considered when other treatments have failed. A number of procedures are available, but the effects of these surgical procedures compared with medical management and with each other are uncertain. ⋯ The limited evidence suggests that surgery is more effective than conventional management for weight loss in morbid obesity. The comparative safety and effectiveness of different surgical procedures is unclear.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2005
ReviewContinuous infusion versus intermittent flushing to prevent loss of function of peripheral intravenous catheters used for drug administration in newborn infants.
The use of peripheral intravenous cannulae is common in newborn babies. Many of them require an intravenous line only for medications and not for fluid. Currently there is little uniformity in methods used to maintain cannula patency. ⋯ It is difficult to draw reliable conclusions given the way the data were analysed and reported in the two included studies. The reliability of the results is uncertain. However, given the caution in interpreting these data, it should also be noted that the use of intermittent flushes was not associated in either study with a decreased cannula life or any other disadvantages, thus lending some support for the use of intermittent flushing of cannulas in a selected population in neonatal nurseries.