Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
Review Meta AnalysisTypes of urethral catheters for management of short-term voiding problems in hospitalised adults.
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common hospital acquired infection. The major associated cause is indwelling urinary catheters. Currently there are many types of catheters available. A variety of specialised urethral catheters have been designed to reduce the risk of infection. These include antiseptic impregnated catheters and antibiotic impregnated catheters. Other issues that should be considered when choosing a catheter are ease of use, comfort and cost. ⋯ The results suggest that the use of silver alloy indwelling catheters for catheterising hospitalised adults short-term reduces the risk of catheter acquired urinary tract infection. Further economic evaluation is required to confirm that the reduction of infection compensates for the increased cost of silver alloy catheters.Catheters impregnated with antibiotics are also beneficial in reducing bacteriuria in hospitalised adults catheterised for less than one week but the data were too few to draw conclusions about those catheterised for longer. There was not enough evidence to suggest whether or not any standard catheter was better than another in terms of reducing the risk of urinary tract infection in hospitalised adults catheterised short-term. Siliconised catheters may be less likely to cause urethral side effects in men; however, this result should be interpreted with some caution as the trials were small and the outcome definitions and specific catheters compared varied.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
Review Meta AnalysisDopamine agonist therapy in early Parkinson's disease.
Dopamine agonists are being used increasingly as first line treatment for Parkinson's disease, but there remains uncertainty about their clinical and cost-effectiveness relative to levodopa. ⋯ This meta-analysis confirms that motor complications are reduced with dopamine agonists compared to levodopa, but also establishes that other important side-effects are increased and symptom control is poorer with agonists. Larger, long-term comparative trials assessing patient-rated quality of life are needed to assess more reliably the balance of benefits and risks of dopamine agonists compared to levodopa.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
ReviewGluten- and casein-free diets for autistic spectrum disorder.
It has been suggested that peptides from gluten and casein may have a role in the origins of autism and that the physiology and psychology of autism might be explained by excessive opioid activity linked to these peptides. Research has reported abnormal levels of peptides in the urine and cerebrospinal fluid of people with autism. ⋯ Research has shown of high rates of use of complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) for children with autism including gluten and/or casein exclusion diets. Current evidence for efficacy of these diets is poor. Large scale, good quality randomised controlled trials are needed.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
Review Meta AnalysisLong-term results of laparoscopic colorectal cancer resection.
Although minimally invasive surgery has been accepted for a variety of disorders, laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer is performed by few. Concern about oncological radicality and long term outcome has limited the adoption of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer. ⋯ Laparoscopic resection of carcinoma of the colon is associated with a long term outcome no different from that of open colectomy. Further studies are required to determine whether the incidence of incisional hernias and adhesions is affected by method of approach. Laparoscopic surgery for cancer of the upper rectum is feasible, but more randomised trials need to be conducted to assess long term outcome.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Apr 2008
Review Meta AnalysisTargeted therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Advanced renal cell carcinoma has been resistant to drug therapy of different types and new types of drug therapy are needed. Targeted agents inhibit known molecular pathways involved in cellular proliferation and neoangiogenesis, the induction by the tumour of host microvascular networks. Angiogenesis is of special interest in the clear cell histologic subtype of renal cancer because of its vascularity and constitutively activated hypoxia-inducible path in the majority of tumours. ⋯ Based on less than a decade of experience, some targeted agents with specified molecular targets have demonstrated clinically useful benefits over the previous standard of care for patients with advanced renal cancer. Much more research is required to fully establish the role of targeted agents in this condition.