Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2009
Review Meta AnalysisMethods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires.
Postal and electronic questionnaires are widely used for data collection in epidemiological studies but non-response reduces the effective sample size and can introduce bias. Finding ways to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires would improve the quality of health research. ⋯ Health researchers using postal and electronic questionnaires can increase response using the strategies shown to be effective in this systematic review.
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Leptospirosis is an infectious disease transmitted by animals. Death occurs in about five per cent of the patients. In clinical practice, doxycycline is widely used for prevention. ⋯ Prophylaxis of leptospirosis may be achieved by administration of doxycycline to soldiers training in endemic areas with a high risk of exposure to leptospirosis. Whether these findings apply to other scenarios or not remains to be proven.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2009
ReviewSingle dose oral aceclofenac for postoperative pain in adults.
Aceclofenac is the prodrug of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac, widely used to treat acute and chronic pain. There are no known systematic reviews of its analgesic efficacy in acute postoperative pain. This review sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral aceclofenac in acute postoperative pain, using clinical studies of patients with established pain, and with outcomes measured primarily over 6 hours using standard methods. This type of study has been used for many decades to establish that drugs have analgesic properties. ⋯ In the absence of evidence of efficacy for oral aceclofenac in acute postoperative pain (at least at 150 mg single dose), its use in this indication is not justified. Because trials clearly demonstrating analgesic efficacy in the most basic of acute pain studies are lacking, use in other indications should be evaluated carefully. Given the large number of effective drugs available in this and similar classes of analgesics, there is no urgent research agenda required to demonstrate the effective dose of aceclofenac in acute postoperative pain.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2009
ReviewRehabilitation interventions for foot drop in neuromuscular disease.
"Foot drop" or "Floppy foot drop" is the term commonly used to describe weakness or contracture of the muscles around the ankle joint. It may arise from many neuromuscular diseases. ⋯ Only one study, involving people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, demonstrated a statistically significant positive effect of strength training. No effect of strength training was found in people with either myotonic dystrophy or facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Surgery had no significant effect in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and night splinting of the ankle had no significant effect in people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. More evidence generated by methodologically sound trials is required.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2009
Review Meta AnalysisMilnacipran versus other antidepressive agents for depression.
Although pharmacological and psychological interventions are both effective for major depression, antidepressant drugs are frequently used as first-line treatment in primary and secondary care settings. Milnacipran, a dual serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), is one of the antidepressant drugs that clinicians use for routine depression care. ⋯ Currently, there is inadequate evidence to conclude whether milnacipran is superior, inferior or the same as other antidepressive agents in terms of efficacy, acceptability and tolerability in the acute phase treatment of major depression. However, there is some evidence in favour of milnacipran over TCAs in terms of dropouts due to adverse events (acceptability) and the rates of experiencing adverse events (tolerability). Information about other clinically meaningful outcomes such as cost-effectiveness and social functioning, including the ability to return to work, is lacking. Further study is needed to answer whether milnacipran would be the better choice of antidepressant for acute major depression.