Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Sep 2010
Review Meta AnalysisShort-course antibiotics for acute otitis media.
Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common illness during childhood, for which antibiotics are frequently prescribed. ⋯ Clinicians need to evaluate whether the minimal short-term benefit from longer treatment of antibiotics is worth exposing children to a longer course of antibiotics.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Sep 2010
Review Meta AnalysisInterventions for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy.
Nausea, retching and vomiting are very commonly experienced by women in early pregnancy. There are considerable physical and psychological effects on women who experience these symptoms. This is an update of a review of interventions for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy previously published in 2003. ⋯ Given the high prevalence of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy, health professionals need to provide clear guidance to women, based on systematically reviewed evidence. There is a lack of high-quality evidence to support that advice. The difficulties in interpreting the results of the studies included in this review highlight the need for specific, consistent and clearly justified outcomes and approaches to measurement in research studies.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Sep 2010
Review Meta AnalysisNon-steroid agents for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic progressive lung disease with poor outcome and no effective treatment to date. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2003. ⋯ Based on available data, partly still unpublished, pirfenidone appears to improve progression-free survival and, to a lesser extent, pulmonary function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. More data are needed on overall survival and quality of life on treatment. From the studies in this review, interferon gamma-1beta has not been shown to affect survival. Other agents evaluated in single studies either failed to provide evidence for a benefit or need to be assessed in larger randomised controlled trials.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Sep 2010
Review Meta AnalysisInterventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: chemotherapy.
Oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers are frequently described as part of a group of oral cancers or head and neck cancer. Treatment of oral cavity cancer is generally surgery followed by radiotherapy, whereas oropharyngeal cancers, which are more likely to be advanced at the time of diagnosis, are managed with radiotherapy or chemoradiation. Surgery for oral cancers can be disfiguring and both surgery and radiotherapy have significant functional side effects, notably impaired ability to eat, drink and talk. The development of new chemotherapy agents, new combinations of agents and changes in the relative timing of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy treatments may potentially bring about increases in both survival and quality of life for this group of patients. ⋯ Chemotherapy, in addition to radiotherapy and surgery, is associated with improved overall survival in patients with oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. Induction chemotherapy is associated with a 9% increase in survival and adjuvant concomitant chemoradiotherapy is associated with a 16% increase in overall survival following surgery. In patients with unresectable tumours, concomitant chemoradiotherapy showed a 22% benefit in overall survival compared with radiotherapy alone.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Sep 2010
Review Meta AnalysisStretch for the treatment and prevention of contractures.
Contractures are a common complication of neurological and musculoskeletal conditions, and are characterised by a reduction in joint mobility. Stretch is widely used for the treatment and prevention of contractures. However, it is not clear whether stretch is effective. ⋯ Stretch does not have clinically important effects on joint mobility in people with, or at risk of, contractures if performed for less than seven months. The effects of stretch performed for periods longer than seven months have not been investigated.