Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Oct 2012
Review Meta AnalysisInformation and communication technology in patient education and support for people with schizophrenia.
Poor compliance with treatment often means that many people with schizophrenia or other severe mental illness relapse and may need frequent and repeated hospitalisation. Information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly being used to deliver information, treatment or both for people with severe mental disorders. ⋯ Using ICT to deliver psychoeducational interventions has no clear effects compared with standard care, other methods of delivering psychoeducation and support, or both. Researchers used a variety of methods of delivery and outcomes, and studies were few and underpowered. ICT remains a promising method of delivering psychoeducation; the equivocal findings of this review should not postpone high-quality research in this area.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Oct 2012
Review Meta AnalysisCranberries for preventing urinary tract infections.
Cranberries have been used widely for several decades for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs). This is the third update of our review first published in 1998 and updated in 2004 and 2008. ⋯ Prior to the current update it appeared there was some evidence that cranberry juice may decrease the number of symptomatic UTIs over a 12 month period, particularly for women with recurrent UTIs. The addition of 14 further studies suggests that cranberry juice is less effective than previously indicated. Although some of small studies demonstrated a small benefit for women with recurrent UTIs, there were no statistically significant differences when the results of a much larger study were included. Cranberry products were not significantly different to antibiotics for preventing UTIs in three small studies. Given the large number of dropouts/withdrawals from studies (mainly attributed to the acceptability of consuming cranberry products particularly juice, over long periods), and the evidence that the benefit for preventing UTI is small, cranberry juice cannot currently be recommended for the prevention of UTIs. Other preparations (such as powders) need to be quantified using standardised methods to ensure the potency, and contain enough of the 'active' ingredient, before being evaluated in clinical studies or recommended for use.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Oct 2012
Review Meta AnalysisPostoperative tamoxifen for ductal carcinoma in situ.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive carcinoma of the breast. The incidence of DCIS has increased substantially over the last twenty years, largely as a result of the introduction of population-based mammographic screening. The treatment of DCIS tumours involves surgery with or without radiotherapy to prevent recurrent DCIS and invasive carcinoma. However, there is clinical uncertainty as to whether postoperative hormonal treatment (tamoxifen) after surgery confers benefit in overall survival and incidence of recurrent carcinoma. ⋯ While tamoxifen after local excision for DCIS (with or without adjuvant radiotherapy) reduced the risk of recurrent DCIS (in the ipsi- and contralateral breast), it did not reduce the risk of overall mortality.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Oct 2012
Review Meta AnalysisPrinted educational materials: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes.
Printed educational materials are widely used passive dissemination strategies to improve the quality of clinical practice and patient outcomes. Traditionally they are presented in paper formats such as monographs, publication in peer-reviewed journals and clinical guidelines. ⋯ The results of this review suggest that when used alone and compared to no intervention, PEMs may have a small beneficial effect on professional practice outcomes. There is insufficient information to reliably estimate the effect of PEMs on patient outcomes, and clinical significance of the observed effect sizes is not known. The effectiveness of PEMs compared to other interventions, or of PEMs as part of a multifaceted intervention, is uncertain.
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant risk factor for premature cardiovascular disease and death. Increased oxidative stress in people with CKD has been implicated as a potential causative factor for some cardiovascular diseases. Antioxidant therapy may reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in people with CKD. ⋯ Although antioxidant therapy does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause death or major cardiovascular events in people with CKD, it is possible that some benefit may be present, particularly in those on dialysis. However, the small size and generally suboptimal quality of the included studies highlighted the need for sufficiently powered studies to confirm this possibility. Current evidence suggests that antioxidant therapy in predialysis CKD patients may prevent progression to ESKD; this finding was however based on a very small number of events. Further studies with longer follow-up are needed for confirmation. Appropriately powered studies are needed to reliably assess the effects of antioxidant therapy in people with CKD.