Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2012
Review Meta AnalysisAntioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases.
Our systematic review has demonstrated that antioxidant supplements may increase mortality. We have now updated this review. ⋯ We found no evidence to support antioxidant supplements for primary or secondary prevention. Beta-carotene and vitamin E seem to increase mortality, and so may higher doses of vitamin A. Antioxidant supplements need to be considered as medicinal products and should undergo sufficient evaluation before marketing.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2012
Review Meta AnalysisNutrient-enriched formula versus standard term formula for preterm infants following hospital discharge.
Preterm infants are often growth-restricted at hospital discharge. Feeding infants after hospital discharge with nutrient-enriched formula rather than standard term formula might facilitate "catch-up" growth and improve development. ⋯ Current recommendations to prescribe "post-discharge formula" for preterm infants following hospital discharge are not supported by the available evidence. Some limited evidence exists that feeding preterm infants following hospital discharge with "preterm formula" (which is generally only available for in-hospital use) may increase growth rates up to 18 months corrected age.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2012
Review Meta AnalysisAirway clearance techniques for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Cough and sputum production are common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and are associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Airway clearance techniques (ACTs) aim to remove sputum from the lungs, however evidence of their efficacy during acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) or stable disease is unclear. ⋯ Evidence from this review indicates that airway clearance techniques are safe for individuals with COPD and confer small beneficial effects on some clinical outcomes. Consideration may be given to the use of airway clearance techniques for patients with COPD in both acute and stable disease, however current studies suggest that the benefits achieved may be small.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2012
Review Meta AnalysisSensory environment on health-related outcomes of hospital patients.
Hospital environments have recently received renewed interest, with considerable investments into building and renovating healthcare estates. Understanding the effectiveness of environmental interventions is important for resource utilisation and providing quality care. ⋯ Music may improve patient-reported outcomes in certain circumstances, so support for this relatively inexpensive intervention may be justified. For some environmental interventions, well designed research studies have yet to take place.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Mar 2012
Review Meta AnalysisHuman recombinant activated factor VII for upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with liver diseases.
Mortality from upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with liver disease is high. Recombinant human activated factor VII (rHuFVIIa) has been suggested for patients with liver disease and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. ⋯ We found no evidence to support or reject the administration of rHuFVIIa for patients with liver disease and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Further adequately powered randomised clinical trials are needed in order to evaluate the proper role of rHuFVIIa for treating upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with liver disease. Although the results are based on trials with low risk of bias, the heterogeneity and the small sample size result in rather large confidence intervals that cannot exclude the possibility that the intervention has some beneficial or harmful effect. Further trials with alow risk of bias are required to make more confident conclusions about the effects of the intervention.