Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2013
Review Meta AnalysisNeuromuscular electrical stimulation for muscle weakness in adults with advanced disease.
Patients with progressive diseases often experience muscle weakness, which impacts adversely on levels of independence and quality of life. In those who are unable or unwilling to undertake traditional forms of exercise, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may provide an alternative method of enhancing leg muscle strength. Programmes appear to be well tolerated and have led to improvements in muscle function, exercise capacity and quality of life. However, estimates regarding the effectiveness of NMES from individual studies lack power and precision. ⋯ NMES appears an effective means of improving muscle weakness in adults with progressive diseases such as COPD, chronic heart failure and cancer. Further research is required to clarify its place in clinical practice, by determining the optimal parameters for a NMES programme, the patients most likely to benefit, and its impact on morbidity and service use.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2013
Review Meta AnalysisCognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents.
A previous Cochrane review (James 2005) showed that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) was effective in treating childhood anxiety disorders; however, questions remain regarding (1) the relative efficacy of CBT versus non-CBT active treatments; (2) the relative efficacy of CBT versus medication and the combination of CBT and medication versus placebo; and (3) the long-term effects of CBT. ⋯ Cognitive behavioural therapy is an effective treatment for childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders; however, the evidence suggesting that CBT is more effective than active controls or TAU or medication at follow-up, is limited and inconclusive.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2013
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudySurgical versus non-surgical treatment for thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurological deficit.
Spinal burst fractures result from the failure of both the anterior and the middle columns of the spine under axial compression loads. Conservative management is through bed rest and immobilisation once the acute symptoms have settled. Surgical treatment involves either anterior or posterior stabilisation of the fracture, sometimes with decompression involving the removal of bone fragments that have intruded into the vertebral canal. This is an update of a review first published in 2006. ⋯ The contradictory evidence provided by two small and potentially biased randomised controlled trials is insufficient to conclude whether surgical or non-surgical treatment yields superior pain and functional outcomes for people with thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurological deficit. It is likely, however, that surgery is associated with more early complications and the need for subsequent surgery, as well as greater initial healthcare costs.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2013
ReviewPsychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents who have been sexually abused.
The sexual abuse of children and adolescents is a significant worldwide problem. It is associated with a wide variety of negative psychological, social and physical consequences for the victims. These effects can often be seen immediately following sexual abuse, but they may manifest later on and sometimes only in adult life. There are a number of different interventions aimed at helping children and adolescents who have been sexually abused, and psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy has a long-established tradition of being used for such victims. In this review, we set out to find the evidence for its effectiveness specifically in children and adolescents who have been sexually abused. ⋯ There are no randomised and quasi-randomised trials that compare psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy with treatment as usual, no treatment or waiting list control for children and adolescents who have been sexually abused. As a result, we cannot draw any conclusions as to the effectiveness of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy for this population. This important gap emphasises the need for further research into the effectiveness of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy in this population. Such research should ideally be in the form of methodologically high-quality, large-scale randomised controlled trials. If these are not conducted, future systematic reviews on this subject may need to consider including other lower quality evidence in order to avoid overlooking important research.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2013
Review Meta AnalysisPhysical exercise training interventions for children and young adults during and after treatment for childhood cancer.
A decreased physical fitness and impaired social functioning has been reported in patients and survivors of childhood cancer. This is influenced by the negative effects of disease and treatment of childhood cancer and by behavioural and social elements. Exercise training for adults during or after cancer therapy has frequently been reported to improve physical fitness and social functioning. More recently, literature on this subject became available for children and young adults with cancer, both during and after treatment. ⋯ The effects of physical exercise training interventions for childhood cancer participants are not yet convincing due to small numbers of participants and insufficient study methodology. Despite that, first results show a trend towards an improved physical fitness in the intervention group compared to the control group. Changes in physical fitness were seen by improved body composition, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory fitness. However, the evidence is limited and these positive effects were not found for the other assessed outcomes, such as muscle strength/endurance, the level of daily activity, health-related quality of life, and fatigue. There is a need for more studies with comparable aims and interventions, using higher numbers of participants and for studies with another childhood cancer population than ALL only.