Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · May 2014
Review Meta AnalysisLaparoscopy for the management of acute lower abdominal pain in women of childbearing age.
This is an updated version of the original review, published in Issue 1, 2011, of The Cochrane Library. Acute lower abdominal pain is common, and making a diagnosis is particularly challenging in premenopausal women, as ovulation and menstruation symptoms overlap with symptoms of appendicitis, early pregnancy complications and pelvic infection. A management strategy involving early laparoscopy could potentially provide a more accurate diagnosis, earlier treatment and reduced risk of complications. ⋯ We found that laparoscopy in women with acute lower abdominal pain, non-specific lower abdominal pain or suspected appendicitis led to a higher rate of specific diagnoses being made and a lower rate of removal of normal appendices compared with open appendicectomy only. Hospital stays were shorter. No evidence showed an increase in adverse events when any of these strategies were used.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · May 2014
Review Meta AnalysisZolmitriptan for acute migraine attacks in adults.
Migraine is a common, disabling condition and a burden for the individual, health services, and society. Zolmitriptan is an abortive medication for migraine attacks, belonging to the triptan family. These medicines work in a different way to analgesics such as paracetamol and ibuprofen. ⋯ Zolmitriptan is effective as an abortive treatment for migraine attacks for some people, but is associated with increased adverse events compared to placebo. Zolmitriptan 2.5 mg and 5 mg benefited the same proportion of people as sumatriptan 50 mg, although not necessarily the same individuals, for headache relief at two hours.
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Concern about a possible association of hormonal contraception with HIV acquisition has been raised by three types of evidence. Firstly, high-dose progestogen treatment greatly increases HIV acquisition in female non-human primates. Secondly, biological plausibility for a link between hormonal contraception anf HIV acquisition is provided by evidence of a hypo-oestrogenic state induced by progestogen contraception with vaginal mucosal thinning, and evidence of effects on the humoral and cellular immune systems. Thirdly, some but not other large observational studies have found an increase in HIV acquisition among women using hormonal contraception. ⋯ There is currently no robust evidence from randomized trials on the possible effect of hormonal contraception on HIV acquisition. High quality trials in this area are needed to inform counselling of individual woman and public health policy.
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Psychological stress has been widely implicated in asthma exacerbation. Evidence suggests that written emotional disclosure, an intervention that involves writing about traumatic or stressful experiences, helps to reduce stress and promote physical and psychological well-being. Written emotional disclosure may have a role in the management of asthma. ⋯ Evidence was insufficient to show whether written emotional disclosure compared with writing about non-emotional topics had an effect on the outcomes included in this review. Evidence is insufficient to allow any conclusions as to the role of disclosure in quality of life, psychological well-being, medication use and healthcare utilisation. The evidence presented in this review is generally of low quality. Better designed studies with standardised reporting of outcome measurement instruments are required to determine the effectiveness of written emotional disclosure in the management of asthma.
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Antidepressants are widely used to treat chronic neuropathic pain (pain due to nerve damage), usually in doses below those at which they exert antidepressant effects. An earlier review that included all antidepressants for neuropathic pain is being replaced by new reviews of individual drugs examining individual neuropathic pain conditions.Imipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant that is occasionally used to treat neuropathic pain. ⋯ This review found little evidence to support the use of imipramine to treat neuropathic pain. There was very low quality evidence of benefit but this came from studies that were methodologically flawed and potentially subject to major bias. Effective medicines with much greater supportive evidence are available.