Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2016
Review Meta AnalysisImaging modalities for the non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis.
About 10% of women of reproductive age suffer from endometriosis. Endometriosis is a costly chronic disease that causes pelvic pain and subfertility. Laparoscopy, the gold standard diagnostic test for endometriosis, is expensive and carries surgical risks. Currently, no non-invasive tests that can be used to accurately diagnose endometriosis are available in clinical practice. This is the first review of diagnostic test accuracy of imaging tests for endometriosis that uses Cochrane methods to provide an update on the rapidly expanding literature in this field. ⋯ None of the evaluated imaging modalities were able to detect overall pelvic endometriosis with enough accuracy that they would be suggested to replace surgery. Specifically for endometrioma, TVUS qualified as a SpPin triage test. MRI displayed sufficient accuracy to suggest utility as a replacement test, but the data were too scant to permit meaningful conclusions. TVUS could be used clinically to identify additional anatomical sites of DIE compared with MRI, thus facilitating preoperative planning. Rectosigmoid endometriosis was the only site that could be accurately mapped by using TVUS, TRUS, MRI or MDCT-e. Studies evaluating recent advances in imaging modalities such as TVUS-BP, RWC-TVS, 3.0TMRI and MDCT-e were observed to have high diagnostic accuracies but were too few to allow prudent evaluation of their diagnostic role. In view of the low quality of most of the included studies, the findings of this review should be interpreted with caution. Future well-designed diagnostic studies undertaken to compare imaging tests for diagnostic test accuracy and costs are recommended.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2016
Review Meta AnalysisAssisted reproductive technologies for male subfertility.
Intra-uterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are frequently used fertility treatments for couples with male subfertility. The use of these treatments has been subject of discussion. Knowledge on the effectiveness of fertility treatments for male subfertility with different grades of severity is limited. Possibly, couples are exposed to unnecessary or ineffective treatments on a large scale. ⋯ We found insufficient evidence to determine whether there was any difference in safety and effectiveness between different treatments for male subfertility. More research is needed.
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This review has been superseded by the protocol 'Psychological treatments for people with epilepsy' (Michaelis 2016). The full review is expected to be published by 1st July 2016. The editorial group responsible for this previously published document have withdrawn it from publication.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2016
Review Meta AnalysisCalcium channel blockers for primary Raynaud's phenomenon.
Calcium channel blockers are the most commonly prescribed drugs for people with primary Raynaud's phenomenon. Primary Raynaud's phenomenon is a common condition characterised by an exaggerated vasospastic response to cold or emotion: classically the digits (fingers and toes) turn white, then blue, then red. This is an update of the review first published in 2014. ⋯ The randomised controlled trials included in this review provide moderate quality evidence that oral calcium channel blockers are minimally effective in the treatment of primary Raynaud's phenomenon as measured by the frequency of attacks and high-quality evidence that they have little effect on severity. We are unable to comment on duration of attacks or on patient preference due to the very low and low quality of evidence as a result of small sample sizes in the included studies and the variable data quality of outcome measures.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2016
ReviewWITHDRAWN: Functional capacity evaluations for the prevention of occupational re-injuries in injured workers.
This review did not find any studies to include in 2010. Systematic searches have not revealed any new studies having been published up to November 2015. As the current author team cannot commit to updating the review and as we haven’t found new authors keen to take on the task, we decided to withdraw this review. The editorial group responsible for this previously published document have withdrawn it from publication.