Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · May 2020
Review Meta AnalysisChelation therapy for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Chelation therapy is promoted and practiced around the world as a form of alternative medicine in the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. It has been suggested as a safe, relatively inexpensive, non-surgical method of restoring blood flow in atherosclerotic vessels. However, there is currently limited high-quality, adequately-powered research informing evidence-based medicine on the topic, specifically regarding clinical outcomes. Due to this limited evidence, the benefit of chelation therapy remains controversial at present. This is an update of a review first published in 2002. ⋯ There is currently insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of chelation therapy in improving clinical outcomes of people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. More high-quality, randomised controlled trials are needed that assess the effects of chelation therapy on longevity and quality of life among people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · May 2020
Review Meta AnalysisTreatment regimens for administration of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of permanent blindness worldwide. The current mainstay of treatment for neovascular AMD (nAMD) is intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents: aflibercept, ranibizumab, and off-label bevacizumab. Injections can be given monthly, every two or three months ('extended-fixed'), or as needed (pro re nata (PRN)). A variant of PRN is 'treat-and-extend' whereby injections are resumed if recurrence is detected and then delivered with increasing intervals. Currently, injection frequency varies among practitioners, which underscores the need to characterize an optimized approach to nAMD management. ⋯ We found that, at one year, monthly regimens are probably more effective than PRN regimens using seven or eight injections in the first year, but the difference is small and clinically insignificant. Endophthalmitis is probably more common with monthly injections and differences in costs between regimens are higher if aflibercept or ranibizumab are used compared to bevacizumab. This evidence only applies to settings in which regimens are implemented as described in the trials, whereas undertreatment is likely to be common in real-world settings. There are no data from RCTs on long-term effects of different treatment regimens.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · May 2020
Review Meta AnalysisIndoor salt water baths followed by artificial ultraviolet B light for chronic plaque psoriasis.
Chronic plaque psoriasis is an immune-mediated, chronic, inflammatory skin disease, which can impair quality of life and social interaction. Disease severity can be classified by the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score ranging from 0 to 72 points. Indoor artificial salt bath with or without artificial ultraviolet B (UVB) light is used to treat psoriasis, simulating sea bathing and sunlight exposure; however, the evidence base needs clear evaluation. ⋯ Salt bath with artificial ultraviolet B (UVB) light may improve psoriasis in people with chronic plaque psoriasis compared with UVB light treatment alone, and there may be no difference in the occurrence of treatment-related adverse events requiring withdrawal. Both results are based on data from a limited number of studies, which provided low-certainty evidence, so we cannot draw any clear conclusions. The reporting of our pre-specified outcomes was either non-existent or limited, with a maximum of two studies reporting a given outcome. The same group conducted the two trials which contributed data for the primary efficacy outcome, and the German Spas Association funded one of these trials. We recommend further RCTs that assess PASI-75, with detailed reporting of the outcome and time point, as well as treatment-related adverse events. Risk of bias was an issue; future studies should ensure blinding of outcome assessors and full reporting.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · May 2020
Review Meta AnalysisAlarm interventions for nocturnal enuresis in children.
Enuresis (bedwetting) affects up to 20% of five-year-olds and can have considerable social, emotional and psychological effects. Treatments include alarms (activated by urination), behavioural interventions and drugs. ⋯ Alarm therapy may be more effective than no treatment in reducing enuresis in children. We are uncertain if alarm therapy is more effective than desmopressin but there is probably a lower risk of adverse events with alarms than with desmopressin. Despite the large number of trials included in this review, further adequately-powered trials with robust randomisation are still needed to determine the full effect of alarm therapy.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · May 2020
Review Meta AnalysisPsychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder.
Over the decades, a variety of psychological interventions for borderline personality disorder (BPD) have been developed. This review updates and replaces an earlier review (Stoffers-Winterling 2012). ⋯ Our assessments showed beneficial effects on all primary outcomes in favour of BPD-tailored psychotherapy compared with TAU. However, only the outcome of BPD severity reached the MIREDIF-defined cut-off for a clinically meaningful improvement. Subgroup analyses found no evidence of a difference in effect estimates between the different types of therapies (compared to TAU) . The pooled analysis of psychotherapy versus waiting list or no treatment found significant improvement on BPD severity, psychosocial functioning and depression at end of treatment, but these findings were based on low-quality evidence, and the true magnitude of these effects is uncertain. No clear evidence of difference was found for self-harm and suicide-related outcomes. However, compared to TAU, we observed effects in favour of DBT for BPD severity, self-harm and psychosocial functioning and, for MBT, on self-harm and suicidality at end of treatment, but these were all based on low-quality evidence. Therefore, we are unsure whether these effects would alter with the addition of more data.