Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2023
ReviewBehavioural and cognitive-behavioural interventions for outwardly directed aggressive behaviour in people with intellectual disabilities.
Outwardly directed aggressive behaviour in people with intellectual disabilities is a significant issue that may lead to poor quality of life, social exclusion and inpatient psychiatric admissions. Cognitive and behavioural approaches have been developed to manage aggressive behaviour but the effectiveness of these interventions on reducing aggressive behaviour and other outcomes are unclear. This is the third update of this review and adds nine new studies, resulting in a total of 15 studies in this review. ⋯ There is moderate-certainty evidence that cognitive-behavioural approaches such as anger management and PBS may reduce outwardly directed aggressive behaviour in the short term but there is less certainty about the evidence in the medium and long term, particularly in relation to other outcomes such as quality of life. There is some evidence to suggest that combining more than one intervention may have cumulative benefits. Most studies were small and there is a need for larger, robust randomised controlled trials, particularly for interventions where the certainty of evidence is very low. More trials are needed that focus on children and whether psychological interventions lead to reductions in the use of psychotropic medications.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2023
ReviewEndovascular therapy versus medical treatment for symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis.
Intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) is an arterial narrowing in the brain that can cause stroke. Endovascular therapy (ET) and conventional medical treatment (CMT) may prevent recurrent ischaemic stroke caused by ICAS. However, there is no consensus on the best treatment for people with ICAS. ⋯ This review provides moderate-certainty evidence that ET plus CMT compared with CMT alone increases the risk of short-term stroke and death in people with recent symptomatic severe ICAS. This effect was still apparent at long-term follow-up but appeared to be due to the early risks of ET; therefore, there may be no clear difference between the interventions in terms of their effects on long-term stroke and death. The impact of delayed ET intervention (more than three weeks after a qualifying event) warrants further study.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2023
ReviewDigital technology for monitoring adherence to inhaled therapies in people with cystic fibrosis.
Improved understanding and treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) has led to longer life expectancy, which is accompanied by an increasingly complex regimen of treatments. Suboptimal adherence to the treatment plan, in the context of respiratory disease, has been found to be associated with poorer health outcomes. With digital technology being more accessible, it can be used to monitor adherence to inhaled therapies via chipped nebulisers, mobile phone apps and web-based platforms. This technology can allow monitoring of adherence as well as clinical outcomes, and allow feedback to both the person with CF and their healthcare team. ⋯ Digital monitoring plus tailored support via an online platform probably improves adherence to inhaled therapies and reduces treatment burden (but without a corresponding change in QoL) in the medium term (low- and moderate-certainty evidence). In a shorter time frame, technological enhancement of inhaling antibiotics may improve adherence to treatment (low-certainty evidence). There may be little or no effect on lung function with either intervention, and online monitoring probably makes no difference to pulmonary exacerbations. Future research should assess the effect of digital technology on adherence in both children and adults. Consideration of adherence to the total treatment regimen is also important, as an improvement in adherence to inhaled therapies could come at the cost of adherence to other parts of the treatment regimen.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2023
ReviewTreatment of dental and orthodontic complications in thalassaemia.
Thalassaemia is a quantitative abnormality of haemoglobin caused by mutations in genes controlling production of alpha or beta globins. Abnormally unpaired globin chains cause membrane damage and cell death within organ systems and destruction of erythroid precursors in the bone marrow, leading to haemolytic anaemia. The life-long management of the general health effects of thalassaemia is highly challenging, and failure to deal with dental and orthodontic complications exacerbates the public health, financial and personal burden of the condition. There is a lack of evidence-based guidelines to help care seekers and providers manage such dental and orthodontic complications. This review aimed to evaluate the available evidence on methods for treating dental and orthodontic complications in people with thalassaemia to inform future recommendations. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2019. ⋯ Although the included study showed greater reduction in gingivitis in the group treated with full-mouth ultrasonic scaling plus photodynamic therapy, the evidence is of very low certainty. The study had unclear risk of bias, a short follow-up period and no data on safety or adverse effects. We cannot make definitive recommendations for clinical practice based on the limited evidence of a single trial. Future studies will very likely affect the conclusions of this review. This review highlights the need for high-quality RCTs that investigate the effectiveness of various treatment modalities for dental and orthodontic complications in people with thalassaemia. It is crucial that future trials assess adverse effects of interventions.
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People with cystic fibrosis (CF) experience chronic airway infections as a result of mucus buildup within the lungs. Repeated infections often cause lung damage and disease. Airway clearance therapies aim to improve mucus clearance, increase sputum production, and improve airway function. The active cycle of breathing technique (ACBT) is an airway clearance method that uses a cycle of techniques to loosen airway secretions including breathing control, thoracic expansion exercises, and the forced expiration technique. This is an update of a previously published review. ⋯ There is little evidence to support or reject the use of the ACBT over any other airway clearance therapy and ACBT is comparable with other therapies in outcomes such as participant preference, quality of life, exercise tolerance, lung function, sputum weight, oxygen saturation, and number of pulmonary exacerbations. Longer-term studies are needed to more adequately assess the effects of ACBT on outcomes important for people with cystic fibrosis such as quality of life and preference.