Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2020
Review Meta AnalysisTherapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain.
This is an update of a Cochrane Review published in 2014. Chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP) has become one of the main causes of disability in the adult population around the world. Although therapeutic ultrasound is not recommended in recent clinical guidelines, it is frequently used by physiotherapists in the treatment of chronic LBP. ⋯ The evidence from this systematic review is uncertain regarding the effect of therapeutic ultrasound on pain in individuals with chronic non-specific LBP. Whilst there is some evidence that therapeutic ultrasound may have a small effect on improving low back function in the short term compared to placebo, the certainty of evidence is very low. The true effect is likely to be substantially different. There are few high-quality randomised trials, and the available trials were very small. The current evidence does not support the use of therapeutic ultrasound in the management of chronic LBP.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2020
Review Meta AnalysisPsychological interventions to foster resilience in healthcare professionals.
Resilience can be defined as the maintenance or quick recovery of mental health during or after periods of stressor exposure, which may result from a potentially traumatising event, challenging life circumstances, a critical life transition phase, or physical illness. Healthcare professionals, such as nurses, physicians, psychologists and social workers, are exposed to various work-related stressors (e.g. patient care, time pressure, administration) and are at increased risk of developing mental disorders. This population may benefit from resilience-promoting training programmes. ⋯ For healthcare professionals, there is very-low certainty evidence that, compared to control, resilience training may result in higher levels of resilience, lower levels of depression, stress or stress perception, and higher levels of certain resilience factors at post-intervention. The paucity of medium- or long-term data, heterogeneous interventions and restricted geographical distribution limit the generalisability of our results. Conclusions should therefore be drawn cautiously. The findings suggest positive effects of resilience training for healthcare professionals, but the evidence is very uncertain. There is a clear need for high-quality replications and improved study designs.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2020
Review Meta AnalysisPsychological interventions for psychosis in adolescents.
Psychosis is an illness characterised by alterations in thoughts and perceptions resulting in delusions and hallucinations. Psychosis is rare in adolescents but can have serious consequences. Antipsychotic medications are the mainstay treatment, and have been shown to be effective. However, there is emerging evidence on psychological interventions such as cognitive remediation therapy, psycho-education, family therapy and group psychotherapy that may be useful for adolescents with psychosis. ⋯ Most of our estimates of effect for our main outcomes are equivocal. An effect is suggested for only four outcomes in the SOF tables presented. Compared to TAU, CRT may have a positive effect on cognitive functioning, however the same study reports data suggesting TAU may have positive effect on mental state. Another study comparing GPT with TAU reports data suggesting GPT may have a positive effect on global state. However, the estimate of effects for all the main outcomes in our review should be viewed with considerable caution as they are based on data from a small number of studies with variable risk of bias. Further data could change these results and larger and better quality studies are needed before any firm conclusions regarding the effects of psychological interventions for adolescents with psychosis can be made.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2020
ReviewHematopoietic stem cell transplantation for people with sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder involving a defect in the red blood cells due to its sickled hemoglobin. The main therapeutic interventions include preventive and supportive measures. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantations are carried out with the aim of replacing the defective cells and their progenitors (hematopoietic (i.e. blood forming) stem cells) in order to correct the disorder. This is an update of a previously published review. ⋯ Reports on the use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation improving survival and preventing symptoms and complications associated with sickle cell disease are currently limited to observational and other less robust studies. We did not find any eligible randomized controlled trials assessing the benefit or risk of hematopoietic stem cell transplantations. However, there is an ongoing quasi-randomized trial comparing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with standard care, Thus, this systematic review identifies the need for a multicentre randomized controlled trial assessing the benefits and possible risks of hematopoietic stem cell transplantations comparing sickle status and severity of disease in people with sickle cell disease.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2020
Review Meta AnalysisPreoperative blood transfusions for sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the commonest severe monogenic disorders in the world, due to the inheritance of two abnormal haemoglobin (beta globin) genes. SCD can cause severe pain, significant end-organ damage, pulmonary complications, and premature death. Surgical interventions are more common in people with SCD, and occur at much younger ages than in the general population. Blood transfusions are frequently used prior to surgery and several regimens are used but there is no consensus over the best method or the necessity of transfusion in specific surgical cases. This is an update of a Cochrane Review. ⋯ There is insufficient evidence from randomised trials to determine whether conservative preoperative blood transfusion is as effective as aggressive preoperative blood transfusion in preventing sickle-related or surgery-related complications in people with HbSS disease. There is very low quality evidence that preoperative blood transfusion may prevent development of acute chest syndrome. Due to lack of evidence this review cannot comment on management for people with HbSC or HbSβ+ disease or for those with high baseline haemoglobin concentrations.