Database Of Abstracts Of Reviews Of Effects Research Articles

Digital interventions to moderate alcohol consumption in young people: a Cancer Prevention Europe overview of systematic reviews.

Strategies to reduce alcohol consumption would contribute to substantial health benefits in the population, including reducing cancer risk. The increasing accessibility and applicability of digital technologies make these powerful tools suitable to facilitate changes in behaviour in young people which could then translate into both immediate and long-term improvements to public health. We conducted a review of systematic reviews to assess the available evidence on digital interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption in sub-populations of young people [school-aged children, college/university students, young adults only (over 18 years) and both adolescent and young adults (<25 years)]. Searches were conducted across relevant databases including KSR Evidence, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). Records were independently screened by title and abstract and those that met inclusion criteria were obtained for full text screening by two reviewers. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed with the ROBIS checklist. We employed a narrative analysis. Twenty-seven systematic reviews were included that addressed relevant interventions in one or more of the sub-populations, but those reviews were mostly assessed as low quality. Definitions of "digital intervention" greatly varied across systematic reviews. Available evidence was limited both by sub-population and type of intervention. No reviews reported cancer incidence or influence on cancer related outcomes. In school-aged children eHealth multiple health behaviour change interventions delivered through a variety of digital methods were not effective in preventing or reducing alcohol consumption with no effect on the prevalence of alcohol use [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.95-1.36, review rated low RoB, minimal heterogeneity]. While in adolescents and/or young adults who were identified as risky drinkers, the use of computer or mobile device-based interventions resulted in reduced alcohol consumption when comparing the digital intervention with no/minimal intervention (-13.4 g/week, 95% CI: -19.3 to -7.6, review rated low RoB, moderate to substantial heterogeneity).In University/College students, a range of E-interventions reduced the number of drinks consumed per week compared to assessment only controls although the overall effect was small [standardised mean difference (SMD): -0.15, 95% CI: -0.21 to -0.09]. Web-based personalised feedback interventions demonstrated a small to medium effect on alcohol consumption (SMD: -0.19, 95% CI: -0.27 to -0.11) (review rated high RoB, minimal heterogeneity). In risky drinkers, stand-alone Computerized interventions reduced short (SMD: -0.17, 95% CI: -0.27 to -0.08) and long term (SMD: -0.17, 95% CI: -0.30 to -0.04) alcohol consumption compared to no intervention, while a small effect (SMD: -0.15, 95% CI: -0.25 to -0.06) in favour of computerised assessment and feedback vs. assessment only was observed. No short-term (SMD: -0.10, 95% CI: -0.30 to 0.11) or long-term effect (SMD: -0.11, 95% CI: -0.53 to 0.32) was demonstrated for computerised brief interventions when compared to counsellor based interventions (review rated low RoB, minimal to considerable heterogeneity). In young adults and adolescents, SMS-based interventions did not significantly reduce the quantity of drinks per occasion from baseline (SMD: 0.28, 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.58) or the average number of standard glasses per week (SMD: -0.05, 95% CI: -0.15 to 0.05) but increased the risk of binge drinking episodes (OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.32-4.53, review rated high RoB; minimal to substantial heterogeneity). For all results, interpretation has limitations in terms of risk of bias and heterogeneity. Limited evidence suggests some potential for digital interventions, particularly those with feedback, in reducing alcohol consumption in certain sub-populations of younger people. However, this effect is often small, inconsistent or diminishes when only methodologically robust evidence is considered. There is no systematic review evidence that digital interventions reduce cancer incidence through alcohol moderation in young people. To reduce alcohol consumption, a major cancer risk factor, further methodologically robust research is warranted to explore the full potential of digital interventions and to form the basis of evidence based public health initiatives.

A Systematic Review of the Economic and Health-Related Quality of Life Impact of Advanced Therapies Used to Treat Moderate-to-Severe Ulcerative Colitis.

The clinical benefits of advanced therapies (i.e., biologics and small-molecule drugs) in the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) have been demonstrated; however, there is less clarity regarding the economic and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impact of these treatments. We conducted a systematic literature review to synthesize data on cost, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and HRQoL for patients who received approved advanced therapies for moderate-to-severe UC in the United States and Europe. Databases including MEDLINE, Embase, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), and EconLit were searched systematically to identify observational studies published between January1, 2010 and October14, 2021 that assessed the impact of advanced therapies on cost, HCRU, and/or HRQoL in adults with moderate-to-severe UC. Supplementary gray literature searches of conference proceedings from the past 4years (January 2018 to October 2021) were also performed. 47 publications of 40 unique cost/HCRU studies and 13 publications of nine unique HRQoL studies were included. Findings demonstrated that biologics have a positive impact on indirect costs (i.e., productivity, presenteeism, and absenteeism) and HRQoL. High costs of biologics were not always fully offset by reductions in cost and HCRU associated with disease management. For many patients, treatment switching and dose escalations were required, thus increasing drug costs, particularly when switching across treatment classes. These findings highlight a high unmet need for therapies for moderate-to-severe UC that can reduce the healthcare burden and impact on society. Further research is warranted, as the reported evidence was limited by the small sample sizes of some treatment groups within a study.

Understanding the potential factors affecting carers’ mental health during end-of-life home care: a meta synthesis of the research literature

Background Family carers are central in supporting patients nearing the end of life, but this often has an impact on their own mental health. Understanding what factors may affect carers’ mental health is important in developing strategies to maintain mental health, through identifying carers at risk who may need added monitoring and support or developing interventions to change modifiable factors. Reviews of the qualitative, observational and intervention literature were conducted to address this. Aims (1) to review trials of carer interventions to improve our understanding of factors related to carer mental health identified in earlier qualitative and observational reviews; (2) to synthesise the evidence from our qualitative, observational and intervention reviews on factors related to carers’ mental health during end-of-life caregiving. Method We carried out searches of MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO® (American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, USA), Social Sciences Citation Index, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) from 1 January 2009 to 24 November 2019. We included studies into adult informal/family carers for adult patients at the end of life cared for at home that considered any factor related to carer mental health (anxiety, depression, distress, quality of life) pre bereavement. The quality appraisal used Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists and the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. The qualitative review analysis developed themes that then provided a framework for the quantitative review analyses. Findings from all three reviews were mapped onto a single framework, informed by a carer Review Advisory Panel. Results A total of 31 qualitative, 60 observational, 12 intervention and 3 mixed-methods studies were identified. Factors associated with carer mental health were as follows: (1) patient condition, particularly psychological symptoms and quality of life; (2) impact of caring responsibilities, particularly life changes, workload and carer burden; (3) relationships, particularly with the patient; (4) finances, whether sufficient or not; (5) internal processes, particularly self-efficacy; (6) support, particularly adequacy and quality of support; (7) contextual factors, particularly age and gender. The three types of literature were reflected in most themes and yielded similar or complementary results, adding validity to findings. Only observational studies investigated contextual factors. Intervention studies focused on modifiable factors, but added little evidence on the causal direction between factors and mental health owing to design and analysis limitations. Relationships and finance received little attention overall. There was limited research into ethnicity, race or culture. Quantitative research missed some factors highlighted by carers in qualitative studies (e.g. quality aspects of formal support), and focused more on ‘self-management’ within internal processes (emphasised less by carers). Limitations Findings are from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country English-language publications on adult carers and patients in the home setting and limited to these contexts. Literature heterogeneity (study focus, objectives, methods, variables, measures) hindered meta-synthesis. Conclusions Future work requires broad stakeholder engagement to address the diverse range of factors associated with carers’ mental health. Project findings will be disseminated accordingly. Future research needs more (1) work on defining and measuring concepts; (2) longitudinal design, repeated measurement and path analysis, to move beyond evidence of association towards an understanding of causal relationships; (3) focus on factors that matter to carers rather than what is easily measured or manipulated; and (4) investigation of relationships, finance, ethnicity, race and culture. Study registration This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42019130279. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme and will be published in Health and Social Care Delivery Research. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

TP6.1.7 Systematic review and meta-analyses of cholecystectomy as a treatment of biliary hyperkinesia

Abstract Aims Biliary hyperkinesia is typically diagnosed in patients with biliary like pain and no evidence of gall stones on imaging modalities but who have had biliary scintigraphy scan (HIDA) that shows ejection fraction ≥80%. This study aims to identify whether the removal of the gall bladder can alleviate the symptoms associated with Biliary Hyperkinesia. Methods Systematic search following PRISMA guidelines was done from inception to January 2020 using PubMed/Medline, OVID, Embase, Cochrane database of systemic reviews, Cochrane central register of controlled trials, The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) and Cochrane library databases. Results were expressed as risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous outcomes together with 95% confidence intervals (CI) or mean differences (MD) or standardized MD (SMD) for continuous outcomes. A meta-analysis done using random-effect model in RevMan 5.4® software. Results Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. A total of 332 patients diagnosed with biliary hyperkinesia underwent cholecystectomy, of whom 303 (91.3%) reported symptomatic improvement RR 8.67 [95% CI 4.95, 15.16] P = 0.01. Six studies described abnormal histological features in 163/181 (90.05%) with high GB EF. RR 7.88 [95% CI 3.94, 15.75] P = 0.08. Chronic cholecystitis n = 155 (95%), cholesterolosis n = 7 (4.3%), and one showed features of acute cholecystitis. Conclusion Patients with typical biliary colic symptoms without gallstones and markedly high ejection fraction might benefit from having cholecystectomy to alleviate their symptoms.

Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) for the detection of dementia within a secondary care setting.

The diagnosis of dementia relies on the presence of new-onset cognitive impairment affecting an individual's functioning and activities of daily living. The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) is a questionnaire instrument, completed by a suitable 'informant' who knows the patient well, designed to assess change in functional performance secondary to cognitive change; it is used as a tool for identifying those who may have dementia. In secondary care there are two specific instances where patients may be assessed for the presence of dementia. These are in the general acute hospital setting, where opportunistic screening may be undertaken, or in specialist memory services where individuals have been referred due to perceived cognitive problems. To ensure an instrument is suitable for diagnostic use in these settings, its test accuracy must be established. To determine the accuracy of the informant-based questionnaire IQCODE for detection of dementia in a secondary care setting. We searched the following sources on the 28th of January 2013: ALOIS (Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group), MEDLINE (Ovid SP), EMBASE (Ovid SP), PsycINFO (Ovid SP), BIOSIS Previews (Thomson Reuters Web of Science), Web of Science Core Collection (includes Conference Proceedings Citation Index) (Thomson Reuters Web of Science), CINAHL (EBSCOhost) and LILACS (BIREME). We also searched sources specific to diagnostic test accuracy: MEDION (Universities of Maastricht and Leuven); DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects - via the Cochrane Library); HTA Database (Health Technology Assessment Database via the Cochrane Library) and ARIF (Birmingham University). We also checked reference lists of relevant studies and reviews, used searches of known relevant studies in PubMed to track related articles, and contacted research groups conducting work on IQCODE for dementia diagnosis to try to find additional studies. We developed a sensitive search strategy; search terms were designed to cover key concepts using several different approaches run in parallel and included terms relating to cognitive tests, cognitive screening and dementia. We used standardised database subject headings such as MeSH terms (in MEDLINE) and other standardised headings (controlled vocabulary) in other databases, as appropriate. We selected those studies performed in secondary-care settings, which included (not necessarily exclusively) IQCODE to assess for the presence of dementia and where dementia diagnosis was confirmed with clinical assessment. For the 'secondary care' setting we included all studies which assessed patients in hospital (e.g. acute unscheduled admissions, referrals to specialist geriatric assessment services etc.) and those referred for specialist 'memory' assessment, typically in psychogeriatric services. We screened all titles generated by electronic database searches, and reviewed abstracts of all potentially relevant studies. Two independent assessors checked full papers for eligibility and extracted data. We determined quality assessment (risk of bias and applicability) using the QUADAS-2 tool, and reporting quality using the STARD tool. From 72 papers describing IQCODE test accuracy, we included 13 papers, representing data from 2745 individuals (n = 1413 (51%) with dementia). Pooled analysis of all studies using data presented closest to a cut-off of 3.3 indicated that sensitivity was 0.91 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.94); specificity 0.66 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.75); the positive likelihood ratio was 2.7 (95% CI 2.0 to 3.6) and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.14 (95% CI 0.09 to 0.22). There was a statistically significant difference in test accuracy between the general hospital setting and the specialist memory setting (P = 0.019), suggesting that IQCODE performs better in a 'general' setting. We found no significant differences in the test accuracy of the short (16-item) versus the 26-item IQCODE, or in the language of administration. There was significant heterogeneity in the included studies, including a highly varied prevalence of dementia (10.5% to 87.4%). Across the included papers there was substantial potential for bias, particularly around sampling of included participants and selection criteria, which may limit generalisability. There was also evidence of suboptimal reporting, particularly around disease severity and handling indeterminate results, which are important if considering use in clinical practice. The IQCODE can be used to identify older adults in the general hospital setting who are at risk of dementia and require specialist assessment; it is useful specifically for ruling out those without evidence of cognitive decline. The language of administration did not affect test accuracy, which supports the cross-cultural use of the tool. These findings are qualified by the significant heterogeneity, the potential for bias and suboptimal reporting found in the included studies.

MO916THE EFFECT OF EXTENDED HAEMODIALYSIS ON NUTRITIONAL PARAMETERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract Background and Aims Individuals who receive haemodialysis have a high mortality rate, up to 20% within one year of starting dialysis and just under 50% at 5 years. One of the risk factors that contributes to this high mortality rate is the nutritional status of haemodialysis patients; improving this will be a key element of risk mitigation. Extended haemodialysis may improve nutritional outcomes through better clearance and reduced dietary restrictions and medications. The aim of this systematic review is to provide an up to date assessment of trials of extended haemodialysis reporting the following nutritional outcomes: Lean body mass, body mass index, protein intake and energy intake, nutritional status assessed by the subjective global assessment and PEW scores, and circulating markers of appetite. Method No limits on language were set, and databases were searched from inception to December 2020 using a predefined search strategy. Inclusion criteria were; randomised and non-randomised trials of extended haemodialysis (defined by &amp;gt;15 hours per week of total haemodialysis time), with a comparator group which received conventional in-centre haemodialysis (usually &amp;lt;=12 hours per week of hemodialysis time). The following databases were searched: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials (CENTRAL), the Web of Science Core Collection,PROSPERO, Clinicaltrials.gov, the ISCRTN Registry and Conference Proceeding Citation Index, National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination: Health Technology Assessment (HTA), and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). Additional internet searches (i.e Google Scholar) were also conducted. Search results were compiled in Endnote and studies were screened for title and abstract. Results Searches identified 9251 records. After removing duplicates 6190 records were screened for title and abstract against inclusion criteria, leaving 22 papers for full text screening. A further 17 records were removed following full text screening. Of the remaining 5 papers, one was a randomised controlled trial and four were prospective, non-randomised trials. All studies investigated nocturnal haemodialysis (one with the additional of short daily), three were in-centre and two were at home. Range of duration for the included studies was 2-18 months. Outcomes of interest measured included lean body mass, protein and carbohydrate intake, body mass index, dry lean mass and water soluble vitamin levels. Of these trials, only one reported a statistically significant increase in an outcome of interest (lean body mass). One study also reported cross-sectional data highlighting Vitamin-C deficiency in half of their nocturnal haemodialysis population. Conclusion There is insufficient high-quality evidence assessing the effect of extended haemodialysis on nutritional parameters. Further research is required to understand the impact of novel dialysis prescriptions on these clinical parameters.

When Is Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing Reliable in Pregnancies with Vanishing Twin? - A Review of Case Reports

Background: Fetal demise can complicate aneuploidy screening in a multi fetal pregnancy. The cell-free DNA (CF-DNA) from a non-viable conception may lead to be discordant with the viable fetuses. The Aim of study was to review the waiting period, follow-on single fetal demise in a twin gestation before performing NIPT. Materials and Methods: In this review articlewe searched through online database with keywords: ((NIPT) (non-invasive prenatal screening testing) (cell-free DNA) (vanishing twin) (co-twin demise)), including: CINAHL, Cochrane, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), PubMed, and Medical Library. For English literature between 2011 and 2020 which included duration between vanishing twin or reduction and NIPT false results. Results: 201 studies across the eight scientific web sites were detected. 178 excluded for duplication or being irrelevant. 29 studies were fully read. 4 case series, met the criteria for systematic review. The finding suggested the NIPT screening test can be falsely-positive several weeks after vanishing twins although live fetus is normal. Therefore, duration in which placenta can release CF-DNA of vanished twin is unknown. In addition, several weeks after reduction the fetal CF-DNA increases and then decreases, thus CF-DNA analyzing in multi-fetal pregnancies with reduction can be challenging as well. Conclusion: In pregnancies with vanishing twin or reduction, evaluating NIPT results is more complex than single fetal pregnancy. According to studies, after a fetal demise, the cytotrophoblast continues to release to the CF-DNA in the maternal circulation for a variable time, which may cause a false-positive result if the demised twin is aneuploidy.

Powered mobility interventions for very young children with mobility limitations to aid participation and positive development: the EMPoWER evidence synthesis.

One-fifth of all disabled children have mobility limitations. Early provision of powered mobility for very young children (aged < 5 years) is hypothesised to trigger positive developmental changes. However, the optimum age at which to introduce powered mobility is unknown. The aim of this project was to synthesise existing evidence regarding the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of powered mobility for very young children, compared with the more common practice of powered mobility provision from the age of 5 years. The study was planned as a mixed-methods evidence synthesis and economic modelling study. First, evidence relating to the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, acceptability, feasibility and anticipated outcomes of paediatric powered mobility interventions was reviewed. A convergent mixed-methods evidence synthesis was undertaken using framework synthesis, and a separate qualitative evidence synthesis was undertaken using thematic synthesis. The two syntheses were subsequently compared and contrasted to develop a logic model for evaluating the outcomes of powered mobility interventions for children. Because there were insufficient published data, it was not possible to develop a robust economic model. Instead, a budget impact analysis was conducted to estimate the cost of increased powered mobility provision for very young children, using cost data from publicly available sources. A range of bibliographic databases [Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINHAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE™ (Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Occupational Therapy Systematic Evaluation of Evidence (OTseeker), Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), PsycINFO, Science Citation Index (SCI; Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, PA, USA), Social Sciences Citation Index™ (SSCI; Clarivate Analytics), Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science (CPCI-S; Clarivate Analytics), Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH; Clarivate Analytics), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Database and OpenGrey] was systematically searched and the included studies were quality appraised. Searches were carried out in June 2018 and updated in October 2019. The date ranges searched covered from 1946 to September 2019. In total, 89 studies were included in the review. Only two randomised controlled trials were identified. The overall quality of the evidence was low. No conclusive evidence was found about the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of powered mobility in children aged either < 5 or ≥ 5 years. However, strong support was found that powered mobility interventions have a positive impact on children's movement and mobility, and moderate support was found for the impact on children's participation, play and social interactions and on the safety outcome of accidents and pain. 'Fit' between the child, the equipment and the environment was found to be important, as were the outcomes related to a child's independence, freedom and self-expression. The evidence supported two distinct conceptualisations of the primary powered mobility outcome, movement and mobility: the former is 'movement for movement's sake' and the latter destination-focused mobility. Powered mobility should be focused on 'movement for movement's sake' in the first instance. From the budget impact analysis, it was estimated that, annually, the NHS spends £1.89M on the provision of powered mobility for very young children, which is < 2% of total wheelchair service expenditure. The original research question could not be answered because there was a lack of appropriately powered published research. Early powered mobility is likely to have multiple benefits for very young children, despite the lack of robust evidence to demonstrate this. Age is not the key factor; instead, the focus should be on providing developmentally appropriate interventions and focusing on 'movement for movement's sake'. Future research should focus on developing, implementing, evaluating and comparing different approaches to early powered mobility. This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42018096449. This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 24, No. 50. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Surgical treatment of fibroids for subfertility.

Fibroids are the most common benign tumours of the female genital tract and are associated with numerous clinical problems including a possible negative impact on fertility. In women requesting preservation of fertility, fibroids can be surgically removed (myomectomy) by laparotomy, laparoscopically or hysteroscopically depending on the size, site and type of fibroid. Myomectomy is however a procedure that is not without risk and can result in serious complications. It is therefore essential to determine whether such a procedure can result in an improvement in fertility and, if so, to then determine the ideal surgical approach. To examine the effect of myomectomy on fertility outcomes and to compare different surgical approaches. We searched the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group (CGFG) Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Epistemonikos database, World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform search portal, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), LILACS, conference abstracts on the ISI Web of Knowledge, OpenSigle for grey literature from Europe, and reference list of relevant papers. The final search was in February 2019. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effect of myomectomy compared to no intervention or where different surgical approaches are compared regarding the effect on fertility outcomes in a group of infertile women suffering from uterine fibroids. Data collection and analysis were conducted in accordance with the procedure suggested in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. This review included four RCTs with 442 participants. The evidence was very low-quality with the main limitations being due to serious imprecision, inconsistency and indirectness. Myomectomy versus no intervention One study examined the effect of myomectomy compared to no intervention on reproductive outcomes. We are uncertain whether myomectomy improves clinical pregnancy rate for intramural (odds ratio (OR) 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57 to 6.14; 45 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence), submucous (OR 2.04, 95% CI 0.62 to 6.66; 52 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence), intramural/subserous (OR 2.00, 95% CI 0.40 to 10.09; 31 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence) or intramural/submucous fibroids (OR 3.24, 95% CI 0.72 to 14.57; 42 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence). Similarly, we are uncertain whether myomectomy reduces miscarriage rate for intramural fibroids (OR 1.33, 95% CI 0.26 to 6.78; 45 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence), submucous fibroids (OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.27 to 5.97; 52 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence), intramural/subserous fibroids (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.10 to 6.54; 31 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence) or intramural/submucous fibroids (OR 2.00, 95% CI 0.32 to 12.33; 42 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence). This study did not report on live birth, preterm delivery, ongoing pregnancy or caesarean section rate. Laparoscopic myomectomy versus myomectomy by laparotomy or mini-laparotomy Two studies compared laparoscopic myomectomy to myomectomy at laparotomy or mini-laparotomy. We are uncertain whether laparoscopic myomectomy compared to laparotomy or mini-laparotomy improves live birth rate (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.50; 177 participants; two studies; I2 = 0%; very low-quality evidence), preterm delivery rate (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.11 to 4.29; participants = 177; two studies; I2 = 0%, very low-quality evidence), clinical pregnancy rate (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.78; 177 participants; two studies; I2 = 0%, very low-quality evidence), ongoing pregnancy rate (OR 1.61, 95% CI 0.26 to 10.04; 115 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence), miscarriage rate (OR 1.25, 95% CI 0.40 to 3.89; participants = 177; two studies; I2 = 0%, very low-quality evidence), or caesarean section rate (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.34 to 1.39; participants = 177; two studies; I2 = 21%, very low-quality evidence). Monopolar resectoscope versus bipolar resectoscope One study evaluated the use of two electrosurgical systems during hysteroscopic myomectomy. We are uncertain whether bipolar resectoscope use compared to monopolar resectoscope use improves live birth/ongoing pregnancy rate (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.30 to 2.50; 68 participants; one study, very low-quality evidence), clinical pregnancy rate (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.33 to 2.36; 68 participants; one study; very low-quality evidence), or miscarriage rate (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.19 to 5.34; participants = 68; one study; very low-quality evidence). This study did not report on preterm delivery or caesarean section rate. There is limited evidence to determine the role of myomectomy for infertility in women with fibroids as only one trial compared myomectomy with no myomectomy. If the decision is made to have a myomectomy, the current evidence does not indicate a superior method (laparoscopy, laparotomy or different electrosurgical systems) to improve rates of live birth, preterm delivery, clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, miscarriage, or caesarean section. Furthermore, the existing evidence needs to be viewed with caution due to the small number of events, minimal number of studies and very low-quality evidence.

Health and health service usage outcomes of case management for patients with long-term conditions: a review of reviews.

There have been plenty of articles published in recent decades on patient care in the form of case management (CM), but conclusions regarding health outcomes and costs have often been discordant. The objective of this study was to examine previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses with a view to assessing and pooling the overwhelming amount of data available on CM-based health outcomes and resource usage. We conducted a review of reviews of secondary studies (meta-analyses and systematic reviews) addressing the effectiveness of CM compared with usual care (or other organizational models) in adult (18+) with long-term conditions. PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) were searched from 2000 to the end of December 2017. The outcomes of interest are related to process of care, health measures, and resource usage. Twenty-two articles were ultimately considered: 4 meta-analyses and 18 systematic reviews. There is strong evidence of CM increasing adherence to treatment guidelines and improving patient satisfaction, but none of the secondary studies considered demonstrated any effect on patient survival. Based on the available literature, there is contrasting evidence regarding all the other health outcomes, such as quality of life (QOL), clinical outcomes, and functional status. Good-quality secondary studies consistently found nothing to indicate that CM prompts any reduction in the use of hospital resources. The source of variability in the literature on the consistency of the evidence for most outcomes is unclear. It may stem from the heterogeneity of CM programs in terms of what their intervention entails, the populations targeted, and the tools used to measure the results. That said, there was consistently strong evidence of CM being associated with a greater adherence to treatment guidelines and higher patient satisfaction, but not with a longer survival or better use of hospital resources.

Abbreviated Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Followed by P2Y12 Inhibitor Monotherapy versus 12 Months’ Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Post Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

An increased incidence of stent thrombosis after implantation of first-generation drug-eluting stents led to a recommendation of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for 12months after the procedure. However, given the use of second-generation and newer drug-eluting stents, this recommendation needs to be revisited. Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have studied an abbreviated DAPT regimen of ≤ 3months followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy, and results have been conflicting. We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis of RCTs of abbreviated DAPT for ≤ 3months followed by P2Y12 monotherapy compared with 12months of DAPT. We performed a systematic search of the MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane, and DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects) databases for eligible RCTs. Quantitative analysis was performed based on the intention-to-treat principle. We used the Mantel-Haenszel method with a random-effects model to calculate relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The final analysis included four RCTs. We found no difference in the risk of all-cause mortality (RR 0.90; 95% CI 0.77-1.05; p = 0.18; I2 = 0%; χ2p = 0.58), myocardial infarction (RR 0.99; 95% CI 0.86-1.15; p = 0.85; I2 = 0%; χ2p = 0.70), stroke (RR 1.14; 95% CI 0.65-1.98; p = 0.65; I2 = 59%; χ2p = 0.06), or stent thrombosis (RR 0.98; 95% CI 0.73-1.33; p = 0.90; I2 = 0%; χ2p = 0.48). Additionally, there was no difference in the risk for major bleeding, defined as BARC (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium) type 3 or 5, between the two groups (RR 0.62; 95% CI 0.37-1.05; p = 0.07; I2 = 79%; χ2p < 0.05). Abbreviated DAPT followed by P2Y12 monotherapy resulted in a similar risk of re-ischemic clinical outcomes post percutaneous coronary intervention as compared with the standard 12-month DAPT regimen. The risk of major bleeding (BARC type 3 or 5) also remained similar between the two groups. However, as trials have reported benefits with abbreviated DAPT followed by P2Y12 monotherapy in terms of combined endpoints and all bleeding (BARC type 2-5), additional research is needed.

Dietary interventions for adult cancer survivors.

International dietary recommendations include guidance on healthy eating and weight management for people who have survived cancer; however dietary interventions are not provided routinely for people living beyond cancer. To assess the effects of dietary interventions for adult cancer survivors on morbidity and mortality, changes in dietary behaviour, body composition, health-related quality of life, and clinical measurements. We ran searches on 18 September 2019 and searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials (CENTRAL), in the Cochrane Library; MEDLINE via Ovid; Embase via Ovid; the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED); the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). We searched other resources including reference lists of retrieved articles, other reviews on the topic, the International Trials Registry for ongoing trials, metaRegister, Physicians Data Query, and appropriate websites for ongoing trials. We searched conference abstracts and WorldCat for dissertations. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that recruited people following a cancer diagnosis. The intervention was any dietary advice provided by any method including group sessions, telephone instruction, written materials, or a web-based approach. We included comparisons that could be usual care or written information, and outcomes measured included overall survival, morbidities, secondary malignancies, dietary changes, anthropometry, quality of life (QoL), and biochemistry. We used standard Cochrane methodological procedures. Two people independently assessed titles and full-text articles, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. For analysis, we used a random-effects statistical model for all meta-analyses, and the GRADE approach to rate the certainty of evidence, considering limitations, indirectness, inconsistencies, imprecision, and bias. We included 25 RCTs involving 7259 participants including 977 (13.5%) men and 6282 (86.5%) women. Mean age reported ranged from 52.6 to 71 years, and range of age of included participants was 23 to 85 years. The trials reported 27 comparisons and included participants who had survived breast cancer (17 trials), colorectal cancer (2 trials), gynaecological cancer (1 trial), and cancer at mixed sites (5 trials). For overall survival, dietary intervention and control groups showed little or no difference in risk of mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77 to 1.23; 1 study; 3107 participants; low-certainty evidence). For secondary malignancies, dietary interventions versus control trials reported little or no difference (risk ratio (RR) 0.99, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.15; 1 study; 3107 participants; low-certainty evidence). Co-morbidities were not measured in any included trials. Subsequent outcomes reported after 12 months found that dietary interventions versus control probably make little or no difference in energy intake at 12 months (mean difference (MD) -59.13 kcal, 95% CI -159.05 to 37.79; 5 studies; 3283 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Dietary interventions versus control probably led to slight increases in fruit and vegetable servings (MD 0.41 servings, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.71; 5 studies; 834 participants; moderate-certainty evidence); mixed results for fibre intake overall (MD 5.12 g, 95% CI 0.66 to 10.9; 2 studies; 3127 participants; very low-certainty evidence); and likely improvement in Diet Quality Index (MD 3.46, 95% CI 1.54 to 5.38; 747 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). For anthropometry, dietary intervention versus control probably led to a slightly decreased body mass index (BMI) (MD -0.79 kg/m², 95% CI -1.50 to -0.07; 4 studies; 777 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Dietary interventions versus control probably had little or no effect on waist-to-hip ratio (MD -0.01, 95% CI -0.04 to 0.02; 2 studies; 106 participants; low-certainty evidence). For QoL, there were mixed results; several different quality assessment tools were used and evidence was of low to very low-certainty. No adverse events were reported in any of the included studies. Evidence demonstrated little effects of dietary interventions on overall mortality and secondary cancers. For comorbidities, no evidence was identified. For nutritional outcomes, there was probably little or no effect on energy intake, although probably a slight increase in fruit and vegetable intake and Diet Quality Index. Results were mixed for fibre. For anthropometry, there was probably a slight decrease in body mass index (BMI) but probably little or no effect on waist-to-hip ratio. For QoL, results were highly varied. Additional high-quality research is needed to examine the effects of dietary interventions for different cancer sites, and to evaluate important outcomes including comorbidities and body composition. Evidence on new technologies used to deliver dietary interventions was limited.

Long-term GnRH agonist therapy before in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for improving fertility outcomes in women with endometriosis.

Endometriosis is known to have an impact on fertility and it is common for women affected by endometriosis to require fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), to improve the chance of pregnancy. It has been postulated that long-term gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy prior to IVF or ICSI can improve pregnancy outcomes. This systematic review supersedes the previous Cochrane Review on this topic (Sallam 2006). To determine the effectiveness and safety of long-term gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy (minimum 3 months) versus no pretreatment or other pretreatment modalities, such as long-term continuous combined oral contraception (COC) or surgical therapy of endometrioma, before standard in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in women with endometriosis. We searched the following electronic databases from their inception to 8 January 2019: Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Specialised Register of Controlled Trials, CENTRAL via the Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Studies ONLINE (CRSO), MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). We searched trial registries to identify unpublished and ongoing trials. We also searched DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects), Web of Knowledge, OpenGrey, Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Information Database (LILACS), PubMed, Google and reference lists from relevant papers for any other relevant trials. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving women with surgically diagnosed endometriosis that compared use of any type of GnRH agonist for at least three months before an IVF/ICSI protocol to no pretreatment or other pretreatment modalities, specifically use of long-term continuous COC (minimum of 6 weeks) or surgical excision of endometrioma within six months prior to standard IVF/ICSI. The primary outcomes were live birth rate and complication rate per woman randomised. Two independent review authors assessed studies against the inclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. A third review author was consulted, if required. We contacted the study authors, as required. We analysed dichotomous outcomes using Mantel-Haenszel risk ratios (RRs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and a fixed-effect model. For small numbers of events, we used a Peto odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI instead. We analysed continuous outcomes using the mean difference (MD) between groups and presented with 95% CIs. We studied heterogeneity of the studies via the I2 statistic. We assessed the quality of evidence using GRADE criteria. We included eight parallel-design RCTs, involving a total of 640 participants. We did not assess any of the studies as being at low risk of bias across all domains, with the main limitation being lack of blinding. Using GRADE methodology, the quality of the evidence ranged from very low to low quality. Long-term GnRH agonist therapy versus no pretreatment We are uncertain whether long-term GnRH agonist therapy affects the live birth rate (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.87; 1 RCT, n = 147; I2 not calculable; very low-quality evidence) or the overall complication rate (Peto OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.37; to 4.14; 3 RCTs, n = 318; I2 = 73%; very low-quality evidence) compared to standard IVF/ICSI. Further, we are uncertain whether this intervention affects the clinical pregnancy rate (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.41; 6 RCTs, n = 552, I2 = 66%; very low-quality evidence), multiple pregnancy rate (Peto OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.56; 2 RCTs, n = 208, I2 = 0%; very low-quality evidence), miscarriage rate (Peto OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.10 to 2.00; 2 RCTs, n = 208; I2 = 0%; very low-quality evidence), mean number of oocytes (MD 0.72, 95% CI 0.06 to 1.38; 4 RCTs, n = 385; I2 = 81%; very low-quality evidence) or mean number of embryos (MD -0.76, 95% CI -1.33 to -0.19; 2 RCTs, n = 267; I2 = 0%; very low-quality evidence). Long-term GnRH agonist therapy versus long-term continuous COC No studies reported on this comparison. Long-term GnRH agonist therapy versus surgical therapy of endometrioma No studies reported on this comparison. This review raises important questions regarding the merit of long-term GnRH agonist therapy compared to no pretreatment prior to standard IVF/ICSI in women with endometriosis. Contrary to previous findings, we are uncertain as to whether long-term GnRH agonist therapy impacts on the live birth rate or indeed the complication rate compared to standard IVF/ICSI. Further, we are uncertain whether this intervention impacts on the clinical pregnancy rate, multiple pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, mean number of oocytes and mean number of embryos. In light of the paucity and very low quality of existing data, particularly for the primary outcomes examined, further high-quality trials are required to definitively determine the impact of long-term GnRH agonist therapy on IVF/ICSI outcomes, not only compared to no pretreatment, but also compared to other proposed alternatives to endometriosis management.

A systematic overview of systematic reviews evaluating interventions addressing polypharmacy.

To systematically evaluate and summarize evidence across multiple systematic reviews (SRs) examining interventions addressing polypharmacy. MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) were searched for SRs evaluating interventions addressing polypharmacy in adults published from January 2004 to February 2017. Two authors independently screened, appraised, and extracted information. SRs with Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) scores below 8 were excluded. After extraction of relevant conclusions from each SR, evidence was summarized and conclusions compared. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology was used to assess evidence quality. Six SRs met the inclusion criteria, 4 of which used meta-analytic pooling. Five SRs focused on older adults. Four were not restricted to any specific disease type, whereas 1 focused on proton pump inhibitors and another focused on patients with severe dementia. Care settings and measured outcomes varied widely. SRs examining the impact on patient-centered outcomes, including morbidity, mortality, patient satisfaction, and utilization, found inconsistent evidence regarding the benefit of polypharmacy interventions, but most concluded that interventions had either null or uncertain impact. Two SRs assessing medication appropriateness found very low-quality evidence of modest improvements with polypharmacy interventions. An overview of SRs of interventions to address polypharmacy found 6 recent and high-quality SRs, mostly focused on older adults, in which both process and outcome measures were used to evaluate interventions. Despite the low quality of evidence in the underlying primary studies, both SRs that assessed medication appropriateness found evidence that polypharmacy interventions improved it. However, there was no consistent evidence of any impact on downstream patient-centered outcomes such as healthcare utilization, morbidity, or mortality.

A systematic review of relative indications and contra-indications for prescribing panoramic radiographs in dental paediatric patients.

To systematically review the evidence of the diagnostic efficacy of panoramic radiographs (PRs) in the following six clinical situations: caries, acute dental infections, dental trauma, dental anomalies, Developmental disorders and pathological conditions in children. The research question posed by the EAPD was: "In which clinical situations and age groups is it indicated/contra-indicated to prescribe PRs in relation to these six clinical situations, in children". An electronic search of the following databases was conducted: MEDLINE via OVID, EMBASE via OVID, The Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) and the Cochrane Health Technology Assessment (HTA), to identify relevant studies published from 1990 to 2018. The systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines. Study screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessment of included studies was carried out independently and in duplicate using the QUADAS 2 tool. The search resulted in 3420 potentially relevant studies, and following screening 175 full texts were obtained, of which 16 were finally included in the review. Meta-analysis was not possible for any of the aforementioned clinical situations, therefore the included studies were tabulated in terms of qualitative descriptive hierarchy of evidence for diagnostic. Based on currently available evidence there is a need for high quality diagnostic accuracy efficacy studies to address important diagnostic tasks in these six clinical situations in children, as there is a lack of scientific evidence concerning PRs in children, as there would support the production of guidelines for prescribing PRs in children along with their relative indications and contra-indications.

Prediction of pre-eclampsia: review of reviews.

Primary studies and systematic reviews provide estimates of varying accuracy for different factors in the prediction of pre-eclampsia. The aim of this study was to review published systematic reviews to collate evidence on the ability of available tests to predict pre-eclampsia, to identify high-value avenues for future research and to minimize future research waste in this field. MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library including DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects) databases, from database inception to March 2017, and bibliographies of relevant articles were searched, without language restrictions, for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the prediction of pre-eclampsia. The quality of the included reviews was assessed using the AMSTAR tool and a modified version of the QUIPS tool. We evaluated the comprehensiveness of search, sample size, tests and outcomes evaluated, data synthesis methods, predictive ability estimates, risk of bias related to the population studied, measurement of predictors and outcomes, study attrition and adjustment for confounding. From 2444 citations identified, 126 reviews were included, reporting on over 90 predictors and 52 prediction models for pre-eclampsia. Around a third (n = 37 (29.4%)) of all reviews investigated solely biochemical markers for predicting pre-eclampsia, 31 (24.6%) investigated genetic associations with pre-eclampsia, 46 (36.5%) reported on clinical characteristics, four (3.2%) evaluated only ultrasound markers and six (4.8%) studied a combination of tests; two (1.6%) additional reviews evaluated primary studies investigating any screening test for pre-eclampsia. Reviews included between two and 265 primary studies, including up to 25 356 688 women in the largest review. Only approximately half (n = 67 (53.2%)) of the reviews assessed the quality of the included studies. There was a high risk of bias in many of the included reviews, particularly in relation to population representativeness and study attrition. Over 80% (n = 106 (84.1%)) summarized the findings using meta-analysis. Thirty-two (25.4%) studies lacked a formal statement on funding. The predictors with the best test performance were body mass index (BMI) > 35 kg/m2 , with a specificity of 92% (95% CI, 89-95%) and a sensitivity of 21% (95% CI, 12-31%); BMI > 25 kg/m2 , with a specificity of 73% (95% CI, 64-83%) and a sensitivity of 47% (95% CI, 33-61%); first-trimester uterine artery pulsatility index or resistance index > 90th centile (specificity 93% (95% CI, 90-96%) and sensitivity 26% (95% CI, 23-31%)); placental growth factor (specificity 89% (95% CI, 89-89%) and sensitivity 65% (95% CI, 63-67%)); and placental protein 13 (specificity 88% (95% CI, 87-89%) and sensitivity 37% (95% CI, 33-41%)). No single marker had a test performance suitable for routine clinical use. Models combining markers showed promise, but none had undergone external validation. This review of reviews calls into question the need for further aggregate meta-analysis in this area given the large number of published reviews subject to the common limitations of primary predictive studies. Prospective, well-designed studies of predictive markers, preferably randomized intervention studies, and combined through individual-patient data meta-analysis are needed to develop and validate new prediction models to facilitate the prediction of pre-eclampsia and minimize further research waste in this field. Copyright © 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Naming Specific Adverse Effects Improves Relative Recall for Search Filters Identifying Literature on Surgical Interventions in MEDLINE and Embase

A Review of:&#x0D; Golder, S., Wright, K., &amp; Loke, Y.K. (2018). The development of search filters for adverse effects of surgical interventions in MEDLINE and Embase. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 35(2), 121-129. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12213&#x0D; Abstract&#x0D; Objective – “To develop and validate search filters for MEDLINE and Embase for the adverse effects of surgical interventions” (p.121).&#x0D; Design – From a universe of systematic reviews, the authors created “an unselected cohort…where relevant articles are not chosen because of the presence of adverse effects terms” (p.123). The studies referenced in the cohort reviews were extracted to create an overall citation set. From this, three equal-sized sets of studies were created by random selection, and used for: development of a filter (identifying search terms); evaluation of the filter (testing how well it worked); and validation of the filter (assessing how well it retrieved relevant studies).&#x0D; Setting – Systematic reviews of adverse effects from the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), published in 2014.&#x0D; Subjects – 358 studies derived from the references of 19 systematic reviews (352 available in MEDLINE, 348 available in Embase).&#x0D; Methods – Word and phrase frequency analysis was performed on the development set of articles to identify a list of terms, starting with the term creating the highest recall from titles and abstracts of articles, and continuing until adding new search terms produced no more new records recalled. The search strategy thus developed was then tested on the evaluation set of articles. In this case, using the strategy recalled all of the articles which could be obtained using generic search terms; however, adding specific search terms (such as the MeSH term “surgical site infection”) improved recall. Finally, the strategy incorporating both generic and specific search terms for adverse effects was used on the validation set of articles. Search strategies used are included in the article, as is a list in the discussion section of MeSH and Embase indexing terms specific to or suggesting adverse effects.&#x0D; Main Results – “In each case the addition of specific adverse effects terms could have improved the recall of the searches” (p. 127). This was true for all six cases (development, evaluation and validation study sets, for each of MEDLINE and Embase) in which specific terms were added to searches using generic terms, and recall percentages compared.&#x0D; Conclusion – While no filter can deliver 100% of items in a given standard set of studies on adverse effects (since title and abstract fields may not contain any indication of relevance to the topic), adding specific adverse effects terms to generic ones while developing filters is shown to improve recall for surgery-related adverse effects (similarly to drug-related adverse effects). The use of filters requires user engagement and critical analysis; at the same time, deploying well-constructed filters can have many benefits, including: helping users, especially clinicians, get a search started; managing a large and unwieldy set of citations retrieved; and to suggest new search strategies.

School-based self-management interventions for asthma in children and adolescents: a mixed methods systematic review.

School-based self-management interventions for asthma in children and adolescents: a mixed methods systematic review.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound and/or colour duplex ultrasound for surveillance after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: a systematic review and economic evaluation.

Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is less invasive than open surgery, but may be associated with important complications. Patients receiving EVAR require long-term surveillance to detect abnormalities and direct treatments. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) has been the most common imaging modality adopted for EVAR surveillance, but it is associated with repeated radiation exposure and the risk of contrast-related nephropathy. Colour duplex ultrasound (CDU) and, more recently, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) have been suggested as possible, safer, alternatives to CTA. To assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of imaging strategies, using either CDU or CEU alone or in conjunction with plain radiography, compared with CTA for EVAR surveillance. Major electronic databases were searched, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Science Citation Index, Scopus' Articles-in-Press, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) and NHS Economic Evaluation Database from 1996 onwards. We also searched for relevant ongoing studies and conference proceedings. The final searches were undertaken in September 2016. We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies of patients with AAAs who were receiving surveillance using CTA, CDU and CEU with or without plain radiography. Three reviewers were involved in the study selection, data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment. We developed a Markov model based on five surveillance strategies: (1) annual CTA; (2) annual CDU; (3) annual CEU; (4) CDU together with CTA at 1 year, followed by CDU on an annual basis; and (5) CEU together with CTA at 1 year, followed by CEU on an annual basis. All of these strategies also considered plain radiography on an annual basis. We identified two non-randomised comparative studies and 25 cohort studies of interventions, and nine systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy. Overall, the proportion of patients who required reintervention ranged from 1.1% (mean follow-up of 24 months) to 23.8% (mean follow-up of 32 months). Reintervention was mainly required for patients with thrombosis and types I-III endoleaks. All-cause mortality ranged from 2.7% (mean follow-up of 24 months) to 42% (mean follow-up of 54.8 months). Aneurysm-related mortality occurred in < 1% of the participants. Strategies based on early and mid-term CTA and/or CDU and long-term CDU surveillance were broadly comparable with those based on a combination of CTA and CDU throughout the follow-up period in terms of clinical complications, reinterventions and mortality. The economic evaluation showed that a CDU-based strategy generated lower expected costs and higher quality-adjusted life-year (QALYs) than a CTA-based strategy and has a 63% probability of being cost-effective at a £30,000 willingness-to-pay-per-QALY threshold. A CEU-based strategy generated more QALYs, but at higher costs, and became cost-effective only for high-risk patient groups. Most studies were rated as being at a high or moderate risk of bias. No studies compared CDU with CEU. Substantial clinical heterogeneity precluded a formal synthesis of results. The economic model was hindered by a lack of suitable data. Current surveillance practice is very heterogeneous. CDU may be a safe and cost-effective alternative to CTA, with CTA being reserved for abnormal/inconclusive CDU cases. Research is needed to validate the safety of modified, more-targeted surveillance protocols based on the use of CDU and CEU. The role of radiography for surveillance after EVAR requires clarification. This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42016036475. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Antipsychotics for treatment of delirium in hospitalised non-ICU patients.

Guidelines suggest limited and cautious use of antipsychotics for treatment of delirium where nonpharmacological interventions have failed and symptoms remain distressing or dangerous, or both. It is unclear how well these recommendations are supported by current evidence. Our primary objective was to assess the efficacy of antipsychotics versus nonantipsychotics or placebo on the duration of delirium in hospitalised adults. Our secondary objectives were to compare the efficacy of: 1) antipsychotics versus nonantipsychotics or placebo on delirium severity and resolution, mortality, hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, health-related quality of life, and adverse effects; and 2) atypical vs. typical antipsychotics for reducing delirium duration, severity, and resolution, hospital mortality and length of stay, discharge disposition, health-related quality of life, and adverse effects. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane EBM Reviews, CINAHL, Thomson Reuters Web of Science and the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) from their respective inception dates until July 2017. We also searched the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Health Technology Assessment Database, Web of Science ISI Proceedings, and other grey literature. We included randomised and quasi-randomised trials comparing 1) antipsychotics to nonantipsychotics or placebo and 2) typical to atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of delirium in adult hospitalised (but not critically ill) patients. We examined titles and abstracts of identified studies to determine eligibility. We extracted data independently in duplicate. Disagreements were settled by further discussion and consensus. We used risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) as a measure of treatment effect for dichotomous outcomes, and between-group standardised mean differences (SMD) with 95% CI for continuous outcomes. We included nine trials that recruited 727 participants. Four of the nine trials included a comparison of an antipsychotic to a nonantipsychotic drug or placebo and seven included a comparison of a typical to an atypical antipsychotic. The study populations included hospitalised medical, surgical, and palliative patients.No trial reported on duration of delirium. Antipsychotic treatment did not reduce delirium severity compared to nonantipsychotic drugs (standard mean difference (SMD) -1.08, 95% CI -2.55 to 0.39; four studies; 494 participants; very low-quality evidence); nor was there a difference between typical and atypical antipsychotics (SMD -0.17, 95% CI -0.37 to 0.02; seven studies; 542 participants; low-quality evidence). There was no evidence antipsychotics resolved delirium symptoms compared to nonantipsychotic drug regimens (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.30 to 2.98; three studies; 247 participants; very low-quality evidence); nor was there a difference between typical and atypical antipsychotics (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.52; five studies; 349 participants; low-quality evidence). The pooled results indicated that antipsychotics did not alter mortality compared to nonantipsychotic regimens (RR 1.29, 95% CI 0.73 to 2.27; three studies; 319 participants; low-quality evidence) nor was there a difference between typical and atypical antipsychotics (RR 1.71, 95% CI 0.82 to 3.35; four studies; 342 participants; low-quality evidence).No trial reported on hospital length of stay, hospital discharge disposition, or health-related quality of life. Adverse event reporting was limited and measured with inconsistent methods; in those reporting events, the number of events were low. No trial reported on physical restraint use, long-term cognitive outcomes, cerebrovascular events, or QTc prolongation (i.e. increased time in the heart's electrical cycle). Only one trial reported on arrhythmias and seizures, with no difference between typical or atypical antipsychotics. We found antipsychotics did not have a higher risk of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) compared to nonantipsychotic drugs (RR 1.70, 95% CI 0.04 to 65.57; three studies; 247 participants; very-low quality evidence); pooled results showed no increased risk of EPS with typical antipsychotics compared to atypical antipsychotics (RR 12.16, 95% CI 0.55 to 269.52; two studies; 198 participants; very low-quality evidence). There were no reported data to determine whether antipsychotics altered the duration of delirium, length of hospital stay, discharge disposition, or health-related quality of life as studies did not report on these outcomes. From the poor quality data available, we found antipsychotics did not reduce delirium severity, resolve symptoms, or alter mortality. Adverse effects were poorly or rarely reported in the trials. Extrapyramidal symptoms were not more frequent with antipsychotics compared to nonantipsychotic drug regimens, and no different for typical compared to atypical antipsychotics.