scholarly journals Do patients benefit from physiotherapy for shoulder dysfunction following neck dissection? A systematic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-108
Author(s):  
A S Harris

AbstractObjectiveAccessory nerve palsy affects a proportion of patients following neck dissection, and results in shoulder dysfunction and regional pain. This project aimed to establish the evidence supporting post-operative physiotherapy for the shoulder following neck dissection.MethodA systematic review was conducted of prospective trials investigating the efficacy of rehabilitation for shoulder or upper limb dysfunction and pain following any type of neck dissection.ResultsA total of 820 papers were identified; through a staged review process, 7 trials were found that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. These included three randomised, controlled trials and four non-randomised studies. Five out of the seven trials demonstrated a statistically significant benefit of physiotherapy.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows a benefit from physiotherapy in patients with shoulder dysfunction following neck dissection. Some evidence suggests progressive resistance is superior to other types of physiotherapy. Long-term benefit and cost efficacy have not been studied.

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (682) ◽  
pp. e363-e372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Jackson ◽  
Daniel Jones ◽  
Judith Dyson ◽  
Una Macleod

BackgroundAbout 15.4 million people in the UK live with a long-term condition. Of the health and social care spend, 70% is invested in caring for this population. Evidence suggests that group-work interventions offer patient support, improved outcomes, and reduce the costs of care.AimTo review the current evidence base examining the effectiveness of group work in long-term physical disease where such groups are facilitated by healthcare professionals.Design and settingSystematic review and narrative synthesis of studies of group-work interventions led by health professionals for adults with specified long-term illnesses.MethodMEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched using terms relating to group work and long-term conditions. Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with a control group that did not include group work.ResultsThe 14 included studies demonstrated a high degree of heterogeneity in terms of participant characteristics, interventions, and outcome measures and were of varying quality. The studies demonstrated some statistically significant improvements in pain, psychological outcomes, self-efficacy, self-care, and quality of life resulting from intervention.ConclusionThis review demonstrates significant benefits resulting from group participation, in adults with long-term disease. Results were mixed and some benefits were short-lived. Nevertheless, these results suggest that group work should be more widely used in the management and support of adults with long-term illness. There is a need for larger and better-quality studies to explore this potentially important area further.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e000340
Author(s):  
Hugo Bourdon ◽  
Vittoria Aragno ◽  
Christophe Baudouin ◽  
Antoine Labbé

Plateau iris syndrome (PIS) is a frequent cause of angle closure. Argon laser peripheral iridoplasty (ALPI) has been proposed in PIS to widen the iridocorneal angle. The objective of the present study was to perform a systematic review of the available studies evaluating the efficacy of ALPI on intraocular pressure (IOP), iridocorneal angle opening and the number of medications in patients with chronic angle-closure associated with PIS. One prospective and seven retrospective studies with a minimum 1 month of follow-up were included. Although ALPI seemed to lower IOP, to decrease the number of topical antiglaucoma medications and widen the iridocorneal angle shortly after the procedure, there is no current evidence of long-term efficacy. To date, there is no robust scientific evidence to advocate ALPI as a treatment for chronic angle-closure caused by PIS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Salamanna ◽  
Francesca Veronesi ◽  
Lucia Martini ◽  
Maria Paola Landini ◽  
Milena Fini

Whilst the entire world is battling the second wave of COVID-19, a substantial proportion of patients who have suffered from the condition in the past months are reporting symptoms that last for months after recovery, i. e., long-term COVID-19 symptoms. We aimed to assess the current evidence on the long-term symptoms in COVID-19 patients. We did a systematic review on PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar from database inception to February 15, 2021, for studies on long-term COVID-19 symptoms. We included all type of papers that reported at least one long-term COVID-19 symptom. We screened studies using a standardized data collection form and pooled data from published studies. Cohort cross-sectional, case-report, cases-series, case-control studies, and review were graded using specific quality assessment tools. Of 11,361 publications found following our initial search we assessed 218 full-text articles, of which 145 met all selection criteria. We found that 20.70% of reports on long-term COVID-19 symptoms were on abnormal lung functions, 24.13% on neurologic complaints and olfactory dysfunctions, and 55.17% on specific widespread symptoms, mainly chronic fatigue, and pain. Despite the relatively high heterogeneity of the reviewed studies, our findings highlighted that a noteworthy proportion of patients who have suffered from SARS-CoV-2 infection present a “post-COVID syndrome.” The multifaceted understanding of all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including these long-term symptoms, will allow us to respond to all the global health challenges, thus paving the way to a stronger public health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 992-999
Author(s):  
Iria Dobarrio-Sanz ◽  
José Manuel Hernández-Padilla ◽  
María Mar López-Rodríguez ◽  
Cayetano Fernández-Sola ◽  
José Granero-Molina ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxian Yang ◽  
Ge Li ◽  
Shenzhong Jiang ◽  
Xinjie Bao ◽  
Renzhi Wang

Abstract Biochemical remission after transsphenoidal surgery is still unsatisfied in acromegaly patients with macroadenomas, especially with invasive macroadenomas. Concerning the impact of preoperative somatostatin analogues (SSAs) on surgical outcomes, previous studies with limited cases reported conflicting results. To assess current evidence of preoperative medical treatment, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies. A literature search was conducted in Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Five randomized controlled trials (RCT) and seven non-RCT comparative studies were included. These studies mainly focused on pituitary macroadenomas though a small number of microadenoma cases were included. For safety, preoperative SSAs were not associated with elevated risks of postoperative complications. With respect to efficacy, the short-term cure rate was improved by preoperative SSAs, but the long-term cure rate showed no significant improvement. For invasive macroadenomas, the short-term cure rate was also improved, but the long-term results were not evaluable in clinical practice because adjuvant therapy was generally required. In conclusion, preoperative SSAs are safe in patients with acromegaly, and the favorable impact on surgical results is restricted to the short-term cure rate in macroadenomas and invasive macroadenomas. Further well-designed RCTs to examine long-term results are awaited to update the finding of this meta-analysis.


Vascular ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 243-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin O. Patterson ◽  
Peter J. Holt ◽  
Robert J. Hinchliffe ◽  
Matt M. Thompson ◽  
Ian M. Loftus

Current evidence suggests that carotid endarterectomy (CEA) performed within 2 weeks of symptoms produces better long-term results than if it is delayed. Urgent endarterectomy following unstable presentations such as crescendo transient ischemic attack (cTIA) or progressive stroke has been associated with variable results. The evidence for this treatment strategy required reviewing. A systematic review of articles related to urgent CEA between 1980 and 2008 was performed. For cTIA, there was an odds ratio of 5.6 (95% confidence interval 3.3–9.7, p ≤ .0001) for combined stroke or death compared with surgery for “standard” indications. For unstable stroke, the odds ratio was 5.5 (95% confidence interval 3.1–9.3, p ≤ .0001). Patients with unstable neurologic presentations are at higher risk of complications if operated on urgently. Clearer definitions would help more precise patient selection to avoid inadvertently operating on patients with an unacceptably high risk of poor outcome.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e019368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Rodrigues Rosa ◽  
Antonio José Ledo Alves da Cunha ◽  
Roberto de Andrade Medronho

BackgroundRandomised controlled trials have evaluated the recombinant tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV). However, individual results may have little power to identify differences among the populations studied.ObjectiveTo evaluate efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of CYD-TDV in the prevention of dengue in children aged 2–17 years.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesMEDLINE (from 1950 to 5 December 2018), EMBASE (from 1947 to 5 December 2018) and Cochrane (from 1993 to 5 December 2018).Eligibility criteria of studiesRandomised trials comparing efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of CYD-TDV with placebo or other vaccines for preventing dengue cases in children aged 2–17 years.Outcome measuresEfficacy, immunogenicity and safety of CYD-TDV.Study appraisal and methodsCalculations were made of relative risk (RR) and mean difference (MD) for dichotomous and continuous outcomes, respectively. All estimates were calculated considering a 95% CI estimate. A p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsNine studies involving 34 248 participants were included. The overall efficacy of CYD-TDV was 60% (RR 0.40 (0.30 to 0.54)). Serotype-specific efficacy of the vaccine was 51% for dengue virus type-1 (DENV-1) (RR 0.49 (0.39 to 0.63)); 34% for DENV-2 (RR 0.66 (0.50 to 0.86)); 75% for DENV-3 (RR 0.25 (0.18 to 0.35)) and 77% for DENV-4 (RR 0.23 (0.15 to 0.34)). Overall immunogenicity (MD) of CYD-TDV was 225.13 (190.34 to 259.93). Serotype-specific immunogenicity was: DENV-1: 176.59 (123.36 to 229.83); DENV-2: 294.21 (181.98 to 406.45); DENV-3: 258.78 (146.72 to 370.84) and DENV-4: 189.35 (141.11 to 237.59). The most common adverse events were headache and pain at the injection site.LimitationsThe main limitation of this study was unclear or incomplete data.Conclusions and implications of key findingsCYD-TDV is considered safe and able to partially protect children and adolescents against four serotypes of DENV for a 1-year period. Despite this, research should prioritise improvements in vaccine efficacy, thus proving higher long-term protection against all virus serotypes.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42016043628.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document