scholarly journals Therapeutic interventions for COVID-19: a living overview of reviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 175346662097602
Author(s):  
Malahat Khalili ◽  
Maryam Chegeni ◽  
Sara Javadi ◽  
Mehrdad Farokhnia ◽  
Hamid Sharifi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Ventilatory Support ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Overview Of Reviews ◽  
Drug Classes ◽  
Cochrane Database

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread worldwide, but safe and effective treatment options remain unavailable. Numerous systematic reviews of varying qualities have tried to summarize the evidence on the available therapeutic interventions for COVID-19. This overview of reviews aims to provide a succinct summary of the findings of systematic reviews on different pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions for COVID-19. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and WHO database of publications on COVID-19 from 1 December 2019 through to 11 June 2020 for peer-reviewed systematic review studies that reported on potential pharmacological or non-pharmacological therapies for COVID-19. Quality assessment was completed using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) measure. Results: Out of 816 non-duplicate studies, 45 were included in the overview. Antiviral and antibiotic agents, corticosteroids, and anti-malarial agents were the most common drug classes used to treat COVID-19; however, there was no direct or strong evidence to support their efficacy. Oxygen therapy and ventilatory support was the most common non-pharmacological supportive care. The quality of most of the included reviews was rated as low or critically low. Conclusion: This overview of reviews demonstrates that although some therapeutic interventions may be beneficial to specific subgroups of COVID-19 patients, the available data are insufficient to strongly recommend any particular treatment option to be used at a population level. Future systematic reviews on COVID-19 treatments should adhere to the recommended systematic review methodologies and ensure that promptness and comprehensiveness are balanced. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.

scholarly journals Appraisal of systematic reviews on interventions for postpartum depression: systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Chow ◽  
Eileen Huang ◽  
Allen Li ◽  
Sophie Li ◽  
Sarah Y. Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Postpartum Depression ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Methodological Quality ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Behavioural Therapy ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Measurement Tool

Abstract Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is a highly prevalent mental health problem that affects parental health with implications for child health in infancy, childhood, adolescence and beyond. The primary aim of this study was to critically appraise available systematic reviews describing interventions for PPD. The secondary aim was to evaluate the methodological quality of the included systematic reviews and their conclusions. Methods An electronic database search of MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from 2000 to 2020 was conducted to identify systematic reviews that examined an intervention for PPD. A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews was utilized to independently score each included systematic review which was then critically appraised to better define the most effective therapeutic options for PPD. Results Of the 842 studies identified, 83 met the a priori criteria for inclusion. Based on the systematic reviews with the highest methodological quality, we found that use of antidepressants and telemedicine were the most effective treatments for PPD. Symptoms of PPD were also improved by traditional herbal medicine and aromatherapy. Current evidence for physical exercise and cognitive behavioural therapy in treating PPD remains equivocal. A significant, but weak relationship between AMSTAR score and journal impact factor was observed (p = 0.03, r = 0.24; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.43) whilst no relationship was found between the number of total citations (p = 0.27, r = 0.12; 95% CI, − 0.09 to 0.34), or source of funding (p = 0.19). Conclusion Overall the systematic reviews on interventions for PPD are of low-moderate quality and are not improving over time. Antidepressants and telemedicine were the most effective therapeutic interventions for PPD treatment.

A Systematic Review of Treatment Interventions for Individuals With Intellectual Disability and Trauma Symptoms: A Review of the Recent Literature

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483802096021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Trauma Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
High Quality Research ◽  
Associated Symptoms ◽  
Adults And Children

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are at increased susceptibility to adverse life experiences and trauma sequelae. There is a disparate range of therapeutic interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated symptoms. This systematic review aimed to appraise the effectiveness of both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) for PTSD and associated symptoms for both adults and children with mild, moderate, or severe intellectual delay. A systematic search, in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, of the PsychInfo, PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and MEDLINE databases were performed, and all relevant articles published between 2010 and March 2020 were included. A total of 11 articles were included, eight that focused on EMDR and three on CBT. The methodological quality of many of these articles was generally weak. Tentative findings suggest that EMDR and CBT are both acceptable and feasible treatment options among adults and children with varying levels of intellectual delay, but no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding effectiveness due to small sample sizes, lack of standardized assessment, and a paucity of methodological rigorous treatment designs. This review highlights the continued use of therapeutic approaches with clients presenting with IDs and PTSD. It adds to the extant literature by providing an expansive and broad overview of the current effectiveness of both EMDR and CBT. Further high-quality research is needed to provide more conclusive findings regarding treatment effectiveness and modifications to treatment needed with this population.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews on the Epidemiology, Evaluation, and Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1287
Author(s):  
Hye Chang Rhim ◽  
Jangwon Kwon ◽  
Jewel Park ◽  
Joanne Borg-Stein ◽  
Adam S. Tenforde
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Plantar Fasciitis ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Shockwave Therapy ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
High Level ◽  
Meta Analyses

The number of systematic review and meta-analyses on plantar fasciitis is expanding. The purpose of this review was to provide a comprehensive summary of reviews on the topic pertaining to plantar fasciitis, identify any conflicting and inconsistent results, and propose future research direction. A qualitative review of all systematic reviews and meta-analyses related to plantar fasciitis up to February 2021 was performed using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database. A total of 1052 articles were initially identified and 96 met the inclusion criteria. Included articles were summarized and divided into the following topics: epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment. While the majority of reviews had high level of heterogeneity and included a small number of studies, there was general consensus on certain topics, such as BMI as a risk factor for plantar fasciitis and extracorporeal shockwave therapy as an effective mode of therapy. A qualitative summary of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published on plantar fasciitis provides a single source of updated information for clinicians. Evidence on topics such as the epidemiology, exercise therapy, or cost-effectiveness of treatment options for plantar fasciitis are lacking and warrant future research.

scholarly journals Development of an efficient search filter to retrieve systematic reviews from PubMed

2021 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Antonio Salvador-Oliván ◽  
Gonzalo Marco-Cuenca ◽  
Rosario Arquero-Avilés
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Search Strategy ◽  
Average Precision ◽  
Search Filter ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Mesh Terms ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
Relevant Publication

Objective: Locating systematic reviews is essential for clinicians and researchers when creating or updating reviews and for decision-making in health care. This study aimed to develop a search filter for retrieving systematic reviews that improves upon the performance of the PubMed systematic review search filter.Methods: Search terms were identified from abstracts of reviews published in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the titles of articles indexed as systematic reviews in PubMed. Both the precision of the candidate terms and the number of systematic reviews retrieved from PubMed were evaluated after excluding the subset of articles retrieved by the PubMed systematic review filter. Terms that achieved a precision greater than 70% and relevant publication types indexed with MeSH terms were included in the filter search strategy.Results: The search strategy used in our filter added specific terms not included in PubMed’s systematic review filter and achieved a 61.3% increase in the number of retrieved articles that are potential systematic reviews. Moreover, it achieved an average precision that is likely greater than 80%.Conclusions: The developed search filter will enable users to identify more systematic reviews from PubMed than the PubMed systematic review filter with high precision.

scholarly journals Análise da Revisão Cochrane: Pregabalina no Tratamento da Dor Crónica Moderada a Grave em Adultos com Fibromialgia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;9:CD011790 e 2016;4:CD009002

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Ferreira-Dos-Santos ◽  
David Cordeiro Sousa ◽  
João Costa ◽  
António Vaz-Carneiro
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Severe Pain ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
The United States ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
Noradrenaline Reuptake ◽  
Daily Dose ◽  
Reduction Of Pain

Fibromyalgia can be clinically defined by widespread pain lasting for longer than 3 months with tenderness on palpation in 11 or more of 18 specified tender points. Many people with fibromyalgia are significantly disabled, and experience moderate to severe pain for many years, for which conventional analgesics are usually not effective. For these patients treatment options generally include antidepressants like tricyclic agents, serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, or anticonvulsants like pregabalin or gabapentin. Pregabalin is a drug licensed for the treatment of fibromyalgia in the United States of America, with a mechanism of action similar to gabapentin. This mode of action confers antiepileptic, analgesic, and anxiolytic effects. This Cochrane systematic review included 8 randomized, placebo-controlled trials with low risk of bias, which studied the effect of a daily dose of pregabalin for the treatment of moderate to severe pain in adult patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Of the main results of this systematic review we highlight the major effect that a daily dose of 300 to 600 mg of pregabalin had in the reduction of pain intensity over a follow-up period of 12 to 26 weeks, with tolerable adverse effects, for a minority of people with moderate to severe pain due to fibromyalgia. This paper aims to summarize and discuss the main results and conclusions of this systematic review, as well as its implications for the daily clinical practice.

A Systematic Review of Feeding Interventions for Infants with Cleft Palate

2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110512
Author(s):  
Cameron Penny ◽  
Connor McGuire ◽  
Michael Bezuhly
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cleft Palate ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Cleft Lip ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Delivery Systems ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Feeding Difficulties ◽  
Feeding Interventions

Objective Various devices and techniques have been proposed to reduce feeding difficulties experienced by infants with cleft palate. The aim of this review is to identify and assess the scope and quality of evidence for these interventions. Methods A systematic review of published literature evaluating feeding interventions for infants with cleft palate (with or without cleft lip) from database inception to 2021 was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines. Quality appraisal of included studies was conducted using a methodological index for nonrandomized studies, Cochrane, or a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews 2 instruments, according to study type. Results Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria, with the majority (71%) of studies consisting of second-level evidence. Included interventions were specialty bottles (21%), alternative feeding delivery systems (14%), obturators (14%), and educational programs (14%). Specialty bottles and palatal obturators did not appear to offer any substantial growth advantages compared to traditional bottles or no intervention, respectively. Designated education programs for the mothers of infants with clefts had a positive impact on infant growth. Conclusions Overall evidence evaluating feeding interventions for infants with cleft palate was moderate to low. While it does not appear that specialized feeding delivery systems or palatal obturators significantly improve growth in infants with clefts compared to children without cleft conditions, education programs do appear to be beneficial.

Interventions improving health professionals’ practice for addressing patients’ weight management behaviours: systematic review of reviews

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahareh Yazdizadeh ◽  
Ruth Walker ◽  
Helen Skouteris ◽  
Ellinor K Olander ◽  
Briony Hill
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
System Level ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
Physical Activity Advice ◽  
Diet And Physical Activity

Abstract Health professionals require education and training to implement obesity management guidelines and ultimately impact on the health outcomes experienced by their patients. Therefore, a systematic review of systematic reviews that evaluated interventions designed to change the practice of health professionals when addressing diet and physical activity with their patients was conducted. MEDLINE Complete; Cochrane database of systematic reviews; PsycINFO; CINAHL Complete; Global Health; Embase; INFORMIT: Health Subset; Health System Evidence and RX for change were searched in March 2019, with no date or language limits. Identified references underwent screening, full-text analyses and data extraction in duplicate. The search identified 15 230 references. Five systematic reviews that provided a narrative syntheses of a combined 38 studies were included. Health professional participants generally reported being satisfied with the training interventions. Heterogeneity between and within included reviews, non-controlled designs of individual studies and low quality of evidence at an individual study level and review level made it difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding what interventions are most effective in changing health professionals’ knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, attitudes and practice. However, similar gaps in the literature were identified across included reviews. Key areas that could be addressed in future interventions including organization and system-level barriers to providing advice, health professionals’ attitudes and motivation and weight stigma have been highlighted. Health professionals and patients could be more involved in the planning and development of interventions that work towards improving diet and physical activity advice and support provided in healthcare.

scholarly journals Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis in Spine Surgery—How Good Are They in Methodological Quality? A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
pp. 219256822090681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muthu Sathish ◽  
Ramakrishnan Eswar
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Spine Surgery ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Methodological Quality ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
Critical Flaw ◽  
Meta Analyses

Study Design: Systematic review. Objectives: To assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in spine surgery over the past 2 decades. Materials and Methods: We conducted independent and in duplicate systematic review of the published systematic reviews and meta-analyses between 2000 and 2019 from PubMed Central and Cochrane Database pertaining to spine surgery involving surgical intervention. We searched bibliographies to identify additional relevant studies. Methodological quality was evaluated with AMSTAR score and graded with AMSTAR 2 criteria. Results: A total of 96 reviews met the eligibility criteria, with mean AMSTAR score of 7.51 (SD = 1.98). Based on AMSTAR 2 criteria, 13.5% (n = 13) and 18.7% (n = 18) of the studies had high and moderate level of confidence of results, respectively, without any critical flaws. A total of 29.1% (n = 28) of the studies had at least 1 critical flaw and 38.5% (n = 37) of the studies had more than 1 critical flaw, so that their results have low and critically low confidence, respectively. Failure to analyze the conflict of interest of authors of primary studies included in review and lack of list of excluded studies with justification were the most common critical flaw. Regression analysis demonstrated that studies with funding and studies published in recent years were significantly associated with higher methodological quality. Conclusion: Despite improvement in methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in spine surgery in current decade, a substantial proportion continue to show critical flaws. With increasing number of review articles in spine surgery, stringent measures must be taken to adhere to methodological quality by following PRISMA and AMSTAR guidelines to attain higher standards of evidence in published literature.

scholarly journals Usability of Mobile Health Apps for Postoperative Care: Systematic Review

10.2196/19099 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e19099
Author(s):  
Ben Patel ◽  
Arron Thind
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Mhealth Apps

Background Mobile health (mHealth) apps are increasingly used postoperatively to monitor, educate, and rehabilitate. The usability of mHealth apps is critical to their implementation. Objective This systematic review evaluates the (1) methodology of usability analyses, (2) domains of usability being assessed, and (3) results of usability analyses. Methods The A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews checklist was consulted. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guideline was adhered to. Screening was undertaken by 2 independent reviewers. All included studies were assessed for risk of bias. Domains of usability were compared with the gold-standard mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ). Results A total of 33 of 720 identified studies were included for data extraction. Of the 5 included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), usability was never the primary end point. Methodology of usability analyses included interview (10/33), self-created questionnaire (18/33), and validated questionnaire (9/33). Of the 3 domains of usability proposed in the MAUQ, satisfaction was assessed in 28 of the 33 studies, system information arrangement was assessed in 11 of the 33 studies, and usefulness was assessed in 18 of the 33 studies. Usability of mHealth apps was above industry average, with median System Usability Scale scores ranging from 76 to 95 out of 100. Conclusions Current analyses of mHealth app usability are substandard. RCTs are rare, and validated questionnaires are infrequently consulted. Of the 3 domains of usability, only satisfaction is regularly assessed. There is significant bias throughout the literature, particularly with regards to conflicts of interest. Future studies should adhere to the MAUQ to assess usability and improve the utility of mHealth apps.

scholarly journals Potion or Poison? Coenzyme Q10

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Shane Scahill
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Clinical Efficacy ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Coenzyme Q10 ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Insufficient Evidence ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
Routine Administration ◽  
Clinical Benefits

SUMMARY MESSAGE: There are no Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews (CDSR) reporting the clinical efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in statin-associated myopathy. Coenzyme Q10 is generally well tolerated. A systematic review suggests that rather than hypothesising about potential clinical benefits, large clinical studies are required to allow robust systematic review. Further, there is insufficient evidence to recommend the routine administration of concomitant coenzyme Q10 for prevention of statin-associated myopathy.

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