A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials Assessing Sexuality in Hysterectomized Patients

In hysterectomized patients, even though there is still controversy, evidence indicates that in the short term, the vaginal approach shows benefits over the laparoscopic approach, as it is less invasive, faster and less costly. However, the quality of sexual life has not been systematically reviewed in terms of the approach adopted. Through a systematic review, we analyzed (CRD42020158465 in PROSPERO) the impact of hysterectomy on sexual quality and whether there are differences according to the surgical procedure (abdominal or vaginal) for noncancer patients. MEDLINE (through PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.gov and Scopus were reviewed to find randomized clinical trials assessing sexuality in noncancer patients undergoing total hysterectomy, comparing vaginal and abdominal (laparoscopic and/or open) surgery. Three studies that assessed the issue under study were finally included. Two of these had a low risk of bias (Cochrane risk of bias tool); one was unclear. There was significant variability in how sexuality was measured, with no differences between the two approaches considered in the review. In conclusion, no evidence was found to support one procedure (abdominal or vaginal) over another for non-oncological hysterectomized patients regarding benefits in terms of sexuality.

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Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials of Acupressure Therapy for Primary Dysmenorrhea

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2013/169692 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Hui-ru Jiang ◽

Shuang Ni ◽

Jin-long Li ◽

Miao-miao Liu ◽

Ji Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Statistical Analysis ◽

Adverse Events ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Cochrane Central Register ◽

Primary Dysmenorrhea ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Central Register

The evidence of acupressure is limited in the management of dysmenorrhea. To evaluate the efficacy of acupressure in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), we searched MEDLINE, the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases from inception until March 2012. Two reviewers independently selected articles and extracted data. Statistical analysis was performed with RevMan 5.1 software. Eight RCTs were identified from the retrieved 224 relevant records. Acupressure improved pain measured with VAS (−1.41 cm 95% CI [−1.61, −1.21]), SF-MPQ at the 3-month followup (WMD −2.33, 95% CI [−4.11, −0.54]) and 6-month followup (WMD −4.67, 95% CI [−7.30, −2.04]), and MDQ at the 3-month followup (WMD −2.31, 95% CI [−3.74, −0.87]) and 6-month followup (WMD −4.67, 95% CI [−7.30, −2.04]). All trials did not report adverse events. These results were limited by the methodological flaws of trials.

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Acupuncture in oncological pain relief: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials

Fisioterapia em Movimento ◽

10.1590/fm.2021.34203 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

Author(s):

Michel Marcos Dalmedico ◽

Caroline Machado de Toledo ◽

Paula Karina Hembecker ◽

Juliana Londero Silva Ávila ◽

Chayane Karla Lucena de Carvalho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Cancer Pain ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Cochrane Central Register ◽

Opioid Use ◽

Central Register ◽

Considerable Impact ◽

Analgesic Use

Abstract Introduction: Cancer pain has a considerable impact on patients’ health and quality of life, and its treatment is essentially based on opioid use. Objective: To report the effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving cancer pain (secondary to the disease or to the corresponding therapy) or in decreasing opioid use compared to other interventions. Methods: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials was conducted following the guidelines of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The trials were selected from the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases. Results: The search strategy resulted in the inclusion of eight trials, of which five compared acupuncture and drug therapy and three compared acupuncture and placebo. Seven trials reported decreased pain and analgesic use. The trials showed clinical heterogeneity, making a meta-analysis unfeasible. Conclusion: The findings herein provided no robust evidence to support the routine use of acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of cancer pain. However, its use is promising since the results showed a trend toward decreased pain and analgesic use, thus justifying further studies in the future.

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Dental Composite Restorations Repair: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International ◽

10.9734/jpri/2021/v33i59a34322 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 707-738

Author(s):

Abdulmohsen Al Rabiah ◽

Alamri Zahrah ◽

Tuwaym Malath ◽

Al Daghri Ebtihal ◽

Al Suhaibani Daniyah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Dental Composite ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Cochrane Central Register ◽

Bias Assessment

Background: Controversy exists in the literature regarding the most optimal repair procedure for improving the adhesion between the repair resin and the existing resin composite materials. Hence the aim of the present study was to do a systematic review and to analyze the adhesion potential of resin-based composites to similar and dissimilar composites and aimed to determine the possible dominant factors affecting the bond strength results. Materials & Methods: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort design were searched through electronic databases including MEDLINE, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) until July 2020 that compared different methods of composite restoration repair and a minimum mean follow-up time of 1 year. There were no restrictions on a particular treatment indication or outcome measures. Two authors independently conducted screening, risk of bias assessment, and data extraction of eligible trials in duplicate. We applied the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool to consider the risk of bias. Results: We identified 10 articles; two of them were RCTs, and eight prospective cohort studies. There were 530 participants, with 990 teeth, dealing with resin-based composite (RBC) restorations. The intervention of defective restorations ranged from minimal intervention to total restoration replacement. The evaluation criteria were also varied with different evaluation protocols. The low number and heterogeneity of RCTs did not allow for meta-analyses. Conclusions: Although different repair protocols are mentioned in the literature according to the included studies, an appropriate and definitive conclusion can't be drawn. However, it seems repairs versus replacements should be considered as the first line of treatment when all factors lead to repair rather than replacement. Further randomized controlled trials with high methodological quality need to be conducted in order to establish evidence-based recommendations, particularly for RBC repair.

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Insomnia Interventions in the Workplace: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17176401 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (17) ◽

pp. 6401

Author(s):

Juan Vega-Escaño ◽

Ana María Porcel-Gálvez ◽

Rocío de Diego-Cordero ◽

José Manuel Romero-Sánchez ◽

Manuel Romero-Saldaña ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Behavioral Therapy ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Sleep Onset ◽

Cochrane Collaboration ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Publication Date ◽

The Impact

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify and evaluate the impact of interventions to improve or reduce insomnia in the workforce through randomized clinical trials. Following the recommendations of the PRISMA and MARS statement, a systematic literature search was carried out on the PubMed, Web of Science, CINHAL, and PsycINFO databases, with no restrictions on the language or publication date. For the meta-analysis, a random-effects model and the Insomnia Severity Index were used as outcome measures. To assess the risk of bias and the quality of evidence, the Cochrane Collaboration tool and the GRADE method were used, respectively. Twenty-two studies were included in the systematic review and 12 studies in the meta-analysis, making a total of 14 intervention groups with a sample of 827 workers. Cognitive behavioral therapy was the most widely used intervention. According to the estimated difference between the means, a moderate effect for the reduction of insomnia symptoms after the intervention (MD −2.08, CI 95%: [−2.68, −1.47]) and a non-significant degree of heterogeneity were obtained (p = 0.64; I2 = 0%). The quality of the evidence and the risk of bias were moderate. The results suggest that interventions on insomnia in the workplace are effective for improving workers’ health, and that improvements in the quality of sleep and a decrease in the symptoms of insomnia are produced, thanks to an increase in weekly sleeping hours and a reduction in latency at sleep onset. As regards work, they also led to improvements in productivity, presenteeism, and job burnout.

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Intervention Therapies to Reduce Pain-Related Fear in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

Pain Medicine ◽

10.1093/pm/pnaa331 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Javier Martinez-Calderon ◽

Mar Flores-Cortes ◽

Jose Miguel Morales-Asencio ◽

Alejandro Luque-Suarez

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Full Detail ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Fear Avoidance Beliefs

Abstract Objective This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different interventions at reducing pain-related fear in people with fibromyalgia and to analyze whether the included trials reported their interventions in full detail. Design Systematic review. Setting No restrictions. Methods The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus were searched from their inception to April 2020, along with manual searches and a gray literature search. Randomized clinical trials were included if they assessed pain-related fear constructs as the primary or secondary outcome in adults with fibromyalgia. Two reviewers independently performed the study selection, data extraction, risk-of-bias assessment, Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist assessment, and grading the quality of evidence. Results Twelve randomized clinical trials satisfied the eligibility criteria, including 11 cohorts with a total sample of 1,441 participants. Exercise, multicomponent, and psychological interventions were more effective than controls were in reducing kinesiophobia. However, there were no differences in decreasing kinesiophobia when self-management and electrotherapy were used. There were also no differences between groups with regard to the rest of the interventions and pain-related constructs (fear-avoidance beliefs, fear of pain, and pain-related anxiety). However, a serious risk of bias and a very serious risk of imprecision were detected across the included trials. This caused the overall certainty of the judged evidence to be low and very low. Additionally, the included trials reported insufficient details to allow the full replication of their interventions. Conclusions This systematic review shows that there are promising interventions, such as exercise, multicomponent, and psychological therapies, that may decrease one specific type of fear in people with fibromyalgia, i.e., kinesiophobia. However, because of the low–very low certainty of the evidence found, a call for action is needed to improve the quality of randomized clinical trials, which will lead to more definitive information about the clinical efficacy of interventions in this field.

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Anti-hypertensive drugs deprescribing: an updated systematic review of clinical trials

BMC Family Practice ◽

10.1186/s12875-021-01557-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Salvatore Crisafulli ◽

Nicoletta Luxi ◽

Raffaele Coppini ◽

Annalisa Capuano ◽

Cristina Scavone ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Efficacy And Safety ◽

Systematic Assessment ◽

Grade Approach

Abstract Background Polypharmacy is defined as the prescription of at least 5 different medicines for therapeutic or prophylactic effect and is a serious issue among elderly patients, who are frequently affected by multi-morbidity. Deprescribing is one of the proposed approaches to reduce the number of administered drugs, by eliminating those that are inappropriately prescribed. The aim of this systematic review is to provide an updated and systematic assessment of the benefit-risk profile of deprescribing of anti-hypertensive drugs, which are among the most commonly used drugs. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library were searched for studies assessing the efficacy and safety of anti-hypertensive drugs deprescribing in the period between January, 12,016 and December, 312,019. The quality of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) was assessed using the GRADE approach for the evaluation of the main outcomes. The risk of bias assessment was carried out using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Results Overall, two RCTs were identified. Despite summarized evidence was in favor of anti-hypertensive deprescribing, the overall risk of bias was rated as high for each RCT included. According to the GRADE approach, the overall quality of the RCTs included was moderate regarding the following outcomes: systolic blood pressure < 150 mmHg after 12 weeks of follow-up, quality of life, frailty and cardiovascular risk. Conclusions This updated systematic review of the efficacy and safety of anti-hypertensive treatment deprescribing found two recently published RCTs, in addition to the previous guideline of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Evidence points towards non-inferiority of anti-hypertensive deprescribing as compared to treatment continuation, despite the quality of published studies is not high. High quality experimental studies are urgently needed to further assess the effect of deprescribing for this drug class in specific categories of patients.

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EFFECTIVENESS OF ACAMPROSATE FOR TINNITUS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF CLINICAL TRIALS

10.1101/2021.06.09.21258585 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Osmar Clayton Person ◽

Fernando Veiga Angelico Junior ◽

Rodrigo Lima de Godoy Santos ◽

William Marasini de Rezende ◽

Maria Fernanda Giusti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Medical Science ◽

Placebo Response ◽

Cochrane Central Register ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Tinnitus Treatment

Introduction: The effectiveness of tinnitus treatment represents a huge gap in the medical science. Acamprosate is a glutamatergic antagonist drug and GABA-agonist that could be used to control tinnitus due to its action on peripheral and central neurotransmission. Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of acamprosate in the treatment of tinnitus. Material and Methods: This is a systematic review and we searched for randomized clinical trials linking acamprosate to tinnitus in six databases: Cochrane - Central Register of Controlled Trials - CENTRAL (2021), PUBMED (1966-2021), EMBASE (1974-2021), IBECS (1982-2021), QINSIGHT (2021) and SCOPUS (2021). Two researchers independently extracted the data and assessed the quality of the studies. Results: Two trials involving 121 patients were included. The methodological quality of these studies was low. Both studies evaluated as primary outcome the efficacy of acamprosate in improving tinnitus. The meta-analysis by random model resulted in no significant difference between the groups treated with acamprosate and placebo (RR = 3,69, 95% CI 0,87-15,62; p=0,08), considering tinnitus improvement. Conclusions: There is no evidence that acamprosate is effective for tinnitus treatment. We recommend new trials using rigorous methodology. Randomization and blinding should be of the highest quality, given the subjective nature of tinnitus and the strong likelihood of a placebo response. The CONSORT statement should be used in the design and reporting of future studies.

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Efficacy of clear aligners in controlling orthodontic tooth movement: A systematic review

The Angle Orthodontist ◽

10.2319/061614-436.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 85 (5) ◽

pp. 881-889 ◽

Cited By ~ 106

Author(s):

Gabriele Rossini ◽

Simone Parrini ◽

Tommaso Castroflorio ◽

Andrea Deregibus ◽

Cesare L. Debernardi

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Tooth Movement ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Orthodontic Tooth Movement ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Cochrane Central Register ◽

Bodily Movement ◽

Central Register ◽

Upper Molar

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the scientific evidence related to the efficacy of clear aligner treatment (CAT) in controlling orthodontic tooth movement. Materials and Methods: PubMed, PMC, NLM, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Google Scholar, and LILACs were searched from January 2000 to June 2014 to identify all peer-reviewed articles potentially relevant to the review. Methodological shortcomings were highlighted and the quality of the studies was ranked using the Cochrane Tool for Risk of Bias Assessment. Results: Eleven relevant articles were selected (two Randomized Clinical Trials (RCT), five prospective non-randomized, four retrospective non-randomized), and the risk of bias was moderate for six studies and unclear for the others. The amount of mean intrusion reported was 0.72 mm. Extrusion was the most difficult movement to control (30% of accuracy), followed by rotation. Upper molar distalization revealed the highest predictability (88%) when a bodily movement of at least 1.5 mm was prescribed. A decrease of the Little's Index (mandibular arch: 5 mm; maxillary arch: 4 mm) was observed in aligning arches. Conclusions: CAT aligns and levels the arches; it is effective in controlling anterior intrusion but not anterior extrusion; it is effective in controlling posterior buccolingual inclination but not anterior buccolingual inclination; it is effective in controlling upper molar bodily movements of about 1.5 mm; and it is not effective in controlling rotation of rounded teeth in particular. However, the results of this review should be interpreted with caution because of the number, quality, and heterogeneity of the studies.

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