Is entecavir better than no treatment or placebo for treating people with chronic hepatitis B? Key messages We could not estimate the effects of entecavir (a medicine used to treat infections caused by viruses) on death due to any cause in people with chronic hepatitis B (a common liver disease) as there were no deaths. No studies looked at health-related quality of life (a measure of a person's satisfaction with their life and health). We do not know whether entecavir is better than no treatment or placebo (a pretend treatment) regarding the proportion of people with serious harmful...

Are there risks in providing anti-cancer treatment in people's homes and is it cost-effective? Key messages 1. Compared to receiving intravenous (directly into a vein (IV)) anti-cancer therapy in hospital outpatient clinics, we are uncertain whether receiving the same therapy at home affects the management of unwanted effects, admission to hospital or visits to the emergency department after therapy, and IV line complications. 2. People receiving treatment at home may be more likely to prefer future treatments at home after receiving treatment there, compared to participants' preference...

What steps can be taken to prevent infections after surgeries to fix the aortic or the aortoiliac segment (the largest arteries in the body)? Key messages • Antibiotics seem to reduce surgical site infections in people undergoing aortic or aortoiliac surgery. • Other interventions assessed appear to make little or no difference in reducing the incidence of surgical site infections. • Other outcomes evaluated were minimally or not affected by the interventions studied. What are peripheral arterial disease and aortic aneurysms? Peripheral arterial disease happens when arteries narrow, and...

What are the effects of acupuncture in managing pain in babies undergoing painful procedures? Key messages • Due to a lack of evidence, the benefits and harms of acupuncture for babies undergoing painful procedures are unclear. • Well-designed and thoroughly reported studies are needed to shed light on the benefits and harms of acupuncture, also compared to medicines, or different ways of using acupuncture. Pain in babies and acupuncture Newborns in intensive care units experience many invasive and painful procedures (like blood tests). Newborns who undergo repetitive episodes of untreated...

Blood pressure lowering efficacy of dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GIP/GLP-1) receptor agonists compared to glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To compare the blood pressure effects of dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GIP/GLP-1) receptor agonists with the blood pressure effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. This is a protocol....

What are the benefits and risks of vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases in adults with cancer (solid tumours)? Key messages - In adults with cancer (solid tumours), vaccines to prevent herpes zoster reduce the occurrence of herpes zoster but increase unwanted effects such as pain or redness at the injection site. - We are uncertain about the effects of influenza vaccines on death from any cause, unwanted effects of any severity, and serious unwanted effects. The occurrence of influenza was not measured. - Vaccines to prevent COVID-19 probably reduce the occurrence of COVID-19...

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors combination therapy for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a network meta-analysis This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: Primary objective To evaluate the relative benefits and harms of therapy with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), and their combination in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Secondary objectives To determine the relative rankings of GLP-1RA, SGLT2i, and their...

What are the best ways to help people to stop using smokeless tobacco? Key messages Counselling, brief advice, varenicline and nicotine replacement therapy may all be effective ways to help people quit using smokeless tobacco. We need more research from countries in South and Southeast Asia, where smokeless tobacco is most commonly used and where there are the most different kinds of smokeless tobacco. What is smokeless tobacco? Smokeless tobacco is tobacco that, instead of being smoked in a cigarette or pipe, is used by chewing, sniffing or holding in the mouth. Over 300 million people...

Training to increase parental participation in the care of infants in neonatal units This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of training to increase parental participation in the care of infants in neonatal units, compared to no training or a different type of training. This is a protocol....

What factors influence caregivers’ and adolescents’ views and practices around human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for adolescents? Key messages • Many complex factors may influence caregivers’ and adolescents’ views and actions about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for adolescents. We divided them into 8 themes relating to individual knowledge and perceptions, family and social relationships, and the wider contexts in which caregivers and adolescents live. • Healthcare planners and policy-makers could use the themes to help them understand specific contexts in which people are...

Antibiotics to prevent infection after surgery to manage miscarriage Key messages We are uncertain whether routine antibiotics have any effect on the risk of getting a uterine infection (infection in the womb) after surgery to manage a miscarriage, based on the combined results from all six trials. However, based on the results from only the well-done trials (85% of the total number of women in the studies), we are confident that routine antibiotics reduce the risk of getting a uterine infection after surgery to manage a miscarriage. We are uncertain whether routine antibiotics have any...

What are the benefits and risks of different types of surgery for people with presbyopia? Key Messages Based on current evidence, the relative benefits and risks of different types of surgery for treating people with presbyopia (difficulties in reading or seeing close up) are unclear at three to six months after treatment. There was no information about the effects beyond six months after treatment. No study looked at the balance of costs and how well the different treatments worked. Future well-designed studies should measure the longer-term benefits and risks of different types of surgery...

Anti-TIGIT inhibitors plus PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors versus PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors for first‐line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of anti-TIGIT inhibitors in combination with PD-1 inhibitors or PD-L1 inhibitors compared to treatment with PD-1 inhibitors or PD-L1 inhibitors in the first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC. To assess the effectiveness and safety of anti-TIGIT inhibitors in combination with chemotherapy and PD-1 inhibitors or PD-L1...

Exercise for low back pain in adolescents and children This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms of exercise compared to placebo/sham/attention control or no treatment for low back pain in adolescents and children. This is a protocol....

Scales to assess pain in newborn infants Key messages Clinical staff should be aware that the available rating scales for assessing pain in newborn infants are of very low quality. There is a need to develop these scales further. What are clinical rating scales? Since newborn infants cannot express their pain with words, staff need to assess their pain by looking at their behaviours and vital signs instead. Many different rating scales can be used for this, assessing infant pain through, for example, heart frequency, facial expression, and body movement. What did we want to find out? We...

Is switching to a different antipsychotic medicine better than continuing with the same one for people with non-responsive schizophrenia? Key messages • We do not know if people with non-responsive schizophrenia have better outcomes if they switch to a different antipsychotic medicine or continue with the same one because the evidence is very uncertain. • The few studies which looked at this question differed markedly from each other in terms of the antipsychotics used, study duration and definitions of initial non-response. • We need further large, well-conducted studies to shed light on...

Music-based interventions for people with chronic kidney disease undergoing haemodialysis This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of music-based interventions on fatigue, blood pressure, depression, pain, anxiety, stress, QoL, and sleep quality in people with CKD receiving HD. This is a protocol....

Does delaying the initiation or starting calcineurin inhibitors at a lower dose reduce the risk of delayed recovery of a transplanted kidney? Key messages • After kidney transplantation (a surgical procedure where a kidney is transferred from one person - the donor - to another person - the recipient), it may take a few days for the kidney to start working, especially if the kidney donor was older or the kidney was without blood flow for a long time. • The best treatment for people at high risk of this delayed recovery is still unclear. Current options include delaying the use of a...

Closure of defects or non-closure of defects: which works better to prevent internal hernia after bariatric surgery? Review question Does closing defects after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) in bariatric surgery prevent internal hernias? Key messages Due to a lack of evidence, it is unclear whether closing defects is better than not closing defects in preventing internal hernias after bariatric surgery. Closing defects may reduce the number of internal hernias compared to not closing them. Background An internal hernia is a serious problem that can happen after a type of weight-loss surgery...

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques for pre-symptomatic identification of genetic diseases in newborns This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the benefits and harms of using NGS techniques compared to conventional newborn screening alone for pre-symptomatic identification of genetic diseases in newborns. Secondary objectives: to explore equity and ethical issues in the application of the new techniques, to inform healthcare decisions by families, carers, and policymakers. This is a protocol....