Perioperative glucocorticoid supplementation in pituitary surgery This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects, including benefits and harms, of perioperative glucocorticoid supplementation in people undergoing surgery for pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (PitNETs) with a preoperatively intact hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This is a protocol....

What are the effects of combined psychosocial interventions and medications for helping people who consume an excessive amount of alcohol? Key messages • Compared to psychosocial interventions alone, adding medications is probably safe and helpful for people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) in reducing alcohol use. • Due to the limited number of available studies, we do not know if combined psychosocial interventions and medications, when compared to medications alone or no treatment or usual care, is helpful for people with AUD. • More studies are needed looking at the effects of combined...

What influences people to fund, provide, and attend general health checks? Key messages • People decide to get general health checks based on several things, such as being aware of general health checks and getting reminders from family, friends, or healthcare providers. In places where general health checks and treatment are not free, resources like time and money also play a role. Some people avoid general health checks because they are afraid of bad results. • We found less information about healthcare funders and providers, so we do not fully understand what drives their decisions about...

Does the risk of death differ between female and male adult patients with pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs)? Key messages - We concluded that it is uncertain if sex (whether a patient is male or female) is an independent predictor of the risk of death in people with pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs), as our review found contradictory results. - We found a small but important reduction in death from any cause by 30 days after pulmonary embolism in female compared to male patients. However, in female patients, there may be a small but important increase in death...

Prognosis of surgically resected clinical stage 1A non-small cell lung cancers manifesting as a subsolid nodule on computed tomography including pure ground glass nodules This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (prognosis). The objectives are as follows: To quantify the risk of tumour relapse/recurrence after a surgical resection of stage 1A non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as manifested on computed tomography (CT) imaging as a subsolid nodule. This is a protocol....

Statins for preventing preeclampsia This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the relative benefits and harms of statins for preeclampsia prevention in pregnant women. This is a protocol....

Do different methods of nutritional support affect recovery and complications in adults after pancreaticoduodenectomy? Key messages - Enteral nutrition may not increase the risk of complications but is probably linked to a shorter hospital stay compared to parenteral nutrition. - When comparing jejunostomy feeding to oral nutrition, there may be no clear difference in complications or length of hospital stay, but the evidence is uncertain. - More evidence is needed to say with higher levels of confidence how these different types of feeding affect patients after a pancreaticoduodenectomy....

Safety and usefulness of proton pump inhibitors for preterm infants with reflux disease Key Messages - Reflux is common in preterm infants - The current evidence neither supports nor refutes the safety and efficacy (usefulness) of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for the treatment of reflux in preterm infants. What is gastroesophageal reflux, and how does it differ from gastroesophageal reflux disease? Gastroesophageal reflux happens when the stomach contents flow back into the esophagus (canal joining throat to stomach). It is common in a newborn. Premature infants are more likely to...

Can a class of antidiabetic medicine help protect the brain after a severe ischemic (caused by a blocked blood vessel) stroke? Key messages 1. There is limited evidence that glyburide (a sulfonylurea, or type of medicine used for type 2 diabetes) may have little to no effect on a person's function 90 days after a stroke, or the number of deaths after 90 days. It may have little to no effect on neurological deterioration within three days, such as consciousness, speech, or weakness, and probably has little to no effect on unwanted side effects, such as heart-related problems, or pneumonia. 2....

What are the benefits and risks of alternative models of delivering care for people with low back pain? Key messages - Compared to usual care, alternative care models probably do not appreciably improve the quality of care for people with low back pain in terms of referrals to or use of any lumbar spine imaging and prescription or use of opioids. - Alternative care models do not make an important difference to the level of pain or back-related function. - We are less certain of the effects on lumbar spine surgery, hospitalisation, and total adverse (unwanted or harmful) events. What is...

Blood pressure management in reperfused ischemic stroke This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms of intensive systolic blood pressure management (target less than 160 mmHg) versus conventional management (target less than 180 mmHg) in people undergoing ischemic stroke reperfusion via systemic thrombolysis or endovascular thrombectomy. This is a protocol....

Epley maneuver, performed by family doctors or emergency physicians, for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in adults This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of the Epley maneuver, performed by family doctors or emergency physicians, for adults with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. This is a protocol....

Renin inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers: which work better to treat hypertension? Key messages - The available evidence from short-term studies suggests there is probably little to no difference between renin inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in terms of death rates, withdrawal due to unwanted effects, serious unwanted events, unwanted events, and blood pressure control for people with mild primary hypertension. - Due to a lack of strong evidence from long-term studies, any potential differences between these two drugs for measures of heart and blood vessel health are...

What are the best strategies to implement World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to prevent, detect, and treat postpartum hemorrhage? Key messages Multicomponent implementation strategies may improve adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) prevention recommendations and probably do not make a difference to intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, need for additional surgeries, or death of the mother. We do not know if multicomponent implementation strategies affect blood loss or blood transfusion. We do not know if single-component implementation...

Efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pregnancy to prevent COVID-19 in mothers and early infancy This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination during pregnancy, versus placebo or no vaccination during pregnancy, for preventing COVID-19 disease in mothers and infants. This is a protocol....

What are the benefits and risks of balloon dilatation of the Eustachian tube for obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction? Key messages Balloon dilatation of the Eustachian tube (BET) probably improves Eustachian tube dysfunction compared to nasal medications up to three months after the procedure. How certain we are about this evidence depends on the length of follow-up and the type of treatment this is compared with. What is Eustachian tube dysfunction? The Eustachian tube is a tube which connects the middle ear (part of the ear behind the ear drum) with the back of the nose. People can...

What are the benefits and harms of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), the next-generation blood thinners, after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)? Key messages • In people who do not have a medical reason to take blood thinners, non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), specifically rivaroxaban and apixaban, may increase the risk of death for any reason when compared with antiplatelet drugs, while edoxaban appears to have little or no effect. Any differences between rivaroxaban, apixaban, or edoxaban, and antiplatelet therapy in death caused by...

Effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effectiveness of different SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies in reducing COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths among suspected cases and asymptomatic individuals. This is a protocol....

Acupuncture for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome after exposure to drugs while in the womb Key messages • Due to a lack of evidence, we are unable to draw any conclusions about the benefits and risks of acupuncture for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome caused by being exposed to drugs while in the womb. • Large studies that are well-designed and reported are needed to find out more about the benefits and risks of acupuncture, including studies that make comparisons of acupuncture techniques, sites, timing and application. What is neonatal abstinence syndrome? Neonatal...

Does cardiovascular training relieve cancer-related fatigue before, during, or after anticancer therapy? Key messages Cardiovascular training during anticancer therapy probably reduces cancer-related fatigue slightly for up to 12 weeks. The longer-term effects of cardiovascular training on cancer-related fatigue and quality of life are uncertain and there is no evidence about the effects of cardiovascular training before anticancer therapy. We found nearly 50 studies of cardiovascular training before, during, and after cancer treatment that are underway and these will add to the evidence...