Red flags to screen for vertebral fracture in patients presenting with low back pain This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (diagnostic). The objectives are as follows: The objective of this review is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of red flags used to screen for vertebral fracture in patients presenting with low back pain. Where possible, we will report the results of red flags separately for different types of vertebral fracture as follows. Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture Vertebral traumatic fracture Vertebral stress fracture Secondary objectives The secondary objective of...

Does the type of anaesthesia for recanalisation therapies for acute ischaemic stroke affect patient outcomes? What was the review about? Acute ischaemic stroke is a sudden loss of blood circulation in a specific brain area, caused by a blockage in one of the blood vessels, promoting neurological damage. Urgent (recanalisation) treatment to remove the blockage can be beneficial. We wanted to know whether the type of anaesthesia used for this procedure influences treatment to restore blood flow after blood vessels are blocked (recanalisation therapies). What are recanalisation therapies and...

A meta-ethnography of how children and young people with chronic non-cancer pain and their families experience and understand their condition, pain services, and treatments This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (qualitative). The objectives are as follows: To synthesise qualitative studies that examine the experiences and perceptions of children with chronic pain and their families regarding chronic pain, treatments, and services to inform the design and delivery of health and social care services, interventions, and future research. To explore whether our review findings help to explain...

Surgical (percutaneous pinning or plate fixation) versus non-surgical interventions for distal radius fractures in adults: an individual participant data review This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms of surgical and non-surgical treatments in adults with distal radius fracture. To examine the interactions between individual-level participant characteristics and the interventions of distal radius fracture. This is a protocol....

Non-opioid analgesics for procedural pain in neonates This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To determine the effects of non-opioid analgesics in neonates (term or preterm) exposed to procedural pain compared to placebo or no drug, non-pharmacological intervention, other analgesics, or different routes of administration. This is a protocol....

Antibiotics for preventing wound infections after snakebite This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of antibiotics for the prevention of wound infections in people with snakebite. This is a protocol....

Stimulant and non-stimulant drug therapy for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and epilepsy What is the aim of this review? The aim of this Cochrane Review was to find out if stimulant and non-stimulant medications are effective and safe in treating people with both Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and epilepsy. Cochrane Review authors collected and analysed all relevant studies to answer this question. Background Epilepsy is a disease where the brain is predisposed to generating seizures. ADHD is a condition where daily life is affected by inattention,...

Anti-interferon therapy for systemic lupus erythematosus This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To determine the benefits and harms of anti-interferon therapy in the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This is a protocol....

Antithrombotic therapy to prevent cognitive decline in people with small vessel disease on neuroimaging but without dementia Background Disruption of blood flow to the brain can cause problems with memory and thinking. In the condition called 'cerebral small vessel disease', there is damage to the smallest blood vessels that run deep in the brain. This damage can cause stroke but can also be seen on brain scans in people with no obvious stroke symptoms. Cerebral small vessel disease usually gets worse over time, and in some people can cause a decline in memory and thinking. If this decline...

Natalizumab for multiple sclerosis This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To estimate the benefits and harms of: Natalizumab compared with placebo or other disease-modifying therapies (DMT) as first‐choice treatment for people with any form of multiple sclerosis (MS); Natalizumab compared with placebo or other DMT for all forms of MS, when switching from another DMT. This is a protocol....

Group cognitive behavioural therapy for schizophrenia Review question Is group cognitive behavioural therapy (talking therapy) that targets psychoses (CBTp) more effective than standard care (the care a person would normally receive) or other forms of talking therapies (for example, counselling, supportive therapy; either group or individual) for people with schizophrenia? What is schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a disabling serious mental illness. It is characterised by delusions (bizarre beliefs), hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there), negative symptoms (social...

Electrical stimulation of the motor system after stroke This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess if cyclical electrical stimulation (CES) is effective at increasing voluntary strength, and functional electrical stimulation (FES) is effective at improving activity after stroke. This is a protocol....

Are antipsychotic medicines safe and effective for treating people who have schizophrenia spectrum disorders with catatonic symptoms? Key messages - We could not answer whether antipsychotic medicines are safe and effective for schizophrenia spectrum disorders with catatonic symptoms because we found only one study including a small number of people and a brief duration of treatment, leaving us with very low confidence in the results. - We did find that in the only included study both an antipsychotic medicine (risperidone) and electroconvulsive therapy may improve catatonic and positive...

How should we give taxane as a single chemotherapy agent to women with relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer? Background There are a variety of options for chemotherapy treatment of relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer. Decisions at relapse include not just what drug, but also what dose and timing of administration. Taxanes can be given in once-weekly (at a lower dose) or three-weekly (at a higher dose) regimens, which may lead to differences in the severity of side effects and effectiveness. As relapsed disease suggests incurable disease; it is all the more important to consider side effects and...

Dialysis versus conservative management for stage 5 chronic kidney disease in the elderly This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of dialysis and conservative management in elderly patients with stage 5 CKD. This is a protocol....

How accurate is duplex ultrasound (DUS) imaging for diagnosing carotid artery stenosis in symptomatic patients? Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a narrowing of the lumen (the inside space) of the carotid artery (usually due to cholesterol deposits called plaque). CAS is responsible for 8% of all strokes due to a blocked blood vessel (ischemic strokes) and is associated with a high chance of recurrence. In such circumstances, the treatment is to re-establish adequate blood flow (by surgery or other approaches to open the artery) to prevent further neurologic episodes. Duplex ultrasound (DUS)...

Diuretics for preventing and treating acute kidney injury This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: This review aims to explore the benefits and harms of diuretics in the prevention and treatment of AKI. This is a protocol....

Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 5 to 11 years old This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: The overall aim of the review is to determine the effectiveness of interventions to prevent obesity in 5 to 11-year-old children. The four objectives are: to evaluate the effects of interventions that aim to modify dietary intake on changes in zBMI score, BMI and serious adverse events among children; to evaluate the effects of interventions that aim to modify physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, play and/or structured exercise...

How can communication about the end of life and care in the last 12 months of life be improved? Key messages We did not find enough good quality evidence to be able to say which ways of communicating about end of life (EoL) are best for the people involved. One study of a family conference intervention found that communication interventions might increase the length of EoL discussions between families and health professionals in some situations, and one other found that an intervention which used a structured conversation guide might lead to earlier discussions between patients, carers, and...

Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 12 to 18 years old This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: The overall aim of the review is to determine the effectiveness of interventions to prevent obesity in 12 to 18-year-old children and adolescents. The four objectives are: to evaluate the effects of interventions that aim to modify dietary intake on changes in zBMI score, BMI and serious adverse events among children and adolescents; to evaluate the effects of interventions that aim to modify physical activity, sedentary behaviour,...