To stay on antipsychotics or not to stay on antipsychotics? A longstanding question with an update

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Joe Pierre considers a recent network meta-analysis on continuing, reducing, switching, or stopping antipsychotics in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who are clinically stable.

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Air polishing in supportive periodontal treatment

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This review comparing of air polishing devices with conventional periodontal therapy (hand instrumentation and/or ultrasonic debridement), in patients undergoing periodontal maintenance therapy included 14 RCTs. The findings suggest that they have comparable clinical efficay although the evidence is of low certainty.

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How do prelingually deaf people with schizophrenia experience hallucinations?

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Charlotte Huggett and Sophie Paul explore an important review looking at the content and modality of hallucinations in prelingually deaf people with schizophrenia.

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Recurrent aphthous stomatitis – topical interventions

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This review of the efficacy and safety of topical interventions used for recurrent aphthous stomatitis included 72 studies assessing 29 different interventions. Most of the interventions did not demonstrate significant differences with limitednumbers of studies for some interventions and overal limitations in the quality of the evidence.

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Talking to young people about online safety: the who, what, when and how

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In his debut blog, Luke Bayliss explores a Delphi study that will help mental health practitioners to converse with young people about their online activities and impact on mental health.

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Manual toothbrushes – efficacy of new and used brushes

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Today we take a look at a review comparing the anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis efficacy of new and worn manual brushes. The review included 8 RCTs and suggest that new and worn toothbrushes present similar anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis efficacy. However, the evidence is of very low to low certainty.

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Ask about alcohol use in adults affected by divorce, bereavement or illness

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Sally Adams considers a recent Finnish longitudinal study, which examines heavy alcohol consumption before and after negative life events in late mid-life.

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Psychiatric Advance Directives: more effective when facilitated by peer workers, according to French RCT

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Rob Allison considers a French randomised controlled trial, which provides support for the use of peer worker–facilitated psychiatric advance directives to prevent compulsory rehospitalisation in people with severe mental illness.

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Money talks: stakeholder perspectives on the design of a combined money and mental health intervention

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In her debut blog, Annie Irvine summarises a qualitative study which explores service user and staff views of a combined money advice and psychological therapy service within IAPT.

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Nursing home oral health care measures and pneumonia

The study highlights that there is limited understanding by family carers and older people of funding arrangements, and it often falls to the care home providers to supply information.

This Cochrane review update of the effects of oral care measures in preventing nursing home-acquired pneumonia inlides 6 RCTs. Low-certainty evidence suggests that professional oral care may reduce mortality compared to usual care when measured at 24 months but evidence for other effects is inconclusive.

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