Antidepressants for depression in cancer: Cochrane review highlights lack of evidence

Female cancer patient

Kirsten Lawson reports on a recent Cochrane systematic review, which highlights a lack of high quality trials about the efficacy and safety of antidepressants for depression in cancer.

[read the full story...]

Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome

shutterstock_232027741

In this blog, Tracey Howe looks at a Cochrane systematic review, examining the effects of exercise therapy for patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

[read the full story...]

Medication for self-harm: new Cochrane review finds very limited evidence to support its use

shutterstock_175981028

Dochka Hristova reports on a new Cochrane review of pharmacological interventions for self-harm in adults, which looks at the treatment effect on repetition of self-harm of antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and dietary supplements.

[read the full story...]

Dry socket prevention: eugenol dressing or chlorhexidine gel?

shutterstock_31846396

This trial compared eugenol dressing or chlorhexidine gel for dry socket prevention against no intervention. Both agents reduced the incidence of dry socket but the reduction was greater with eugenol.

[read the full story...]

Treatments for delusional disorder

shutterstock_274492739

Andrew Shepherd summarises a Cochrane systematic review of treatments for delusional disorder, which finds only 1 small RCT looking at treating the condition with medication or psychotherapy compared to placebo.

[read the full story...]

Orthodontic treatment: limited research on effectiveness of surgical interventions to accelerate treatment

shutterstock_101866108

This Cochrane review only identified 4 small short-term trials providing limited evidence for the effectiveness of surgical approaches to accelerate orthodontic treatment. Further research with longer follow up is needed to confirm any possible benefit.

[read the full story...]

Sleep bruxism: little evidence for management

shutterstock_47516056

The review of sleep bruxism was only able to identify 12 small low quality RCTs covering a range of treatments. Most evidence was available for oral appliances but there is no sufficient evidence to state that the occlusal splint is effective for treating sleep bruxism.

[read the full story...]

Water fluoridation effective at reducing caries

shutterstock_2529990

This Cochrane review identified 155 studies with 107 contributing to the quantitative analysis. There was a 35% reduction in dmft and a 26% reduction in DMFT. There was an approximately 15% increase in the percentage of caries-free children after water fluoridation. At a fluoride level of 0.7 ppm, the percentage of participants with fluorosis of aesthetic concern was approximately 12%.

[read the full story...]

Lingual orthodontic retainers – a lack of evidence

shutterstock_155175200

This review focused on lingual orthodontic retention including 27 studies (9 RCTs; 6 prospective and 12 retrospective studies). However, the quality of evidence was low, providing little evidence for the best treatment protocols.

[read the full story...]

Fluoride gel applications reduce caries

shutterstock_71786263

The update of the 2002 Cochrane review of fluoride included 28 trials finding an average 28% reduction (95% CI; 19-36%) in decayed, missing and filled tooth surfaces. There is little information about adverse effects or how well children and young people were able to cope with the gel application.

[read the full story...]