TrialPanorama/TrialPanorama-benchmark huggingface dataset:
Background: Ambulatory oxygen is defined as the use of supplemental oxygen during exercise and activities of daily living. Ambulatory oxygen therapy is often used for patients on long term oxygen therapy during exercise, or for non long term oxygen therapy users who achieve some subjective and/or objective benefit from oxygen during exercise. The evidence for the use of ambulatory oxygen therapy is extrapolated from two sources: longer term studies and single assessment studies. Longer term studies assess the impact of ambulatory oxygen therapy used at home during activities of daily living. Single assessment studies compare performance during an exercise test using oxygen with performance during an exercise test using placebo air.
Objectives: To determine the efficacy of ambulatory oxygen in patients with COPD using single assessment studies.
Selection criteria: Only randomised controlled trials were included. Studies did not have to be blinded. Studies had to compare oxygen and placebo when administered to people with COPD who were undergoing an exercise test.
Background: Napkin dermatitis (nappy or diaper rash) is a non-specific term used to describe inflammatory eruptions (rashes) in the napkin area. Most infants develop napkin dermatitis at least once during their infancy. Topical vitamin A has been suggested as a treatment for napkin dermatitis.
Objectives: To determine if treatment with topical vitamin A is successful in either preventing napkin dermatitis, or producing resolution or decreasing the severity of napkin dermatitis.
Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials, where the topical application of medication containing vitamin A (or its derivatives) was compared with either placebo, no treatment or other topical medication, for the prevention or treatment of napkin dermatitis in infants aged from zero to two years.
Background: Cough in isolation of other clinical features is known as non-specific cough, which has been defined as non-productive cough in the absence of identifiable respiratory disease or any known aetiology. In children with non-specific cough the possibility of asthma being the underlying disorder is often raised (so called cough variant asthma). The proponents of cough variant asthma suggest a therapeutic trial of medications usually used to treat asthma.
Objectives: To determine the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids in non-specific cough in children over the age of two years.
Selection criteria: All randomised (randomised and quasi-randomised) controlled clinical trials in which an inhaled corticosteroid (beclomethasone (BDP), fluticasone (FP), triamcinalone (TAA) or any other corticosteroid) were given for cough in children over two years of age were included. Two review authors independently assessed articles for inclusion and methodological quality.
Background: Depression is common in primary care and it is associated with marked personal, social and economic morbidity, and creates significant demands on service providers in terms of workload. Treatment is predominantly pharmaceutical or psychological. Fluoxetine, the first of a group of antidepressant (AD) agents known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), has been studied in many randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in comparison with tricyclic (TCA), heterocyclic and related ADs, and other SSRIs. These comparative studies provided contrasting findings. In addition, systematic reviews of RCTs have always considered the SSRIs as a group, and evidence applicable to this group of drugs might not be applicable to fluoxetine alone. The present systematic review assessed the efficacy and tolerability profile of fluoxetine in comparison with TCAs, SSRIs and newer agents.
Objectives: To determine the efficacy of fluoxetine, compared with other ADs, in alleviating the acute symptoms of depression, and to review its acceptability.
Selection criteria: Only RCTs were included. For trials which have a crossover design only results from the first randomisation period were considered.
Background: Thumb-in-palm deformity in patients with spastic cerebral palsy is a deformity that impairs the ability to use the thumb and thus severely limits hand function. From the variety of operative procedures that have been described, it may be clear that there is no consensus on the surgical treatment of thumb-in-palm deformity.
Objectives: To review the efficacy of surgical interventions for the thumb-in-palm deformity in patients with spastic cerebral palsy; to review the selection criteria to surgically treat thumb-in-palm deformity in these patients; and to review the outcome assessment used in these studies.
Selection criteria: We considered a trial eligible for inclusion when it met the following criteria. 1) It was described as a randomized clinical trial, clinical controlled trial or prospective study that compared pre-operative- with post-operative outcome assessment. 2) It concerned patients with thumb-in-palm deformity affected by spastic cerebral palsy. There was no restriction in age. 3) It compared or described any surgical intervention to the thumb. 4) It followed subjects for at least six months. 5) Outcomes described included one or more of the following items: rate of success; functional improvement; active and passive range of motion of the thumb; grasp and release; pinch grip; complications and side effects; and quality of life.
Background: Acupuncture has been used by rehabilitation specialists as an adjunct therapy for the symptomatic treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine where thin needles are inserted in specific documented points believed to represent concentration of body energies. In some cases a small electrical impulse is added to the needles. Once the needles are inserted in some of the appropriate points, endorphins, morphine-like substances, have been shown to be released in the patient's system, thus inducing local or generalised analgesia (pain relief). This review is an update of the original review published in July 2002.
Objectives: To evaluate the effects of acupuncture or electroacupuncture on the objective and subjective measures of disease activity in patients with RA.
Selection criteria: Comparative controlled studies, such as randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials in patients with RA were eligible. Trials published in languages other than French and English were not analyzed. Abstracts were excluded unless further data could be obtained from the authors.
Background: Effective treatment for advanced melanoma is lacking. While no drug therapy currently exists for prevention of melanoma, in vitro, case-control, and animal model evidence suggest that lipid-lowering medications, commonly taken for high cholesterol, might prevent melanoma.
Objectives: To assess the effects of statin or fibrate lipid-lowering medications on melanoma outcomes.
Selection criteria: Trials involving random allocation of study participants, where experimental groups used statins or fibrates and participants were enrolled for at least four years of therapy.
Background: Ginkgo biloba extract is widely used in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke in China. We aimed to assess the evidence from randomised controlled trials and quasi-randomised controlled trials on the use of Ginkgo biloba extract in acute ischaemic stroke.
Objectives: The primary objective was to determine whether Ginkgo biloba extract improves functional outcome without causing undue harm in patients with acute ischaemic stroke. Secondary objectives were to assess the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract on neurological impairment and quality of life.
Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials or quasi-randomised controlled clinical trials comparing Ginkgo biloba extract with placebo or open control (no placebo) in patients with acute ischaemic stroke.
Background: Beta-blocker therapy has a proven mortality benefit in patients with hypertension, heart failure and coronary artery disease, as well as during the perioperative period. These drugs have traditionally been considered contraindicated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Objectives: To assess the effect of cardioselective beta-blockers on respiratory function of patients with COPD.
Selection criteria: Randomised, blinded, controlled trials of single dose or longer duration that studied the effects of cardioselective beta-blockers on the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) or symptoms in patients with COPD.
Background: The development of resistance to antibiotics by many important human pathogens has been linked to exposure to antibiotics over time. The misuse of antibiotics for viral infections (for which they are of no value) and the excessive use of broad spectrum antibiotics in place of narrower spectrum antibiotics have been well-documented throughout the world. Many studies have helped to elucidate the reasons physicians use antibiotics inappropriately.
Objectives: To systematically review the literature to estimate the effectiveness of professional interventions, alone or in combination, in improving the selection, dose and treatment duration of antibiotics prescribed by healthcare providers in the outpatient setting; and to evaluate the impact of these interventions on reducing the incidence of antimicrobial resistant pathogens.
Selection criteria: We included all randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials (RCT and QRCT), controlled before and after studies (CBA) and interrupted time series (ITS) studies of healthcare consumers or healthcare professionals who provide primary care in the outpatient setting. Interventions included any professional intervention, as defined by EPOC, or a patient-based intervention.
Background: This review is one in a series of reviews of interventions for lateral elbow pain.
Objectives: To determine the effectiveness and safety of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for lateral elbow pain.
Selection criteria: We included nine trials that randomised 1006 participants to ESWT or placebo and one trial that randomised 93 participants to ESWT or steroid injection.
Background: Bed rest or restriction of activity, with or without hospitalisation, have been advocated for women with hypertension during pregnancy to improve pregnancy outcome. However, benefits need to be demonstrated before such interventions can be recommended since restricted activity may be disruptive to women's lives, expensive, and increase the risk of thromboembolism.
Objectives: To assess the effects on the mother and the baby of different degrees of bed rest, compared with each other, and with routine activity, in hospital or at home, for primary treatment of hypertension during pregnancy.
Selection criteria: Randomised trials evaluating bed rest for women with hypertension in pregnancy were selected.
Background: The use of mega-vitamin intervention began in the 1950s with the treatment of schizophrenic patients. Pyroxidine (vitamin B6) was first used with children diagnosed with "autism syndrome" when speech and language improvement was observed in some children as a result of large doses of B6. A number of studies attempted to assess the effects of vitamin B6-Magnesium (Mg) was found to reduce undesirable side effects from B6) on characteristics such as verbal communication, non-verbal communication, interpersonal skills, and physiological function, in individuals with autism.
Objectives: To determine the efficacy of vitamin B6 and magnesium (B6-Mg) for treating social, communication, and behavioural responses of children and adults with autism.
Selection criteria: All studies in which the participants had been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder were randomly allocated prior to intervention and in which outcomes were compared to either a placebo or non-treated group were included.
Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was the main form of treatment in China for psychiatric illnesses until the development of antipsychotic drugs in the 1950's. Antipsychotic drugs have become the primary intervention for schizophrenia, although herbal medicines can still form part of the treatment.
Objectives: To review Chinese herbal medicine, used alone or as part of a TCM approach, for people with schizophrenia and related psychoses.
Selection criteria: We included all relevant randomised controlled trials involving people with schizophrenia-like illnesses, allocated to Chinese herbal medicine, including any Chinese herbs (single or mixture), compared with placebo/no treatment or antipsychotic drugs.
Background: Lidocaine, mexiletine, tocainide, and flecainide are local anesthetics which give an analgesic effect when administered orally or parenterally. Early reports described the use of intravenous lidocaine or procaine to relieve cancer and postoperative pain (Keats 1951; Gilbert 1951; De Clive-Lowe 1958; Bartlett 1961). Interest reappeared decades later when patient series and clinical trials reported that parenteral lidocaine and its oral analogs tocainide, mexiletine, and flecainide relieved neuropathic pain in some patients (Boas 1982; Lindblom 1984; Petersen 1986; Dunlop 1988; Bach 1990; Awerbuch 1990). With the recent publication of clinical trials with high quality standards, we have reviewed the use of systemic lidocaine and its oral analogs in neuropathic pain to update our knowledge, to measure their benefit and harm, and to better define their role in therapy.
Objectives: To evaluate pain relief and adverse effect rates between systemic local anesthetic-type drugs and other control interventions.
Selection criteria: We included trials with random allocation, that were double blinded, with a parallel or crossover design. The control intervention was a placebo or an analgesic drug for neuropathic pain from any cause.
Background: Asthma is a chronic disease of inflammation and smooth muscle dysfunction, including bronchoconstriction. These symptoms are usually associated with widespread but variable airflow obstruction that is often reversible either spontaneously or with treatment. Psychological factors may influence the symptoms and management of asthma in children in many ways, for example, evidence suggests that emotional stress can either precipitate or exacerbate both acute and chronic asthma.
Objectives: To assess the efficacy of psychological interventions in improving health and behavioural outcomes for children with asthma.
Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials published in any language assessing the effects of a psychological intervention compared with a control intervention in children and adolescents with asthma were included in the review. Cross-over trials were considered inappropriate for studies using psychological interventions and were therefore excluded from this systematic review.
Background: Second malignancies (SM) are a major late effect of treatment for Hodgkin's disease (HD). Reliable comparisons of SM risk between alternative treatment strategies are lacking.
Objectives: Radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy (CT) and combined chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) for newly-diagnosed Hodgkin's disease are compared with respect to SM risk, overall (OS) and progression-free (PFS) survival. Further, involved-field (IF-)RT is compared to extended-field (EF-)RT.
Selection criteria: RCTs accruing 30+ patients and completing accrual before/during 2000, comparing at least two treatment modalities for newly-diagnosed HD.
Background: Acyclovir has the potential to shorten the course of illness which may result in reduced costs and morbidity associated with chickenpox.
Objectives: 1) To examine the evidence evaluating the efficacy of acyclovir in alleviating symptoms of chickenpox and shortening the duration of illness. 2) To examine complications of chickenpox and adverse effects associated with acyclovir as reported in the relevant trials.
Selection criteria: Randomized controlled trials that evaluated otherwise healthy children zero to 18 years of age, with chickenpox.
Background: Trabeculectomy is performed as a treatment for glaucoma to lower the intraocular pressure (IOP). Mitomycin C (MMC) is an antimetabolite used during the initial stages of a trabeculectomy to prevent excessive postoperative scarring and thus reduce the risk of failure.
Objectives: To assess the effects of intraoperative MMC compared to placebo in trabeculectomy.
Selection criteria: We included randomised trials of intraoperative MMC compared to placebo in trabeculectomy surgery.
Background: The postcoital test has poor diagnostic and prognostic characteristics. Nevertheless, some physicians believe it can identify scanty or abnormal mucus that might impair fertility. One way to avoid 'hostile' cervical mucus is intrauterine insemination. With this technique, the physician injects sperm directly into the uterine cavity through a small catheter passed through the cervix; the theory is to bypass the "hostile" cervical mucus. Although most gynaecological societies do not endorse use of intrauterine insemination for hostile cervical mucus, some physicians consider it an effective treatment for women with infertility thought due to cervical mucus problems.
Objectives: The aim of this review was to determine the effectiveness of intrauterine insemination with or without ovarian stimulation in women with cervical hostility who failed to conceive.
Selection criteria: We included randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials comparing intrauterine insemination with intercourse timed at the presumed fertile period. Participants were women with cervical hostility who failed to conceive for at least one year.
Background: Screening or case finding instruments have been advocated as a simple, quick and inexpensive method to improve detection and management of depression in non-specialist settings, such as primary care and the general hospital. However, screening/case finding is just one of a number of strategies that have been advocated to improve the quality of care for depression. The adoption of this seemingly simple and effective strategy should be underpinned by evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness.
Objectives: To determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of screening and case finding instruments in: (1) improving the recognition of depression; (2) improving the management of depression, and (3) improving the outcome of depression.
Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials of the administration of case finding/screening instruments for depression and the feedback of the results of these instruments to clinicians, compared with no clinician feedback. Trials had to be conducted in non-mental health settings, such as primary care or the general hospital. Studies that used screening strategies in addition to enhanced care, such as case management and structured follow up, were specifically excluded.
Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects a large proportion of the population. Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) was introduced as an alternative non-invasive treatment for RA about ten years ago. LLLT is a light source that generates extremely pure light, of a single wavelength. The effect is not thermal, but rather related to photochemical reactions in the cells. The effectiveness of LLLT for rheumatoid arthritis is still controversial. This review is an update of the original review published in October 1998.
Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of LLLT in the treatment of RA.
Selection criteria: Following an a priori protocol, only randomized controlled trials of LLLT for the treatment of patients with a clinical diagnosis of RA were eligible. Abstracts were excluded unless further data could be obtained from the authors.
Background: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is of proven benefit in recently-symptomatic patients with severe carotid stenosis. Its role in asymptomatic stenosis is still debated. The Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial (ACST) more than doubled the number of patients randomised to CEA trials. This revised review incorporates the recently published ACST results.
Objectives: Our objective was to determine the effects of CEA for patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis.
Selection criteria: All completed randomised trials comparing CEA to medical treatment in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis.
Background: Dysmenorrhoea is the occurrence of painful menstrual cramps of uterine origin and is a very common gynaecological complaint with negative effect on a sufferer's quality of life. Medical therapy for dysmenorrhoea includes oral contraceptive pills (OCP) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which both act by suppressing prostaglandin levels. While these treatments are very successful there is still a 20 to 25% failure rate and surgery has been an option for such cases. Uterine nerve ablation (UNA) and presacral neurectomy (PSN) are two surgical treatments that have become increasingly utilised in recent years due to advances in laparoscopic procedures. These procedures both interrupt the majority of the cervical sensory pain nerve fibres. Observational studies have supported the use of these procedures for primary dysmenorrhoea. However, both operations only partially interrupt the cervical sensory nerve fibres in the pelvic area and, therefore, this type of surgery may not always benefit women with dysmenorrhoea.
Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of surgical interruption of pelvic nerve pathways as treatment for primary and secondary dysmenorrhoea, and to determine the most effective surgical treatment.
Selection criteria: The inclusion criteria were randomised comparisons of surgical techniques of interruption of the pelvic nerve pathways (using both open and laparoscopic procedures) for the treatment of primary and secondary dysmenorrhoea. The main outcome measures were pain relief and adverse effects.
Background: The existing randomized evidence has failed to conclusively demonstrate the benefit or otherwise of preoperative radiotherapy in treating patients with potentially resectable esophageal carcinoma.
Objectives: This meta-analysis aimed to assess whether there is benefit from adding radiotherapy prior to surgery and whether or not any pre-defined patient subgroups benefit more or less from preoperative radiotherapy
Selection criteria: Trials were eligible for inclusion in this meta-analysis provided they randomized patients with potentially resectable carcinoma of the esophagus (of any histological type) to receive radiotherapy or no radiotherapy prior to surgery. Trials must have used a randomization method which precluded prior knowledge of treatment assignment and completed accrual by December 1993, to ensure sufficient follow-up by the time of the first analysis (September 1995).
Background: Domiciliary oxygen therapy has become one of the major forms of treatment for hypoxaemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.
Objectives: To determine the effect of domiciliary oxygen therapy on survival and quality of life in patients with COPD.
Selection criteria: Any RCT in patients with hypoxaemia and COPD that compared long term domiciliary or home oxygen therapy with a control treatment.
Background: Measles is a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. Vitamin A deficiency is a recognized risk factor for severe measles infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends administration of an oral dose of vitamin A (200,000 international units (IU), or 100,000 IU in infants) each day for two days to children with measles when they live in areas where vitamin A deficiency may be present.
Objectives: To determine whether vitamin A therapy, commenced after measles has been diagnosed, is beneficial in preventing mortality, pneumonia and other secondary complications in children.
Selection criteria: Only randomized controlled trials in which children with measles were given vitamin A or placebo along with standard treatment were considered.