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[Antibiotic treatment of travellers' diarrhea].

UNLABELLED: This review should be cited as: De Bruyn G, Hahn S, Borwick A. Antibiotic treatment for travellers' diarrhoea (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2001. Oxford: Update Software. A substantive amendment to this systematic review was last made on 21 May 2000. Cochrane reviews are regularly checked and updated if necessary. BACKGROUND: Traveller's diarrhoea is a syndrome frequently encountered in persons crossing an international boundary. Diarrhoea can lead to significant discomfort and interference with travel plans. Bacterial pathogens are a frequent course of this syndrome. Several antibiotics have been tested for efficacy in reducing the duration and severity of the illness. OBJECTIVES: The aims of the review were to access the effects of antibiotics on traveller's diarrhoea in relation to the duration of illness, severity of illness, and adverse effects of medications. SEARCH STRATEGY: The Cochrane Collaboration Trials Register, MEDLINE, and EMBASE were searched. Additional trials were identified by hand searching. Content experts were contacted. SELECTION CRITERIA: All trials in any language in which travellers older than five years were randomly allocated to treatment for acute non-bloody diarrhoea with antibiotics and where the causative organism is not known at allocation. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers assessed trial quality and extracted data. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty published studies met inclusion and quality criteria for inclusion. Twelve studies were placebo-controlled. A meta-analysis for the primary outcome was not feasible. All of the ten trials reported a significant reduction in duration of diarrhoea in participants treated with antibiotics compared with placebo. Data from two trials demonstrated a small reduction for antibiotic treated patients in the number of unformed stools passed per each 24 hour period from randomisation up to 72 hours. Data from six trials demonstrated a greater number of participants being cured of diarrhoea by 72 hours (odds ratio [OR] 5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.06 to 8.57). Data regarding side effects were available from five trials. There was wide variation in the prevalence of side effects reported in different trials. Persons taking antibiotics experienced more side effects than those taking placebo (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.5 to 3.75). REVIEWERS' CONCLUSION: Antibiotic treatment is associated with shorter duration of diarrhoea but higher incidence of side effects. Trials generally do not report duration of post-treatment diarrhoea using time-to-event analyses, and should do.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

A novel interactive electronic protocol review system.

This report describes a new protocol review system which was designed as a Lotus Notes database. This system encompasses all elements of investigator protocol generation, review and approval by the laboratory animal veterinarian and institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC), and notification of approval to personnel responsible for animal ordering. Unique features of the system are interactive dialog between IACUC members and the investigator and confidential protocol discussion among IACUC members. The advantages of the system are multiple: 1. it allows for interactive protocol discussion online; 2. it is an essentially paperless process; 3. inclusion of the outside IACUC member is easily accomplished by using an offsite personal computer and secure remote local-area network access; 4. the time required for protocol generation, review, and approval is streamlined due to the automatic features of the database and the speed of e-mail; and 5. all documentation relating to the protocol and the approval process is archived online.

Animals↗

Concussion in sports: minimizing the risk for complications.

Mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion, is a common consequence of collisions, falls and other forms of contact in sports. Concussion may be defined as an acute trauma-induced alteration of mental function lasting fewer than 24 hours, with or without preceding loss of consciousness. The physician's responsibilities in assessing an athlete with concussion include determining the need for emergency intervention and offering guidance about the athlete's ability to return to play. Concussion may be complicated by cerebral edema related to the second impact syndrome, cumulative neuropsychologic deficits, intracranial bleeding or the postconcussion syndrome. The risk of complications is increased in athletes who prematurely return to play and in those with prolonged loss of consciousness or post-traumatic amnesia. An athlete with prolonged loss of consciousness or signs and symptoms that worsen or persist after a concussion should be evaluated in the emergency department. An athlete should not be allowed to resume sports participation until all symptoms of a concussion have resolved.

Athletic Injuries↗

[New research on the practice, reporting and reviewing of euthanasia and other medical end-of-life decisions, 2001/2002].

In the second half of 2001, an extensive study will start which will evaluate the review procedure for euthanasia in the Netherlands. Since the end of 1998, euthanasia has to be reviewed by regional review committees, which include a physician and an ethicist, in addition to a legal expert. The aim of this study is to examine whether the reporting procedure meets the aim and whether there are any points which require improvement. This study follows on from those carried out in 1990/1991 and 1995/1996, which investigated euthanasia and other medical end-of-life decisions (assisted suicide, termination of life without the patient's explicit request, treatment of pain and symptoms with a possible life-shortening effect, and forgoing potentially life-prolonging treatment). The study consists of an analysis of cases of death (in which the numbers and nature of various medical end-of-life decisions will be established), physician interviews (to gain insight into the context in which medical end-of-life decisions are made), a study of reported cases (to give an overview of doctors' experiences with the review committees), and a study carried out amongst the general public (around 1,500 Dutch adults will be given a written questionnaire about their opinions concerning medical end-of-life decisions and the reporting procedure). In addition to this Dutch study, a European study subsidized by the European Commission is being carried out which will examine attitudes and experiences regarding medical end-of-life decisions in six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland). This will, for the first time, enable a true comparison to be made between the Netherlands and other countries in terms of euthanasia and other medical end-of-life decisions.

Adult↗

Bending the rules that bent the rules.

In an interview with the Medical Ethics Advisor about the controversy surrounding the use of non-heartbeating cadaver donors (NHBCDs), James Childress asks, "Are some current ethical boundaries moveable in this debate?" To save more lives and give more families the option of donation, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Protocol for NHBCDs has already moved ethical boundaries. The revisions in the Protocol, described by DeVita and Snyder in this issue of CQ, move them further still. While the University of Pittsburgh can be praised for developing a clear protocol and subjecting it to wide and open scrutiny, many of the arguments offered by DeVita and Snyder to justify specific changes in the protocol are not convincing.

Cadaver↗

Beta-blockers: a new therapy in congestive heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Until recently, use of beta-blockers was contraindicated in treatment of patients with congestive heart failure. However, empirical evidence suggests that adding beta-blockers to the standard therapy can slow the progression of heart failure and reduce mortality, including sudden cardiac death. PURPOSE: To analyze the results of major, prospective, randomized controlled trials on the effects of beta-blockers in congestive heart failure and to provide recommendations for clinical practice and patients' education. METHODS: MEDLINE (1989-2001) and biomedical databases (1995-2001) were searched for literature on the use of beta-blockers in patients with congestive heart failure. Information on major randomized controlled trials of at least 6 months' duration with mortality as a major end point were reviewed. RESULTS: Both selective and nonselective beta-blockers significantly reduce mortality due to all causes; decrease need for hospitalization due to cardiovascular causes; and improve patients' New York Heart Association functional classification, hemodynamic status, left ventricular ejection fraction, and signs and symptoms of congestive heartfailure. However, clinical use of beta-blockers remains limited. CONCLUSION: Strong empirical evidence supports adding beta-blockers to the standard therapy for congestive heart failure. Future efforts should be directed toward establishing the safety and efficacy of beta-blockers in patients with severe heartfailure.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

Can family-based treatment of anorexia nervosa be manualized?

The authors report on the development of a manual for treating adolescents with anorexia nervosa modeled on a family-based intervention originating at the Maudsley Hospital in London. The manual provides the first detailed account of a clinical approach shown to be consistently efficacious in randomized clinical trials for this disorder. Manualized family therapy appears to be acceptable to therapists, patients, and families. Preliminary outcomes are comparable to what would be expected in clinically supervised sessions. These results suggest that through the use of this manual a valuable treatment approach can now be tested more broadly in controlled and uncontrolled settings.

Adolescent↗

A guide to undertaking a literature review.

BACKGROUND: The National Information Service of the General Practice Evaluation Program (GPEP) produced publications relating to research undertaken under the auspices of the program with the view to adding value to such research. Two anthologies of literature reviews from GPEP research have been produced, one in 1998 and the other in 2000. A thorough guide to undertaking and writing a literature review was part of the second anthology. This paper is a shortened version of that guide. OBJECTIVE: This paper is designed as an overview for general practitioners who wish to undertake a research project. In this overview the authors describe the reasons researchers undertake a literature review and the steps involved in conducting and writing up a review, including the development of search strategies. DISCUSSION: The literature review described in this paper is a narrative review. This type of review involves performing thorough literature searches, describing how these were done, grouping findings according to themes, critically discussing findings and placing the proposed research in context.

Humans↗