-
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Aug 2022Physical restraints, such as bedrails, belts in chairs or beds, and fixed tables, are commonly used for older people in general hospital settings. Reasons given for... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Physical restraints, such as bedrails, belts in chairs or beds, and fixed tables, are commonly used for older people in general hospital settings. Reasons given for using physical restraints are to prevent falls and fall-related injuries, to control challenging behavior (such as agitation or wandering), and to ensure the delivery of medical treatments. Clear evidence of their effectiveness is lacking, and potential harms are recognised, including injuries associated with the use of physical restraints and a negative impact on people's well-being. There are widespread recommendations that their use should be reduced or eliminated.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the best evidence for the effects and safety of interventions aimed at preventing and reducing the use of physical restraint of older people in general hospital settings. To describe the content, components and processes of these interventions.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's register, MEDLINE (Ovid SP), Embase (Ovid SP), PsycINFO (Ovid SP), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate), LILACS (BIREME), ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization's meta-register the International Clinical Trials Registry Portal on 20 April 2022.
SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials that investigated the effects of interventions that aimed to prevent or reduce the use of physical restraints in general hospital settings. Eligible settings were acute care and rehabilitation wards. We excluded emergency departments, intensive care and psychiatric units, as well as the use of restrictive measures for penal reasons (e.g. prisoners in general medical wards). We included studies with a mean age of study participants of at least 65 years. Control groups received usual care or active control interventions that were ineligible for inclusion as experimental interventions.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently selected the articles for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of all included studies. Data were unsuitable for meta-analysis, and we reported results narratively. We used GRADE methods to describe our certainty in the results.
MAIN RESULTS
We included four studies: two randomised controlled trials (one individually-randomised, parallel-group trial and one clustered, stepped-wedge trial) and two controlled clinical trials (both with a clustered design). One study was conducted in general medical wards in Canada and three studies were conducted in rehabilitation hospitals in Hong Kong. A total of 1709 participants were included in three studies; in the fourth study the number of participants was not reported. The mean age ranged from 67 years to 84 years. The duration of follow-up covered the period of patients' hospitalisation in one study (21 days average length of stay) and ranged from 4 to 11 months in the other studies. The definition of physical restraints differed slightly, and one study did not include bedrails. Three studies investigated organisational interventions aimed at implementing a least-restraint policy to reduce physical restraints. The theoretical approach of the interventions and the content of the educational components was comparable across studies. The fourth study investigated the use of pressure sensors for participants with an increased falls risk, which gave an alarm if the participant left the bed or chair. Control groups in all studies received usual care. Three studies were at high risk of selection bias and risk of detection bias was unclear in all studies. Because of very low-certainty evidence, we are uncertain about the effect of organisational interventions aimed at implementing a least-restraint policy on our primary efficacy outcome: the use of physical restraints in general hospital settings. One study found an increase in the number of participants with at least one physical restraint in the intervention and control groups, one study found a small reduction in both groups, and in the third study (the stepped-wedge study), the number of participants with at least one physical restraint decreased in all clusters after implementation of the intervention but no detailed information was reported. For the use of bed or chair pressure sensor alarms for people with an increased fall risk, we found moderate-certainty evidence of little to no effect of the intervention on the number of participants with at least one physical restraint compared with usual care. None of the studies systematically assessed adverse events related to use of physical restraint use, e.g. direct injuries, or reported such events. We are uncertain about the effect of organisational interventions aimed at implementing a least-restraint policy on the number of participants with at least one fall (very low-certainty evidence), and there was no evidence that organisational interventions or the use of bed or chair pressure sensor alarms for people with an increased fall risk reduce the number of falls (low-certainty evidence from one study each). None of the studies reported fall-related injuries. We found low-certainty evidence that organisational interventions may result in little to no difference in functioning (including mobility), and moderate-certainty evidence that the use of bed or chair pressure sensor alarms has little to no effect on mobility. We are uncertain about the effect of organisational interventions on the use of psychotropic medication; one study found no difference in the prescription of psychotropic medication. We are uncertain about the effect of organisational interventions on nurses' attitudes and knowledge about the use of physical restraints (very low-certainty evidence).
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
We are uncertain whether organisational interventions aimed at implementing a least-restraint policy can reduce physical restraints in general hospital settings. The use of pressure sensor alarms in beds or chairs for people with an increased fall risk has probably little to no effect on the use of physical restraints. Because of the small number of studies and the study limitations, the results should be interpreted with caution. Further research on effective strategies to implement a least-restraint policy and to overcome barriers to physical restraint reduction in general hospital settings is needed.
Topics: Aged; Emergency Service, Hospital; Hospitalization; Hospitals, General; Humans; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Restraint, Physical
PubMed: 36004796
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012476.pub2 -
Cureus Jul 2023Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological deficit in brain functions that prevents a child from having a normal social life like his peers. It results in the... (Review)
Review
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological deficit in brain functions that prevents a child from having a normal social life like his peers. It results in the inability to interact and communicate with others. Unsurprisingly, the alarming increase in screen-time exposure in children has become even more of a concern. Electronic devices are a double-edged sword. Despite their benefits, they have many potential hazards to children's neurological development. Previous studies have investigated the effects of unsupervised screen time and its impact on white matter development during the early years of life of children. The white matter has an important role in the development of neurological functions. This systematic review aims to qualitatively analyze the literature available on early screen time exposure and its association with the risk of developing ASD. This systematic review implemented the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for data in the recent six years. A total of 27,200 articles were identified using the MeSH and keywords through four selected databases. Search results revealed 70 from PubMed, 17,700 from Google Scholar, zero from Cochrane Library, and 9,430 from PubMed Central. After applying filters and screening the results by title and abstract and then by full text, 11 studies fulfilled the criteria to be included in the review. We found that the longer the period of screen exposure, the higher the risk that the child may develop ASD. Further, the earlier the child is exposed to screens, the higher the risk of developing ASD in children compared to children exposed later.
PubMed: 37614255
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.42292 -
Cardiovascular Diabetology Jun 2020Severe obesity among children and adolescents is a significant global public health concern. The prevalence has markedly increased over the last decades, becoming common...
Severe obesity among children and adolescents is a significant global public health concern. The prevalence has markedly increased over the last decades, becoming common in many countries. Overwhelming rates of obesity among youth have prompted efforts to identify an evidence-based immediate- and long-term cardiometabolic risk factor profile in childhood-onset severe obesity, and to highlight gaps that require further investigation. The PubMed database was systematically searched in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The search yielded 831 results, of which 60 fulfilled stringent criteria and were summarized in this review. The definition of severe obesity was variable, with only one half the publications using the definition BMI > 120% of the 95th percentile. Point estimates of the prevalence of at least one cardiometabolic risk factor in children with severe obesity reportedly range from 67 to 86%. Cross-sectional studies indicate that children and adolescents with severe obesity are at greater risk than those with mild obesity for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver disease and dyslipidemia, already at childhood and adolescence. Robust epidemiological data on the long-term risk and actual point estimates in adulthood are lacking for these diseases as well as for other diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease and cancer). Recent longitudinal studies indicate an increased risk for cardiomyopathy, heart failure, cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality in adulthood for adolescents with severe obesity compared to those with mild obesity. Given the alarming increase in the prevalence of severe obesity, the persistence of adiposity from childhood to adulthood and the precarious course of young adults with chronic comorbidities, the economic and clinical services burden on the healthcare system is expected to rise.
Topics: Adiposity; Adolescent; Age Factors; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular Diseases; Child; Child, Preschool; Comorbidity; Diabetes Mellitus; Female; Humans; Male; Neoplasms; Pediatric Obesity; Prevalence; Prognosis; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Time Factors; Young Adult
PubMed: 32534575
DOI: 10.1186/s12933-020-01052-1 -
Latest Research Trends in Fall Detection and Prevention Using Machine Learning: A Systematic Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2021Falls are unusual actions that cause a significant health risk among older people. The growing percentage of people of old age requires urgent development of fall... (Review)
Review
Falls are unusual actions that cause a significant health risk among older people. The growing percentage of people of old age requires urgent development of fall detection and prevention systems. The emerging technology focuses on developing such systems to improve quality of life, especially for the elderly. A fall prevention system tries to predict and reduce the risk of falls. In contrast, a fall detection system observes the fall and generates a help notification to minimize the consequences of falls. A plethora of technical and review papers exist in the literature with a primary focus on fall detection. Similarly, several studies are relatively old, with a focus on wearables only, and use statistical and threshold-based approaches with a high false alarm rate. Therefore, this paper presents the latest research trends in fall detection and prevention systems using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. It uses recent studies and analyzes datasets, age groups, ML algorithms, sensors, and location. Additionally, it provides a detailed discussion of the current trends of fall detection and prevention systems with possible future directions. This overview can help researchers understand the current systems and propose new methodologies by improving the highlighted issues.
Topics: Accidental Falls; Aged; Algorithms; Humans; Machine Learning; Quality of Life; Seasons
PubMed: 34372371
DOI: 10.3390/s21155134 -
Revista de Neurologia Nov 2021Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for the majority of disability-adjusted life years and is a leading cause of mortality. This impact justifies having...
INTRODUCTION
Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for the majority of disability-adjusted life years and is a leading cause of mortality. This impact justifies having up-to-date data on its incidence.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of the studies published since 2010 that provided information on the crude incidence rate (CIR) and adjusted incidence rate of CVD during the second decade of the 21st century.
RESULTS
Thirty-five articles were identified. Twenty-eight provided information on the overall incidence of CVD, 19 on the incidence of ischaemic stroke (IS), 19 on the incidence of haemorrhagic stroke (HS) and 10 on the incidence of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The incidence was heterogeneous across countries. Thus, the median CIR was 149.5 - confidence interval 95% (CI 95%): 122-256 - cases per 100,000 inhabitants for CVD; 155 (CI 95%: 95.6-246.12) for SI; 29 (CI 95%: 19-43) for HS; and 6.5 (CI 95%: 4.8-13.5) for SAH. The incidence for both CVD and IS and HS was higher in men than in women in most studies, with the exception of some Asian, European and North American studies. The majority of studies showed a decreasing or stabilising trend in incidence, with the exception of studies conducted in China, Singapore, France and Australia.
CONCLUSION
There are few studies that analyse the incidence of CVD and even fewer that analyse its evolution. The overall median remains high, although the figures are heterogeneous across studies. Worldwide the trend is towards its decrease, and there are geographical areas, especially in Asia, with an alarming upward trend.
Topics: Humans; Incidence; Stroke
PubMed: 34676530
DOI: 10.33588/rn.7309.2021138 -
Cureus Nov 2022Since the last century, methicillin-resistant (MRSA) bacteremia has become a major global and public health concern not only in terms of morbidity and mortality but... (Review)
Review
Since the last century, methicillin-resistant (MRSA) bacteremia has become a major global and public health concern not only in terms of morbidity and mortality but also the duration of hospital stay, healthcare cost, and antimicrobial choices. Especially alarming is the growing antimicrobial resistance due to their misuse and overuse, which has led the world to be exhausted of its effective antibiotic resources. In this review article, we sought to figure out the most efficacious antimicrobial agents to treat MRSA-related bloodstream infections. We compared the data from reviewing reports from 2017 to 2022 and summarized their comparative efficacy and cost-effectiveness. Although we focused on vancomycin and daptomycin, which are the current Infectious Disease Society Of America (IDSA)-recommended antibiotics for MRSA bacteremia treatment, a deep dive into the newer agents revealed better efficacy and treatment outcome in the combination of ceftaroline (β-lactam) with daptomycin compared to traditional standard monotherapy (vancomycin/daptomycin monotherapy). Also, the IDSA recommended high-dose daptomycin (8-10 mg/kg) therapy for MRSA bacteremia treatment to be more effective in cases with vancomycin-reduced susceptibility. Moreover, we did not find any trial or study describing the use of ceftaroline as a monotherapy to compare its efficacy in MRSA bacteremia with the current standard therapy. The upshot is that we need more large-scale clinical trials exploring in-depth effectiveness and adverse effects to decide on newer agents like β-lactams to use as routine therapy for MRSA bacteremia.
PubMed: 36523711
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.31486 -
Medicine Oct 2021Intra-hospital falls have become an important public health problem globally. The use of movement sensors with alarms has been studied as elements with predictive... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Intra-hospital falls have become an important public health problem globally. The use of movement sensors with alarms has been studied as elements with predictive capacity for falls at hospital level. However, in spite of their use in some hospitals throughout the world, evidence is lacking about their effectiveness in reducing intra-hospital falls. Therefore, this study aims to develop a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing scientific literature exploring the impact of using sensors for fall prevention in hospitalized adults and the elderly population.
METHODS
We explored literature based on clinical trials in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, assessing the impact of devices used for hospital fall prevention in adult and elderly populations. The search included databases such as IEEE Xplore, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Science Direct databases. The critical appraisal was performed independently by two researchers. Methodological quality was assessed based on the ratings of individual biases. We performed the sum of the results, generating an estimation of the grouped effect (Relative Risk, 95% CI) for the outcome first fall for each patient. We assessed heterogeneity and publication bias. The study followed PRISMA guidelines.
RESULTS
Results were assessed in three randomized controlled clinical trials, including 29,691 patients. A total of 351 (3%) patients fell among 11,769 patients assigned to the intervention group, compared with 426 (2.4%) patients who fell among 17,922 patients assigned to the control group (general estimation RR 1.20, 95% CI 1.04, 1.37, P = .02, I2 = 0%; Moderate GRADE).
CONCLUSION
Our results show an increase of 19% in falls among elderly patients who are users of sensors located in their bed, bed-chair, or chair among their hospitalizations. Other types of sensors such as wearable sensors can be explored as coadjutants for fall prevention care in hospitals.
Topics: Accidental Falls; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Case-Control Studies; Data Management; Female; Hospital Design and Construction; Hospitalization; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Primary Prevention; Protective Devices; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 34731123
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000027467 -
Annals of Medicine and Surgery (2012) Jun 2023Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common ICU acquired pneumonia among patients who are invasively intubated for mechanical ventilation. Patients with VAP...
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common ICU acquired pneumonia among patients who are invasively intubated for mechanical ventilation. Patients with VAP suffer an increased mortality risk, financial burden, and length of stay in the hospital. The authors aimed to review the literature to describe the incidence, mortality, and microbiological evidence of VAP. We selected 13 peer-reviewed articles published from 1 January 2010 to 15 September 2022 from electronic databases for studies among adult or pediatric patients diagnosed with VAP expressed per thousand days admitted in the ICU. The VAP rates ranged from 7 to 43 per thousand days, varying among different countries of the world. A significant rate of mortality was observed in 13 studies ranging from 6.3 to 66.9%. Gram-negative organisms like Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa Gram-positive organisms like Staphylococcus aureus were frequently found. Our findings suggest an alarming situation of VAP among patients admitted to the intensive care units with increasing incidence and mortality. The review also found that VAP is more common in males and that there is a significant variation in the incidence and mortality rates of VAP among different countries. The findings of this review can inform the development of infection control and prevention strategies to reduce the burden of VAP. Thus, there is a crucial need for control and preventive measures like interventional studies and educational programs on staff training, hand-hygiene, and the appropriate use of ventilator bundle approach to curb this preventable threat that is increasing at an alarming rate.
PubMed: 37363470
DOI: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000000836 -
Current Neuropharmacology 2019Adolescents' media use represents a normative need for information, communication, recreation and functionality, yet problematic Internet use has increased. Given the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Adolescents' media use represents a normative need for information, communication, recreation and functionality, yet problematic Internet use has increased. Given the arguably alarming prevalence rates worldwide and the increasingly problematic use of gaming and social media, the need for an integration of prevention efforts appears to be timely. The aim of this systematic literature review is (i) to identify school-based prevention programmes or protocols for Internet Addiction targeting adolescents within the school context and to examine the programmes' effectiveness, and (ii) to highlight strengths, limitations, and best practices to inform the design of new initiatives, by capitalizing on these studies' recommendations. The findings of the reviewed studies to date presented mixed outcomes and are in need of further empirical evidence. The current review identified the following needs to be addressed in future designs to: (i) define the clinical status of Internet Addiction (IA) more precisely, (ii) use more current psychometrically robust assessment tools for the measurement of effectiveness (based on the most recent empirical developments), (iii) reconsider the main outcome of Internet time reduction as it appears to be problematic, (iv) build methodologically sound evidence-based prevention programmes, (v) focus on skill enhancement and the use of protective and harm-reducing factors, and (vi) include IA as one of the risk behaviours in multi-risk behaviour interventions. These appear to be crucial factors in addressing future research designs and the formulation of new prevention initiatives. Validated findings could then inform promising strategies for IA and gaming prevention in public policy and education.
Topics: Adolescent; Behavior, Addictive; Humans; Internet; Program Evaluation; Protective Factors; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Risk Factors; School Health Services; Schools; Social Media
PubMed: 30101714
DOI: 10.2174/1570159X16666180813153806 -
Cephalalgia : An International Journal... Dec 2023Hypnic headache is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headache attacks that occur exclusively during sleep, leading to awakening. Synthesizing the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Hypnic headache is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headache attacks that occur exclusively during sleep, leading to awakening. Synthesizing the available epidemiological data might inform clinical decision-making.
METHODS
We searched PubMed and Embase for observational studies on hypnic headache published between 1 May 2004, and 22 December 2022. Two investigators independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis with meta-regression to estimate the prevalence of hypnic headache and its clinical features based on epidemiologic data from population-based and clinic-based studies.
RESULTS
Fourteen studies, one population-based and 13 clinic-based, met our eligibility criteria. The population-based study did not identify any people with hypnic headache. From 11 clinic-based studies, the pooled relative frequency of hypnic headache was 0.21% (95%CI, 0.13 to 0.35%; = 87%) in adult patients evaluated for headache. The pooled mean age of onset was 60.5 years, with a slight female predisposition. Hypnic headache was typically bilateral (71%), pressing (73%), of moderate (38%) or severe (44%) pain intensity, and lasted about 115 minutes per attack.
CONCLUSIONS
Our data should be cautiously interpreted due to between-study heterogeneity. The identified clinical presentation of hypnic headache can guide clinical diagnosis, in addition to the International Classification of Headache Disorders.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Female; Middle Aged; Headache Disorders, Primary; Sleep; Headache
PubMed: 38051816
DOI: 10.1177/03331024231218389