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Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open 2021Pruritus is a common and often distressing complication after a burn injury. The purpose of this review is to explore the efficacy of drugs classically used to treat...
OBJECTIVES
Pruritus is a common and often distressing complication after a burn injury. The purpose of this review is to explore the efficacy of drugs classically used to treat neuropathic pain in the management of pruritus after burn injury.
METHODS
A systematic literature search of medical databases was conducted to find studies investigating drugs listed in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline (CG173, "neuropathic pain in adults") for the management of pruritus after burn injury in patients of any age. Controlled studies were stratified by the drug class studied and their risk of bias before conducting meta-analysis. A narrative review of case series or observational studies was presented. Severity of pruritus at any time point, with all quantitative and qualitative measures, was included.
RESULTS
Fifteen studies were included in the final analysis, 10 investigated the use of gabapentinoids, 4 studied doxepin, and 1 local anesthetic agents. Meta-analysis of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrated that the use of gabapentinoids was associated with an improvement in mean VAS (Visual Analog Scale) 0-10 scores of 2.96 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.20 to 4.73, p<0.001) when compared with placebo or antihistamine. A meta-analysis of four RCTs investigating topical doxepin showed an improvement in mean VAS scores of 1.82 (95% CI 0.55 to 3.09, p<0.001). However, when excluding two studies found to be at high risk of bias, no such improvement was found (-0.32, 95% CI -1.64 to -0.99, p=0.83).
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that gabapentinoids are beneficial in the management of burn-related pruritus. There is a lack of evidence to suggest that doxepin is an effective treatment. Topical local anesthetic agents may be safe and beneficial, but studies are scarce.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Systematic review, level II.
PubMed: 34722931
DOI: 10.1136/tsaco-2021-000810 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Apr 2020The efficacy ranking of antidepressants for post-stroke depression (PSD) has not been assessed thoroughly yet due to the lack of network meta-analyses with sufficiently... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
The efficacy ranking of antidepressants for post-stroke depression (PSD) has not been assessed thoroughly yet due to the lack of network meta-analyses with sufficiently large sample size.
METHODS
Seven databases including PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, CBM, CNKI, WanFang and VIP were systematically searched for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding nine antidepressants (citalopram, escitalopram, venlafaxine, paroxetine, duloxetine, amitriptyline, doxepin, sertraline and mirtazapine) treating PSD patients. Stata 15 software and R software were utilized for statistical analyses.
RESULTS
51 RCTs were included in this NMA. For the key efficacy outcomes, escitalopram, mirtazapine, sertraline, citalopram, venlafaxine and paroxetine were associated with larger reduction of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) total score compared with placebo at 2 weeks. Among the nine antidepressants, escitalopram ranked the best while amitriptyline was the least helpful. At 4 weeks, citalopram ranked higher than placebo and the other eight antidepressants. In contrast, amitriptyline and doxepin were associated with minimal reduction of HAMD score. At 8 weeks, changes in HAMD score were significantly greater in nine antidepressants groups compared to placebo group. Besides, mirtazapine ranked higher than citalopram and escitalopram. At endpoint, mirtazapine was related to the highest response rate, followed by venlafaxine and escitalopram, respectively.
LIMITATIONS
No restriction was imposed on doses of every antidepressant.
CONCLUSIONS
Escitalopram was associated with a quicker relief of depression, but mirtazapine was probably the best option when it comes to the efficacy of 8-week treatment duration. Amitriptyline and doxepin were nearly the worst choice regardless of the duration (2, 4 or 8 weeks).
Topics: Antidepressive Agents; China; Citalopram; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major; Humans; Network Meta-Analysis; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Stroke; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 32056924
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.02.005 -
Supportive Care in Cancer : Official... May 2020To update the clinical practice guidelines for the use of antimicrobials, mucosal coating agents, anesthetics, and analgesics for the prevention and/or treatment of oral...
Systematic review of antimicrobials, mucosal coating agents, anesthetics, and analgesics for the management of oral mucositis in cancer patients and clinical practice guidelines.
PURPOSE
To update the clinical practice guidelines for the use of antimicrobials, mucosal coating agents, anesthetics, and analgesics for the prevention and/or treatment of oral mucositis (OM).
METHODS
A systematic review was conducted by the Mucositis Study Group of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO). The body of evidence for each intervention, in each cancer treatment setting, was assigned an evidence level. The findings were added to the database used to develop the 2014 MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines. Based on the evidence level, the following guidelines were determined: Recommendation, Suggestion, and No Guideline Possible.
RESULTS
A total of 9 new papers were identified within the scope of this section, adding to the 62 papers reviewed in this section previously. A new Suggestion was made for topical 0.2% morphine for the treatment of OM-associated pain in head and neck (H&N) cancer patients treated with RT-CT (modification of previous guideline). A previous Recommendation against the use of sucralfate-combined systemic and topical formulation in the prevention of OM in solid cancer treatment with CT was changed from Recommendation Against to No Guideline Possible. Suggestion for doxepin and fentanyl for the treatment of mucositis-associated pain in H&N cancer patients was changed to No Guideline Possible.
CONCLUSIONS
Of the agents studied for the management of OM in this paper, the evidence supports a Suggestion in favor of topical morphine 0.2% in H&N cancer patients treated with RT-CT for the treatment of OM-associated pain.
Topics: Adult; Analgesics; Anesthetics; Anti-Infective Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Guidelines as Topic; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Mucositis; Stomatitis
PubMed: 32052137
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-019-05181-6 -
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine... Feb 2021To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of combined acupuncture and Western Medicine in the treatment of post-stroke depression using a meta-analysis. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of combined acupuncture and Western Medicine in the treatment of post-stroke depression using a meta-analysis.
METHODS
The China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from their establishment to August 2018 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of combined acupuncture and Western Medicine to treat post-stroke depression. Two researchers independently extracted and cross-checked data, and then applied the modified Jadad scale and the Cochrane-recommended assessment method to evaluate the risk of bias. Review Manager 5.3 was used to conduct the meta-analysis.
RESULTS
A total of 1860 patients in 24 RCTs were analyzed. The results of the Meta-analysis showed that: (a) The effective rate of acupuncture + fluoxetine hydrochloride vs fluoxetine hydrochloride was significant [relative risk (RR) = 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.08, 1.26)], as was that of acupuncture + flupentixol/melitracen vs flupentixol/melitracen [RR = 1.23, 95% CI (1.10, 1.37)]. (b) When analyzing Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD)-17 scores, six trials showed that acupuncture combined with Western Medicine was superior to Western Medicine alone, and could relieve the depressive symptoms of patients. For HAMD-24 scores, five trials were included for acupuncture + fluoxetine hydrochloride vs fluoxetine hydrochloride, with significance at 2 weeks [WMD = -6.51, 95% CI(- 8.62, - 4.40)], as well as at 4 weeks [WMD = -8.40, 95% CI (-11.86, -4.94)] and 8 weeks. (c)For the activities of daily living scale, acupuncture + fluoxetine hydrochloride vs fluoxetine hydrochloride [WMD = 22.65, 95% CI (18.34, 26.95)], acupuncture + flupentixol/melitracen vs flupentixol/melitracen [WMD = 8.08, 95% CI (2.57, 13.59)], acupuncture + sertraline hydrochloride vs sertraline hydrochloride [WMD = 6.94, 95% CI (3.59, 10.29)], and acupuncture + doxepin hydrochloride vs doxepin hydrochloride [WMD = 18.80, 95% CI (15.84, 21.76)] had significance. (d) For Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale scores, there was significance in all four included studies.
CONCLUSION
The therapeutic effects of acupuncture combined with Western Medicine on post-stroke depression are often better than those of Western Medicine alone, and fewer adverse reactions occur. However, more high-quality RCTs are needed to further confirm these findings.
Topics: Activities of Daily Living; Acupuncture Therapy; Antidepressive Agents; Combined Modality Therapy; Depression; Fluoxetine; Humans; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Stroke; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 33522192
DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2021.01.002