Vaccinations in prison settings: A systematic review to assess the situation in EU/EEA countries and in other high income countries

IntroductionIn 2016, more than 600,000 persons were being held in EU/EEA correctional facilities on a given day. People in prison may be at risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. While vaccination recommendations for people in prison exist, little is known on coverage and implementation options.MethodsWe performed a systematic review on existing evidence on vaccination in prison settings in the EU/EEA. We searched peer-reviewed and grey literature following international methodology and reporting standards, to gather records published between 1980 and 2016 in all languages. We analysed quantitative (acceptance, uptake, cost-effectiveness) and qualitative (barriers) outcomes.ResultsOut of 7041 identified records, 19 full-text articles were included from peer-reviewed literature and two from grey literature. Of these, 18 reported on hepatitis A and/or B virus (HAV/HBV), two on influenza and one on MMR vaccination. Two studies on HAV vaccine reported varying acceptance (5–91%) and uptake rates (62.9–70.5%). Seven studies reported on HBV vaccination. A comparative study showed a significantly higher uptake of the third HBV vaccine dose with the very rapid (63%) compared to the standard schedule (20%). HBV vaccination was generally well accepted (54–100%), whereas uptake was variable (dose 1:23–100%, dose 2:48–92%, dose 3:19–80%). One study on the combined HAV/HBV vaccine reported an acceptance rate of 34%, and declining uptake following dose 1. One study on influenza vaccine showed an uptake of 42–46%, while another reported a MMR vaccine acceptance of 80% and an uptake of 74%. Overall, main reasons for non-vaccination included release from/or transfer between prisons, and refusal.ConclusionsThis systematic review highlighted important knowledge gaps and operational challenges for vaccination in prison settings. Vaccination is an effective measure that warrants comprehensive and tailored implementation to reduce the preventable disease burden, avoid risks of large outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, and contribute to health equity for people in prison.     

Effectiveness of virtual reality in the treatment of hand function in children with cerebral palsy: A systematic review

Study DesignSystematic review.IntroductionChildren with cerebral palsy (CP) may have limited use of their hands for functional activities and for fine motor skills. Virtual reality (VR) is a relatively new and innovative approach to facilitate hand function in children with CP.Purpose of the StudyThe primary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of VR as an intervention to improve hand function in children with CP compared to either conventional physiotherapy or other therapeutic interventions. The secondary purpose was to classify the outcomes evaluated according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) dimensions.MethodsA International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO)-registered literature search was carried out in August 2015 in MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, HealthSTAR, AMED, BNI, Embase, PsycINFO, PEDro, Cochrane Central Register, DARE, OTSeeker, REHABDATA, HaPI, CIRRIE, and Scopus. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included, and their methodological qualities were examined using the Cochrane collaboration's risk of bias (RoB) tool. A narrative synthesis was performed.ResultsThe 6 RCTs published on this topic provide conflicting results. Four studies reported improved hand function (2 low RoB, 1 high RoB, and 1 unclear RoB), whereas 2 studies reported no improvement. All of the RCTs reported the activity element of ICF, but no study explicitly described the effect of VR intervention based on the ICF model.ConclusionThe role of VR ti imrpove hand fucntion in children with CP is unclear due to limited evidence; use as an adjunct has some support.     

Identifying current uses of return to work screening tests and their effectiveness of reducing the risk of reinjury in athletic occupations – A systematic review

ObjectiveTo identify the current return-to-work (RTW) screening tests conducted for athletic occupations following injury and their effectiveness of reducing reinjury risk.MethodsA search was made of multiple databases (BioMed Central, CINAHL through ebscohost, EMBASE, Google Scholar, PUBMED, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science) from their inception to March 2022, using relevant terms to identify articles meeting predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. The search, data extraction, risk of bias, and evaluation of the certainty of the findings were completed independently by two authors. To understand the effectiveness of screening tests and their impact in reducing in reinjury rates, results were split into the following three time points: “Short-term” (≤1 year), “Medium-term” (≥2 years) and “Long-term” (≥3 years).ResultsFive studies (n = 507) met the inclusion criteria. There was a very low level of certainty for the effectiveness of screening tools reducing reinjury risk at short-term, medium-term and long-term follow ups. Only one study recorded a large effect in the reducing reinjury risk.ConclusionThe results demonstrated very low level of certainty for the effectiveness of screening tests reducing the risk of reinjury. A gap in our understanding currently exists for the effectiveness of RTW screening tests in tactical athletic occupations following injury and further research investigating is required.     

An economic analysis of the cost of survival of micro preemies: A systematic review

ObjectiveThis study aimed to systematically review the current literature on the economic costs of micro preemie as well as evidence on the cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve outcomes for micro preemie babies with a birth weight of ≤500 g.MethodWe searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, ECONLIT, Business Source Premier and Cochrane Library for studies reporting costs of micro preemie from January 2000. Costs were inflated to 2019 United States dollars (US$). All full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and a quality assessment of included articles was conducted using the Drummond and the Larg and Moss checklists.ResultsThe search identified three studies that met the inclusion criteria; two cost-of-illness studies and one cost-effectiveness study. Across studies, the mean healthcare spending per micro preemie survivor (in 2019 US$) ranged from US$61,310 (birth admission) to US$263,958 (inpatient and outpatient for the first six months of life). One modelling study reported exclusive human milk diet for micro preemies at birth was more cost-effective compared to the standard approach with cow milk diet from the third-party payer and societal perspectives.ConclusionDespite significant advances in perinatal care and expanded access to life-saving equipment to improve survival outcomes of micro preemie, there remains a paucity of research on economic costs associated with these babies. No study has utilised quality-adjusted life-years as an outcome measure. Given the chronic conditions and long-term neurologic disability associated with micro preemie survivors, an estimate of the lifetime cost to the individual, healthcare providers and society would provide a benchmark of the potential cost-savings that could accrue from cost-effective interventions to improve the survival rate of micro preemies.     

Diabetic nephropathy in Africa:A systematic review

AIM:To determine the prevalence and incidence of diabetic nephropathy in Africa.METHODS:We performed a systematic narrative review of published literature following the MOOSE Guidelines for Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviewsof Observational Studies.We searched Pub MedMEDLINE for all articles published in English and French languages between January 1994 and July 2014 using a predefined strategy based on the combination of relevant terms and the names of each of the 54 African countries and African sub-regions to capture the largest number of studies,and hand-searched the reference lists of retrieved articles.Included studies reported on the prevalence,incidence or determinants of chronic kidney disease(CKD) in people with diabetes within African countries.RESULTS:Overall,we included 32 studies from 16 countries;two being population-based studies and the remaining being clinic-based surveys.Most of the studies(90.6%) were conducted in urban settings.Methods for assessing and classifying CKD varied widely.Measurement of urine protein was the most common method of assessing kidney damage(62.5% of studies).The overall prevalence of CKD varied from 11% to 83.7%.Incident event rates were 94.9% for proteinuria at 10 years of follow-up,34.7% for endstage renal disease at 5 years of follow-up and 18.4% for mortality from nephropathy at 20 years of followup.Duration of diabetes,blood pressure,advancing age,obesity and glucose control were the common determinants of kidney disease.CONCLUSION:The burden of CKD is important among people with diabetes in Africa.High quality data from large population-based studies with validated measures of kidney function are still needed to better capture the magnitude and characteristics of diabetic nephropathy in Africa.     

Innovating medication reviews through a technology-enabled process

Medication reviews are effective in improving the quality of medication use among older people. However, they are conducted to various standards resulting in a wide range of outcomes which limit generalisability of findings arising from research studies. There also appear to be funding and time constraints, lack of data storage for quality improvement purposes, and non-standardised reporting of outcomes, especially clinically relevant outcomes. Furthermore, the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has restricted many face-to-face activities, including medication reviews. This article introduces a technology-enabled approach to medication reviews that may overcome some limitations with current medication review processes, and also make it possible to conduct medication reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing an alternate platform. The possible advantages of this technology-enabled approach, legislative considerations and possible implementation in practice are discussed.     

Surgical-Periodontal aspects in orthodontic traction of palatally displaced canines: a meta-analysis

The aim was to determine whether there is a difference in the periodontal aspect (gingival recession, probing pocket depth) of the palatally displaced canine (PDC) compared to the contralateral canine. Also, from a surgical perspective, sought to determine whether there is a difference (surgical duration, postoperative pain) between the surgical techniques. The word combinations were adapted for each electronic database: PubMed, LILACS, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and gray literature. Studies that met the following criteria were considered eligible: (P) Patients who received orthodontic-surgical treatment for correction of PDC; (I) Performing orthodontic-surgical treatment for traction of the PDC; (C) Comparison of the tractioned canine with its contralateral or between the two techniques; (O) Gingival recession, probing pocket depth, postoperative complications and surgical duration; (S) Randomized and nonrandomized clinical studies or observational studies. The overall prevalence of gingival recession was estimated to be 10.53% [95% CI, 3.87% - 25.59%; I² = 88%]. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) was found between the means of the variables gingival recession, probing pocket depth and surgical duration. The evidence suggests that traction of palatally displaced canines can be considered a reliable and acceptable procedure.     

系统中药学指导下的益母草多维评价研究

系统中药学是基于现代中药学学科的开创者凌一揆教授"大中药"的思想,是研究中药复杂系统品种、品质、制药、药性、功效、应用等关键要素发生、发展、变化的科学。本文论述了系统中药学的科学内涵,报告了在系统中药学指导下益母草"品质制性效应"的研究实践。     

The effects of antihistamine on the duration of the febrile seizure: A single center study with a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundSeveral studies have investigated the potential effects of antihistamines on febrile seizure. However, these findings are inconsistent across the studies.MethodA retrospective observational study was conducted on a total of 434 consecutive patients aged between 6 months and 5 years with the diagnosis of febrile seizure. Patients with chronic medical conditions were excluded. Multivariable generalized linear models were conducted to ascertain the effects of antihistamine use on duration of febrile seizure. Also, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses of the medical literatures to calculate the pooled estimates using random effects models.ResultsThe adjusted mean duration of febrile seizure in the antihistamine group was 4.9 min shorter than that in the non-user group (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.4–9.5). The risk of duration in febrile seizure >5 min among antihistamine users was also 0.83 times that among the non-users (95%CI, 0.58–1.19), whereas the risk of duration in febrile seizure >10 min among first-generation antihistamine users was 1.21 times that among non-users (95%CI, 0.69–2.13). According to the systematic review of the literature, 8 observational studies were included in the meta-analyses. Comparing to non-users, the antihistamine users had prolonged duration of febrile seizure by 1.07 min (95%CI, −1.13 to 3.27), elevated risk of duration in febrile seizure >5 min (Risk ratio, 1.16; 95%CI, 0.90–1.49), and similar duration from fever to febrile seizure onset (pooled mean difference, −0.01 h; −1.43 to 1.41), but these estimates were imprecise. Similar results were obtained when we stratified the data by types of antihistamine (first vs. second generation).ConclusionsOur study may indicate the effects of antihistamine on prolonging febrile seizure duration, but they are still controversial given the limited evidence, highly heterogeneous results, and concerns of the internal and external validities.