Morphine and Methadone for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: To compare the effects of morphine and methadone on length of hospital stay (LOS) or treatment (LOT) and adverse effects in infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). DESIGN: Systematic review. SAMPLE: PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane library, CINAHL, IPA, American Academy of Pediatrics, and clinicaltrials.gov were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies. comparing morphine and methadone for NAS. OUTCOMES: LOS, LOT, adverse effects. RESULTS: One RCT, two cohort studies, and two chart reviews met inclusion criteria. Each had a low risk of bias. LOS ranged from 12.08 to 36 days with morphine and 21 to 44.23 days with methadone. LOT ranged from 7.46 to 22.9 days (morphine) and 13.9 to 38.08 days (methadone). Adverse effects were not reported. Clinical evidence comparing morphine to methadone for NAS treatment is limited and conflicting. A recommendation for one over the other cannot be made based on these outcomes.

Probiotics for the Treatment of Infantile Colic: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether clinical data support the safety and efficacy of probiotics for the management of infantile colic. BACKGROUND: Probiotics have been suggested as a potential strategy for infantile colic, and the specific species that have been studied in healthy infants are considered to be safe. METHODOLOGY: A systematic review was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the use of probiotic supplementation in infants with colic. RCTs with a primary end point assessing crying or fussing time were selected. A meta-analysis comparing "responders" to "nonresponders" in infants receiving probiotic versus control was conducted. The quality of trials selected was assessed. RESULTS: Five RCTs assessing 2 different strains of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri in mostly breastfed infants were identified. Analysis of response rates showed that infants receiving probiotics had a 2.3-fold greater chance of having a 50% or greater decrease in crying/fussing time compared to controls ( P = .01). Probiotic supplementation was not associated with any adverse events. CONCLUSION: Supplementation with the probiotic L. reuteri in breastfed infants appears to be safe and effective for the management of infantile colic. Further research is needed to determine the role of probiotics in infants who are formula-fed.

Dietary supplement interactions with antiretrovirals: a systematic review.

Many patients who take antiretroviral drugs also take alternative therapies including dietary supplements. Some drug-supplement combinations may result in clinically meaningful interactions. We aimed to investigate the evidence for dietary supplement interactions with antiretrovirals. A systematic review was conducted using multiple resources including PubMed, Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database, The Review of Natural Products, and Google Scholar. All human studies or case reports evaluating an interaction between a dietary supplement and an antiretroviral were selected for inclusion. Twenty-eight pharmacokinetic studies and case-series/case reports were selected for inclusion. Calcium carbonate, ferrous fumarate, some forms of ginkgo, some forms of garlic, some forms of milk thistle, St. John's wort, vitamin C, zinc sulfate, and multivitamins were all found to significantly decrease the levels of selected antiretrovirals and should be avoided in patients taking these antiretrovirals. Cat's claw and evening primrose oil were found to significantly increase the levels of antiretrovirals and patients should be monitored for adverse effects while taking these dietary supplements with antiretrovirals. This systematic review shows the importance of screening all human immunodeficiency virus patients for dietary supplement use to prevent treatment failure or adverse effects related to an interaction.

Readability of consumer health information on the internet: a comparison of U.S. government-funded and commercially funded websites.

The Internet has become an extremely prevalent means of communicating health information to consumers. Guidelines for selecting reliable health information websites give preference to U.S. government sites over commercially funded sites. However, these websites are not useful to consumers unless they are able to read and understand them. The authors' objective was to compare the readability of Internet health information intended for consumers found on U.S. government-funded websites versus that found on commercially funded websites. Consumer health websites were identified through a systematic Internet search. Webpages for 10 common health topics were extracted from each website. Readability of webpages was determined by 3 validated measures: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level, and SMOG Formula. Mean readability of government-funded and commercially funded websites was compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Commercially funded websites were significantly more difficult to read as measured by Flesch Reading Ease (49.7 vs. 55.6 for government-funded sites, p = .002) and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level (10.1 vs. 9.3, p = .012). There was no significant difference according to SMOG Formula (12.8 vs. 13.2, p = .150). The overall readability of Internet health information intended for consumers was poor. Efforts should be made to ensure that health information communicated via the Internet is easy for consumers to read and understand.