Effectiveness and Safety of Chinese Medicine at Shenque (CV 8) for Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials / 中国结合医学杂志

BACKGROUND@#Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is the most common complaint associated with menstruation and affects up to three-quarters of women at some stage of their reproductive life. In Chinese medicine, navel therapy, treatment provided at Shenque (CV 8), is used as a treatment option for PD.@*OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effect of navel therapy on pain relief and quality of life in women with PD, compared with Western medicine (WM).@*METHODS@#China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), SinoMed and Wanfang Database, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and the International Clinical Trial Registry of the U.S. National Institutes of Health were searched from their inceptions to April 1, 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing therapeutic effects of navel therapy on PD were eligible for inclusion. RevMan 5.4 software was used for data analyses. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the online GRADEpro tool.@*RESULTS@#Totally 24 RCTs involving 2,614 participants were identified. Interventions applied to acupuncture point CV 8 included: herbal patching, moxibustion or combined navel therapy (using at least 2 types of stimulation). Compared to placebo, there was a significant effect in favor of navel therapy on reducing overall menstrual symptom scores at the end of treatment [mean difference: -0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.00 to -0.64, n=90; 1 RCT]. As compared with Western medicine, navel therapy had a superior effect on pain intensity as assessed by Visual Analogue Scale at the end of treatment [standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.64, 95% CI: -1.22 to -0.06, I2=80%, n=262; 3 RCTs]; on symptom resolution rate at 3-month follow-up (risk ratio: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.47 to 2.56, n=1527, I2=38%; 13 RCTs); and on global menstrual symptoms score at the end of treatment (SMD: -0.67, 95% CI: -0.90 to -0.45, I2=63%, n=990; 12 RCTs). Subgroup analyses showed either a better or an equivalent effect comparing navel therapy with Western medicine. No major adverse events were reported. The methodological quality of included trials was poor overall.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Navel therapy appears to be more effective than Western medicine in decreasing menstrual pain and improving overall symptoms of PD. However, these findings need to be confirmed by well-designed clinical trials with adequate sample size (Systematic review registration at PROSPERO, No. CRD42021240350).

Prevention and treatment of complications in the treatment of femoral shaft closed fracture with core drilling intramedullary nail / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To summarize the complications of core drilling intramedullary nail in the treatment of femoral shaft closed fracture and explore the treatment strategy.@*METHODS@#From August 2014 to June 2018, a total of 215 patients with closed femoral shaft fractures were treated with closed reduction core drill intramedullary nail, including 129 males and 86 females, aged from 18 to 62 years, with an average of (44.2±10.6) years old. The time from injury to operation was 3 to 21 days. There were 102 cases of AO type A fracture, 82 cases of AO type B fracture and 31 cases of AO type C fracture. The time of operation, the amount of blood loss during operation, the duration of hospitalization, the time of fracture healing and the HSS score of knee joint function at the last follow-up were recorded. The observation of complications included:iatrogenic fracture, core drill broken, core drill twist, postoperative infection, and fracture nonunion.@*RESULTS@#The average operation time was (63.2± 15.6) min and intraoperative blood loss was (150.0±34.5) ml. All the incisions reached grade A healing. Patients were follow up for a mean of (18.5±3.2) months, the average hospital stay was (4.3±1.2) days, and the average fracture healing time was (5.6±2.3) months. At the final follow-up, the average HSS score of knee joint was 90.3±4.7. Related complications occurred in 37 cases (17.2%). The core drill related complications occurred in 13 cases (6.0%), including core drill broken in 5 cases (2.3%), core removal in 1 case and slotting in 4 cases;core drill twist in 8 cases (3.7%). After the core was cut, the core was removed. Similar complicationsof conventional intramedullary nail:iatrogenic fracture was performed in 12 cases (5.6%), including 10 cases of fracture end split and 2 cases of distal perimedullary fracture of intramedullary nail. The patients with cleavage at the fracture end were not treated after judging their stability, and the patients with fracture around the distal end of the intramedullary nail were fixed with auxiliary steel plate during operation;1 case(0.4%) with delayed infection after operation, debridement and external fixation was replaced and healed after bone transfer; fracture nonunion occurred in 11 cases (5.1%), of which 7 cases (3.3%) were hypertrophic nonunion and healed with additional plate. Atrophic nonunion occurred in 4 cases (1.9%), which healed after additional steel plate and bone graft.@*CONCLUSION@#Core drilling intramedullary nail is an effective method for the treatment of closed femoral shaft fracture, and the complications include core drill related complications and conventional intramedullary nail similar complications. Accurate preoperative evaluation, careful operation during operation and early postoperative symptomatic treatment can effectively reduce the occurrence of related complications.

Effectiveness of digital interventions to improve household and community infection prevention and control behaviours and to reduce incidence of respiratory and/or gastro-intestinal infections: A rapid systematic review

BackgroundDigital interventions have potential to efficiently support improved hygiene practices to reduce transmission of COVID-19. ObjectiveTo evaluate the evidence for digital interventions to improve hygiene practices within the community. MethodsWe reviewed articles published between 01 January 2000 and 26 May 2019 that presented a controlled trial of a digital intervention to improve hygiene behaviours in the community. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials (CENTRAL), China National Knowledge Infrastructure and grey literature. Trials in hospitals were excluded, as were trials aiming at prevention of sexually transmitted infections; only target diseases with transmission mechanisms similar to COVID-19 (e.g. respiratory and gastrointestinal infections) were included. Trials had to evaluate a uniquely digital component of an intervention. Study designs were limited to randomised controlled trials, controlled before-and-after trials, and interrupted time series analyses. Outcomes could be either incidence of infections or change in hygiene behaviours. The Risk of Bias 2 tool was used to assess study quality. ResultsWe found seven studies that met the inclusion criteria. Six studies reported successfully improving self-reported hygiene behaviour or health outcomes, but only one of these six trials confirmed improvements using objective measures (reduced consultations and antibiotic prescriptions), Germ Defence. Settings included kindergartens, workplaces, and service station restrooms. Modes of delivery were diverse: WeChat, website, text messages, audio messages to mobiles, electronic billboards, and electronic personal care records. Four interventions targeted parents of young children with educational materials. Two targeted the general population; these also used behaviour change techniques or theory to inform the intervention. Only one trial had low risk of bias, Germ Defence; the most common concerns were lack of information about the randomisation, possible bias in reporting of behavioural outcomes, and lack of an analysis plan and possible selective reporting of results. ConclusionThere was only one intervention that was judged to be at low risk of bias, Germ Defence, which reduced incidence and severity of illness, as confirmed by objective measures. Further evaluation is required to determine the effectiveness of the other interventions reviewed.

Current infection control behaviour patterns in the UK, and how they can be improved by 'Germ Defence', an online behavioural intervention to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the home.

BackgroundGerm Defence (https://germdefence.org/) is a freely available website providing behavioural advice for infection control within households, using behaviour change techniques. This observational study reports current infection control behaviours in the home in UK and international users of the website, and examine how they might be improved to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Method28,285 users sought advice from four website pathways (to protect themselves generally, to protect others if the user was showing symptoms, to protect themselves if household members were showing symptoms, and to protect a household member who is at high risk) and completed outcome measures of current infection control behaviours within the home (self-isolation, social distancing, putting shopping/packages aside, wearing face-covering, cleaning and disinfecting, handwashing), and intentions to change these behaviours. ResultsCurrent user behaviours mean scores varied across all infection control measures but were between sometimes and quite often, except handwashing ( very often). Behaviours were similar regardless of the website pathway used. After using Germ Defence, users recorded intentions to improve infection control behaviour across all website pathways and for all behaviours. ConclusionsSelf-reported infection control behaviours other than handwashing are lower than is optimal for infection prevention, although reported handwashing is much higher. The advice using behaviour change techniques in Germ Defence led to intentions to improve these behaviours. This has been shown previously to reduce the incidence, severity and transmission of infections. These findings suggest that promoting Germ Defence within national and local public health guidance could reduce COVID-19 transmission. O_TEXTBOXSection 1: What is already known on this topicO_LIUntil a vaccine can prevent COVID-19, protective behaviours (such as social distancing, handwashing, cleaning/disinfecting) must be used to limit the spread. C_LIO_LIA digital behaviour change intervention to improve protective behaviours (handwashing) within the home succeeded in reducing infection transmission, healthcare utilisation and infection severity during the H1N1 pandemic (the PRIMIT trial). C_LIO_LIWe need to understand current levels of protective behaviour in the UK, and how to improve them, to prevent a second wave. C_LI Section 2: What this study addsO_LIOur study suggests that few people are undertaking sufficient protective infection control behaviours in the home to reduce transmission C_LIO_LIProviding targeted digital interventions such as Germ Defence (for example through public health and primary care networks) offers a feasible method of increasing intentions to undertake these behaviours. C_LI C_TEXTBOX

A pragmatic observational feasibility study on integrated treatment for musculoskeletal disorders: Design and protocol / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) comprise a wide range of conditions, associated with an enormous pain and impaired mobility, and are affecting people's lives and work. Management of musculoskeletal disorders typically involves a multidisciplinary team approach. Positive findings have been found in previous studies evaluating the effectiveness of complementary therapies, though little attention has been paid to evaluating of the effectiveness of integrated packages of care combining conventional and complementary approaches for musculoskeletal conditions in a National Health Service (NHS) setting.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the feasibility of all aspects of a pragmatic observational study designed: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of integrated treatments for MSDs in an integrated NHS hospital in the UK; (2) to determine the acceptability of the study design and research process to patients; (3) to explore patients' expectation and experience of receiving integrated treatments.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This is an observational feasibility study, with 1-year recruitment and 1-year follow-up, conducted in Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine, University College London Hospital Trust, UK. All eligible patients with MSDs newly referred to the hospital were included in the study. Interventions are integrated packages of care (conventional and complementary) as currently provided in the hospital. SF-36™ Health Survey, short form Brief Pain Inventory, Visual Analogue Scale, and modified Client Service Receipt Inventory will be assessed at 4/5 time points. Semi-structured interview/focus group will be carried out before treatment, and 1 year after commence of treatment.</p><p><b>DISCUSSION</b>We intend to conduct a pragmatic observational study of integrated medical treatment of MSDs at a public sector hospital. It will inform the design of a future trial including recruitment, retention, suitability of the outcome measures and patients experiences.</p>