Importance Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains almost invariably fatal despite optimal surgical and medical therapy. The association between the extent of tumor resection (EOR) and outcome remains undefined, notwithstanding many relevant studies. Objective To determine whether greater EOR is associated with improved 1- and 2-year overall survival and 6-month and 1-year progression-free surv...

Background: Arthroscopic surgical repair is a better intervention than non-operative (conservative) treatment for patients with shoulder dislocations. This systematic review determined the numbers-needed-to-treat (NNT) and relative risk reduction (RRR) associated with arthroscopic surgical repair versus non-operative treatment in reducing recurrence rates among patients with first-time traumati...

BACKGROUND The usefulness of intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with opioids for postoperative analgesia is not well defined. METHODS We systematically searched (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, bibliographies, any language, to January 2000) for randomised trials comparing opioid-based PCA with the same opioid given intramuscularly, intravenously, or subcutaneously. Weighted mea...

Neonatal tetanus is a serious but preventable disease of the newborn. The WHO has been coordinating efforts aimed at the elimination of the disease globally by reducing the incidence of NNT to less than one case per 1000 live births in every district of the world. Despite the efforts, the disease is still highly prevalent in Nigeria as the country is among the nations that contribute about 90% ...

Evidence • In 3 systematic reviews (9 to 46 RCTs, 820 to 5401 patients) of non-benzodiazepine muscle relaxants versus placebo, differences were statistically significant1-3: -Pain scores were about 12 points lower on a 100point visual analogue scale at 10 days.1 -There was undefined pain reduction (number needed to treat [NNT] of 4 to 7) at 2 to 7 days; an undefined target for global efficacy (...

OBJECTIVE To quantify efficacy and harm of pharmacological prevention of acute mountain sickness. DATA SOURCES Systematic search (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, internet, bibliographies, authors) in any language, up to October 1999. STUDY SELECTION Randomised placebo controlled trials. DATA EXTRACTION Dichotomous data on efficacy and harm from 33 trials (523 subjects received 13 diffe...

OBJECTIVE Previous publications demonstrated that the presentation of treatment benefits in terms of relative risk reduction (RRR) rather than in terms of absolute risk reduction (ARR) or number of patients to treat (NNT) might favor the perception of outcome effectiveness. The objective was to perform a cognitive evaluation to assess how the manner in which risks and benefits of screening meth...