OBJECTIVES To examine the efficacy of respiratory physiotherapy for prevention of pulmonary complications after abdominal surgery. METHODS We searched in databases and bibliographies for articles in all languages through November 2005. Randomized trials were included if they investigated prophylactic respiratory physiotherapy and pulmonary outcomes, and if the follow-up was at least 2 days. E...

BACKGROUND Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can be clinically effective and cost-effective for HIV prevention in high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM). However, individual patients have different risk profiles, real-world populations vary, and no practical tools exist to guide clinical decisions or public health strategies. We introduce a practical model of HIV acquisition, including bo...

Deriving Number-Needed-to-Treat and Number-Needed-to-Harm From the Saint I Trial Results To the Editor: In their recent publication regarding interpretation of the Stroke-Acute Ischemic NXY Treatment (SAINT I) trial,1 Koziol and Feng use the definition, but not the derivation method, for number-needed-to-treat (NNT) and number-needed-to-harm (NNH) that was previously described.2 As a result the...

Evidence Single-agent comparisons: • Ibuprofen versus acetaminophen versus codeine: RCT1 of 336 children with MSK injuries (54% fractures). -At 60 minutes on a 100-mm pain scale, ibuprofen led to —greater mean reduction (-24 mm) versus acetaminophen (-12 mm) or codeine (-11 mm). —more patients achieving adequate analgesia (< 30 mm) versus acetaminophen (number needed to treat [NNT] = 7) or code...

UNLABELLED The best intervention to prevent pain on injection with propofol is unknown. We conducted a systematic literature search (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, bibliographies, hand searching, any language, up to September 1999) for full reports of randomized comparisons of analgesic interventions with placebo to prevent that pain. We analyzed data from 6264 patients (mostly adults) of 5...

BACKGROUND Calculation of numbers needed to treat (NNT) is more complex from meta-analysis than from single trials. Treating the data as if it all came from one trial may lead to misleading results when the trial arms are imbalanced. DISCUSSION An example is shown from a published Cochrane review in which the benefit of nursing intervention for smoking cessation is shown by formal meta-analys...

BACKGROUND There is growing interest in glutamatergic agents in depression, particularly ketamine, a glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. We aimed to assess the efficacy of ketamine in major depressive episodes. METHOD We searched EMBASE, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, and Medline from 1962 to January 2014 to identify double-blind, randomized controlled trials with allocation concea...

Since previous numbers-needed-to-treat (NNT) and relative risk reduction (RRR) report, a few studies were published to evaluate prophylactic effectiveness of neuromuscular training for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in female athletes. The purpose of the current analyses was to determine the effectiveness of neuromuscular training interventions in reducing both non-contact and overall ...

Received 9 September 2012 Accepted 8 October 2012 ABSTRACT Background Several recent trials in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have assessed the effectiveness of the fluticasone–salmeterol combination inhaler in preventing COPD exacerbations, while finding an increased risk of pneumonia. The number needed to treat (NNT) is a simple measure to perform the comparative benefit–risk im...

Abstract Background To describe lemborexant and daridorexant for insomnia treatment using number needed to treat (NNT), harm (NNH), likelihood be helped or harmed (LHH). Methods Dichotomous outcomes were identified from the two registrational randomized controlled trials. Analogous data then extracted registration studies. Results Using pooled dosage data, had a clinically relevant magnitude of...