Social media interventions for diet and exercise behaviours: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining the use of social media to promote healthy diet and exercise in the general population.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, CENTRAL, ERIC, PubMed, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Alt Health Watch, Health Source, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Web of Knowledge and ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis (2000-2013).

Study Eligibility Criteria: RCTs of social media interventions promoting healthy diet and exercise behaviours in the general population were eligible.

Quantifying bias in randomized controlled trials in child health: a meta-epidemiological study.

Objective: To quantify bias related to specific methodological characteristics in child-relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Design: Meta-epidemiological study.

Data Sources: We identified systematic reviews containing a meta-analysis with 10-40 RCTs that were relevant to child health in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Quality of reporting in systematic reviews of adverse events: systematic review.

Objectives: To examine the quality of reporting of harms in systematic reviews, and to determine the need for a reporting guideline specific for reviews of harms.

Design: Systematic review.

Data Sources: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE).

Glucocorticoids for acute viral bronchiolitis in infants and young children.

Clinical Question: Are glucocorticoids, alone or combined with bronchodilators, associated with reduced admission rates, length of stay, or improvements in clinical severity scores without increased adverse effects in infants and young children with acute viral bronchiolitis?

Bottom Line: There is no consistent clinically relevant association of single therapy with systemic or inhaled glucocorticoids and improved outcomes in either outpatient or inpatient settings. Exploratory evidence suggests that combined glucocorticoids and nebulized epinephrine may be associated with lower hospitalization rates in outpatients, but these findings must be interpreted cautiously.

The effectiveness of team-based learning on learning outcomes in health professions education: BEME Guide No. 30.

Background: Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a student-centred active learning method, requiring less faculty time than other active learning methods. While TBL may have pedagogical value, individual studies present inconsistent findings. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of TBL on improving learning outcomes in health professions education.

A randomized controlled trial of storytelling as a communication tool.

Introduction: Stories may be an effective tool to communicate with patients because of their ability to engage the reader. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of story booklets compared to standard information sheets for parents of children attending the emergency department (ED) with a child with croup.

Methods: Parents were randomized to receive story booklets (n=208) or standard information sheets (n=205) during their ED visit.

Combined and alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen therapy for febrile children.

Background: Health professionals frequently recommend fever treatment regimens for children that either combine paracetamol and ibuprofen or alternate them. However, there is uncertainty about whether these regimens are better than the use of single agents, and about the adverse effect profile of combination regimens.

Objectives: To assess the effects and side effects of combining paracetamol and ibuprofen, or alternating them on consecutive treatments, compared with monotherapy for treating fever in children.

Randomized controlled trials in pediatric critical care: a scoping review.

Introduction: Evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is required to guide treatment of critically ill children, but the number of RCTs available is limited and the publications are often difficult to find. The objectives of this review were to systematically identify RCTs in pediatric critical care and describe their methods and reporting.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS and CENTRAL (from inception to April 16, 2013) and reference lists of included RCTs and relevant systematic reviews.

A descriptive analysis of oral health systematic reviews published 1991-2012: cross sectional study.

Objectives: To identify all systematic reviews (SRs) published in the domain of oral health research and describe them in terms of their epidemiological and descriptive characteristics.

Design: Cross sectional, descriptive study.

Methods: An electronic search of seven databases was performed from inception through May 2012; bibliographies of relevant publications were also reviewed.

How should we evaluate the risk of bias of physical therapy trials?: a psychometric and meta-epidemiological approach towards developing guidelines for the design, conduct, and reporting of RCTs in Physical Therapy (PT) area: a study protocol.

Background: Numerous tools and items have been developed in all health areas to assess the risk of bias of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The Cochrane Collaboration (CC) released a new tool to assess bias in RCTs, based on empirical evidence quantifying the association between some design features and estimates of treatment effects (TEs). However, this evidence is limited to medicine and investigating a selected set of components.

Adverse events related to emergency department care: a systematic review.

Objective: To systematically review the literature regarding the prevalence, preventability, severity and types of adverse events (AE) in the Emergency Department (ED).

Methods: We systematically searched major bibliographic databases, relevant journals and conference proceedings, and completed reference reviews of primary articles. Observational studies (cohort and case-control), quasi-experimental (e.

Inconsistency in the items included in tools used in general health research and physical therapy to evaluate the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials: a descriptive analysis.

Background: Assessing the risk of bias of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is crucial to understand how biases affect treatment effect estimates. A number of tools have been developed to evaluate risk of bias of RCTs; however, it is unknown how these tools compare to each other in the items included. The main objective of this study was to describe which individual items are included in RCT quality tools used in general health and physical therapy (PT) research, and how these items compare to those of the Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) tool.

An evaluation of instruments for scoring physiological and behavioral cues of pain, non-pain related distress, and adequacy of analgesia and sedation in pediatric mechanically ventilated patients: A systematic review.

Objectives: Advancing technology allows for successful treatment of children with life-threatening illnesses. Effectively assessing and optimally treating a child's distress during their stay in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is paramount. Objective measures of distress in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients are increasingly available but few have been evaluated.

Social media use by health care professionals and trainees: a scoping review.

Purpose: To conduct a scoping review of the literature on social media use by health care professionals and trainees.

Method: The authors searched MEDLINE, CENTRAL, ERIC, PubMed, CINAHL Plus Full Text, Academic Search Complete, Alt Health Watch, Health Source, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Web of Knowledge, and ProQuest for studies published between 2000 and 2012. They included those reporting primary research on social media use by health care professionals or trainees.

Overview of reviews in child health: evidence synthesis and the knowledge base for a specific population.

Background: Overviews of reviews are an evolving form of evidence synthesis. The Cochrane Child Health Field has been producing overviews since 2006, during which time the methods that have been used have changed, both due to the development of guidance within The Cochrane Collaboration and to the decisions made by individual author teams. This paper studies the first 29 overviews published in EBCH.

Treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children: an overview of systematic reviews of interventions commonly used in developed countries.

Background: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is an extremely common paediatric condition, which results in significant morbidity in children and is a financial burden to the society.

Objective: The purpose of this overview is to critically evaluate the evidence currently available in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) regarding the efficacy and safety of commonly considered treatment options in children with AGE.

Methods: All Cochrane reviews evaluating the following treatments in children with AGE were eligible for inclusion: oral rehydration therapy, anti-emetics and probiotics.

Music to reduce pain and distress in the pediatric emergency department: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: Many medical procedures aimed at helping children cause them pain and distress, which can have long-lasting negative effects. Music is a form of distraction that may alleviate some of the pain and distress experienced by children while undergoing medical procedures.

Objective: To compare music with standard care to manage pain and distress.

Education in health research methodology: use of a wiki for knowledge translation.

Introduction: A research-practice gap exists between what is known about conducting methodologically rigorous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and what is done. Evidence consistently shows that pediatric RCTs are susceptible to high risk of bias; therefore novel methods of influencing the design and conduct of trials are required. The objective of this study was to develop and pilot test a wiki designed to educate pediatric trialists and trainees in the principles involved in minimizing risk of bias in RCTs.

Glucocorticoids for acute viral bronchiolitis in infants and young children.

Background: Previous systematic reviews have not shown clear benefit of glucocorticoids for acute viral bronchiolitis, but their use remains considerable. Recent large trials add substantially to current evidence and suggest novel glucocorticoid-including treatment approaches.

Objectives: To review the efficacy and safety of systemic and inhaled glucocorticoids in children with acute viral bronchiolitis.

Benefits and harms of treating gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the National Institutes of Health Office of Medical Applications of Research.

Background: Outcomes of treating gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are not well-established.

Purpose: To summarize evidence about the maternal and neonatal benefits and harms of treating GDM.

Data Sources: 15 electronic databases from 1995 to May 2012, gray literature, Web sites of relevant organizations, trial registries, and reference lists.

Screening tests for gestational diabetes: a systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Background: A 50-g oral glucose challenge test (OGCT) is a widely accepted screening method for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but other options are being considered.

Purpose: To systematically review the test characteristics of various screening methods for GDM across a range of recommended diagnostic glucose thresholds.

Data Sources: 15 electronic databases from 1995 to May 2012, reference lists, Web sites of relevant organizations, and gray literature.