REFERENCES 1. Crichton F, Ramsay CF, Pearson D, et al. Oral montelukast in acute asthma exacerbations: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Thorax 2011;66:7e11. 2. Moore RP, Berlowitz DJ, Denehy L, et al. A randomised trial of domiciliary, ambulatory oxygen in patients with COPD and dyspnoea but without resting hypoxaemia. Thorax 2011;66:32e7. 3. Churchyard GJ, Fielding K, Suri...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy of the Lidcombe programme of early stuttering intervention by comparison to a control group. DESIGN A pragmatic, open plan, parallel group, randomised controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment. SETTING Two public speech clinics in New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS Stuttering preschool children who presented to the speech clinics for treatment. Inclusion ...

BACKGROUND We investigated whether a public health intervention-a three-part documentary called Man Up which explored the relationship between masculinity and mental health, well-being and suicidality-could increase men's intentions to seek help for personal and emotional problems. METHODS We recruited men aged 18 years or over who were not at risk of suicide to participate in a double-blind ...

BACKGROUND Urinary incontinence is an important health problem to the individual sufferer and to health services. Stress and stress predominant mixed urinary incontinence are increasingly managed by surgery due to advances in surgical techniques. Despite the lack of evidence for its clinical utility, most clinicians undertake invasive urodynamic testing (IUT) to confirm a functional diagnosis o...

Searching MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from 1987 onwards using the primary search term 'laparoscopic cholecystectomy'. Searches were refined combining the primary search term and using one of the following terms: 'randomised controlled trial', 'clinical trial', 'cohort study', 'case-control study', 'operative complications' and 'evaluation'. Numerous health-related organisations were also c...

The present study investigated the effect of Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis Bf-6 (LMG 24 384) (Bf-6)-supplemented yogurt on colonic transit time (CTT). A triple-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled, two-period cross-over trial was conducted with sixty-eight women with a self-reported history of straining during bowel movements or hard or lumpy stools in the past 2 years. As per regulat...

INTRODUCTION Low back pain (LBP) is the health condition that carries the greatest disability burden worldwide; however, there is only modest support for interventions to prevent LBP. The aim of this trial is to establish the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group-based exercise and educational classes compared with a minimal intervention control in preventing recurrence of LBP in people...

Abstract Background The EMPOWER trial aimed to assess the effects of a 9-week exercise prehabilitation programme on physical fitness compared with usual care control group. Secondary aims were investigate effect (1) psychological health; and (2) neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) health. Methods Between October 2013 December 2016, adults locally advanced rectal cancer undergoing standardised ...

BACKGROUND Patients with liver cirrhosis undergoing liver transplantation have a hyperdynamic circulation which persists into the early postoperative period making accurate assessment of fluid requirements challenging. Goal-directed fluid therapy (GDFT) has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in a number of surgery settings. The impact of GDFT in patients undergoing liver transplantati...

Introduction University College London Hospital (UCLH) was one of the largest contributors to the CALORIES trial; a pragmatic, multi-centre, randomised control trial examining the effectiveness of early nutritional support in critically ill patients through a comparison of parenteral and enteral nutrition. The trial found no significant difference in 30-day mortality associated with the route o...