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Cranberries (usually as cranberry juice) have been used to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Cranberries contain a substance that can prevent bacteria from sticking on the walls of the bladder. This may help prevent bladder and other UTIs. This review identified 24 studies (4473 participants) comparing cranberry products with control or alternative ...

Previous reviews indicate that antibiotics have, at best, only modest benefit for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). These benefits need to be balanced against adverse effects, costs and the risk of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics. One way for doctors to reduce their use is to prescribe delayed antibiotics (meaning providing the ...

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection is a common complication of advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) disease and can shorten the survival of these patients. We sought to examine effectiveness of all drugs for preventing MAC infection in adults and children with HIV infection. This review included eight trials conducted in the USA ...

We decided to update and amalgamate our reviews on the antiviral drugs zanamivir and oseltamivir for influenza on the basis of the manufacturers' reports to regulators (called clinical study reports) and regulators' comments (which we called regulatory information). Clinical study reports are extensive documents with exhaustive details of the trial ...

Fungi such as candida (the organism that causes thrush) can cause severe infections in very low birth weight infants (birth weight less than 1.5 kg). These infections are often difficult to diagnose. It may be appropriate to attempt to prevent such infections by giving all very low birth weight infants antifungal drugs as a routine part of their care. ...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is a major cause of acute respiratory infections in children. RSV infection can lead to morbidity and mortality in children, resulting in hospitalisation, admission to an intensive care unit, the need for intensive medical therapies and death. Most infected children suffer little consequence. However, children ...

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease caused by pertussis bacteria and may lead to death, particularly in infants less than 12 months of age. Although it can be prevented by routine vaccination, it still affects many people. Thirteen trials involving 2197 participants were included in this review. We found that several antibiotic treatments ...

Insufficient evidence is available from randomized controlled trials to support the use of antithrombin III to improve the survival of critically ill patients. Antithrombin III (AT III) is an anticoagulant with anti-inflammatory properties. In the present systematic review we set out to assess the benefits and harms of its use in critically ill patients. ...

Influenza is a viral respiratory infection that causes an acute febrile illness with myalgia, headache and cough, and can result in high morbidity and mortality rates during an epidemic. Annual epidemics are thought to result in between three and five million cases of severe influenza and between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths worldwide. Currently, annual ...

Newborn nurseries and neonatal intensive care units often require staff and visitors to wear overgowns with the intention of preventing the spread of infection. It has also been thought that putting on an overgown will remind people to wash their hands, which is of proven importance in preventing infection. A review of the medical literature identified ...