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Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major problem in children and adolescents, characterised by age‐inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, and is associated with long‐term social, academic, and mental health problems. The stimulant medications methylphenidate and amphetamine are the most frequently used treatments for ADHD, but these are not always effective and can be associated with side effects. Clinical and biochemical evidence suggests that deficiencies of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) could be related to ADHD. Research has shown that children and adolescents with ADHD have significantly lower plasma and blood concentrations of PUFA and, in particular, lower levels of omega‐3 PUFA. These findings suggest that PUFA supplementation may reduce the attention and behaviour problems associated with ADHD. This review is an update of a previously published Cochrane Review. Overall, there was little evidence that PUFA supplementation improved symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents. Objectives: To compare the efficacy of PUFA to other forms of treatment or placebo in treating the symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents. Search methods: We searched 13 databases and two trials registers up to October 2021. We also checked the reference lists of relevant studies and reviews for additional references. Selection criteria: We included randomised and quasi‐randomised controlled trials that compared PUFA with placebo or PUFA plus alternative therapy (medication, behavioural therapy, or psychotherapy) with the same alternative therapy alone in children and adolescents (aged 18 years and under) diagnosed with ADHD. Data collection and analysis: We used standard Cochrane methods. Our primary outcome was severity or improvement of ADHD symptoms. Our secondary outcomes were severity or incidence of behavioural problems; quality of life; severity or incidence of depressive symptoms; severity or incidence of anxiety symptoms; side effects; loss to follow‐up; and cost. We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for each outcome. Main results: We included 37 trials with more than 2374 participants, of which 24 trials were new to this update. Five trials (seven reports) used a cross‐over design, while the remaining 32 trials (52 reports) used a parallel design. Seven trials were conducted in Iran, four each in the USA and Israel, and two each in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and the UK. Single studies were conducted in Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan. Of the 36 trials that compared a PUFA to placebo, 19 used an omega‐3 PUFA, six used a combined omega‐3/omega‐6 supplement, and two used an omega‐6 PUFA. The nine remaining trials were included in the comparison of PUFA to placebo, but also had the same co‐intervention in the PUFA and placebo groups. Of these, four trials compared a combination of omega‐3 PUFA plus methylphenidate to methylphenidate. One trial each compared omega‐3 PUFA plus atomoxetine to atomoxetine; omega‐3 PUFA plus physical training to physical training; and an omega‐3 or omega‐6 supplement plus methylphenidate to methylphenidate; and two trials compared omega‐3 PUFA plus dietary supplement to dietary supplement. Supplements were given for a period of between two weeks and six months.Although we found low‐certainty evidence that PUFA compared to placebo may improve ADHD symptoms in the medium term (risk ratio (RR) 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.47 to 2.60; 3 studies, 191 participants), there was high‐certainty evidence that PUFA had no effect on parent‐rated total ADHD symptoms compared to placebo in the medium term (standardised mean difference (SMD) −0.08, 95% CI −0.24 to 0.07; 16 studies, 1166 participants). There was also high‐certainty evidence that parent‐rated inattention (medium‐term: SMD −0.01, 95% CI −0.20 to 0.17; 12 studies, 960 participants) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (medium‐term: SMD 0.09, 95% CI −0.04 to 0.23; 10 studies, 869 participants) scores were no different compared to placebo.There was moderate‐certainty evidence that overall side effects likely did not differ between PUFA and placebo groups (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.52; 8 studies, 591 participants). There was also moderate‐certainty evidence that medium‐term loss to follow‐up was likely similar between groups (RR 1.03, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.37; 13 studies, 1121 participants). Authors' conclusions: Although we found low‐certainty evidence that children and adolescents receiving PUFA may be more likely to improve compared to those receiving placebo, there was high‐certainty evidence that PUFA had no effect on total parent‐rated ADHD symptoms. There was also high‐certainty evidence that inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity did not differ between PUFA and placebo groups.We found moderate‐certainty evidence that overall side effects likely did not differ between PUFA and placebo groups. There was also moderate‐certainty evidence that follow‐up was similar between groups.It is important that future research addresses the current weaknesses in this area, which include small sample sizes, variability of selection criteria, variability of the type and dosage of supplementation, and short follow‐up times. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Refereed/Peer-reviewed Background: Current evidence favors a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial approach to the management of chronic non-specific low back pain (CLBP). However, it is unclear whether such an approach is facilitated by current clinical guidelines. This rapid review set out to examine the extent to which clinical guideline recommendations for managing CLBP address domains of the biopsychosocial approach. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the gray literature were searched for any clinical guidelines targeting the management of CLBP, published within the last 6 years. Title/abstract and full-text screening were undertaken by two reviewers using the accelerated approach. Data extraction and critical appraisal were completed by two reviewers, independently. Extracted data were synthesized in narrative form. Results: Fifteen guidelines met the review inclusion criteria. One-half of the guidelines were considered to be of medium quality. All guidelines provided management recommendations addressing the biological domain of the biopsychosocial approach; 13 (87%) guidelines reported recommendations addressing the psychological domain, and 8 (53%) guidelines presented recommendations addressing the social domain. Only 53% (8/15) of guidelines reported recommendations addressing all three domains of the biopsychosocial approach. Guideline recommendations both across and within the biopsychosocial domains were varied and inconsistent. Conclusions: The CLBP clinical guidelines included in this review provided detailed guidance on the biological domain, yet limited attention and detail were afforded to the psychological and social domains. Several recommendations are presented on how to improve the quality of future CLBP guidelines, and to help foster the provision of a biopsychosocial approach to CLBP management.

Aims and objectives: To compare the effectiveness of clinical pathway-directed care to usual care on hospitalisation-related outcomes in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (STBI). Background: Severe traumatic brain injury is a major cause of disability and mortality in young adults. Clinical pathways endeavour to bring evidence and clinical practice closer together to foster the delivery of best practice and to improve patient outcomes. Design: Quasi-experimental study. Methods: The study was conducted in a trauma intensive care unit of a large teaching hospital in Egypt. Patients aged 18-60 years with a diagnosis of STBI, a Glasgow Coma Scale score between 3-8 and a nonpenetrating head injury were consecutively assigned to 15 days of care. The outcomes assessed were complications related to hospitalisation, clinical variances, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, ICU readmission rate and patient/family satisfaction. Results: Sixty participants completed the study (30 in each arm). Apart from age, there were no significant differences between groups in baseline characteristics. The clinical pathway group demonstrated statistically significantly fewer cases of hospitalisation-related complications on day 15, and a significantly shorter length of ICU stay, lower ICU readmission rate and a high level of patient/family satisfaction when compared with the usual care group. The effect of the intervention on fever, pressure ulceration, hyperglycaemia and readmission to the ICU was no longer statistically significant after controlling for age. Conclusions: The findings of the current study suggest that the implementation of a clinical pathway for patients with severe TBI may be helpful in improving the patient experience as well as some hospitalisation-related outcomes. Relevance to clinical practice: The provision of clinical pathway-directed care in a trauma ICU may offer benefits to the patient, family and institution beyond that provided by usual care. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The National Health and Hospitals Network (NHHN) policy, released on 20 April 2010, describes a core part of the Commonwealth Government’s strategy for health reform. Additional funds are identified to support quality improvement and accessibility to hospital, primary and aged care, with just over 16 per cent of funding dedicated to building Australia’s health workforce. Whilst considerable investment in Australia’s health workforce is desirable, we argue that the explicit and implicit objectives of the workforce strategy and the specific components described in the NHHN document do not have an evidence base. This article highlights some of the flawed assumptions that seem to have informed the workforce policy. It also presents an alternate evidence-based approach to help improve the integrity and success of the NHHN workforce policy, and thus, the quality of workforce planning in Australia and the health of Australians.

Diabet. Med. 27, 570–577 (2010) Abstract Aims Chronic disease management is increasingly informed by clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). However, their implementation requires not only knowledge of guideline content by clinicians and practice processes that support implementation, but also a health workforce with the capacity to deliver care consistent with CPGs. This has a health services planning as well as a health workforce dimension. However, it is not known whether CPGs are described in a way that can inform health services and health workforce planning and potentially drive better quality care. This study aimed to ascertain whether CPGs are useful for health service and health workforce planning. Methods This question was explored taking diabetes mellitus as a case study. A systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus was carried out to identify all CPGs relating to the management of diabetes mellitus in the primary healthcare setting. The search was limited to guidelines published in the English language between 2003 and 2009. The quality of guidelines was assessed against a subset of criteria set by the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) collaboration. Results Seventy-five diabetes-related CPGs were identified, of which 27 met the inclusion criteria. In terms of quality, many guidelines adopted evidence-based recommendations for diabetes care (59%) and most were endorsed by national authorities (70%). With regards to coverage of 17 identified subpopulations, guidelines were generally selective in the populations they covered. Whilst many provided adequate coverage of common complications and comorbidities, approaches to management for those with reduced capacity for effective diabetes self-care were largely absent, except for indigenous populations. Conclusions Clinical practice guidelines are potentially useful for health services and health workforce planning, but would be more valuable for this purpose if they contained more detail about care protocols and specific skills and competencies, especially for subpopulations who would be expected to have reduced capacity for effective self-care. If service planning ignores these subgroups that tend to require more resource-intensive management, underprovision of services is likely.

The evaluation of patient care is an ongoing process that is aimed at improving clinical outcomes, as well as advancing clinical practice. However, a number of elements need to be taken into account when evaluating clinical practice, including social, structural and process factors. Consideration of these factors, together with comprehensive and holistic assessment, clinical expertise, reflective thinking, and valid and reliable instrumentation, will allow practitioners to better evaluate clinical care, and in effect, improve client outcomes.

Background Menopause can be a distressing and disruptive time for many women, with many experiencing hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal atrophy and dryness. Postmenopausal women are also at increased risk of osteoporosis. Interventions that decrease the severity and frequency of these menopausal symptoms are likely to improve a woman's well-being and quality of life. Hormone therapy has been shown to be effective in controlling the symptoms of menopause; however, many potentially serious adverse effects have been associated with this treatment. Evidence from experimental studies suggests that black cohosh may be a biologically plausible alternative treatment for menopause; even so, findings from studies investigating the clinical effectiveness of black cohosh have, to date, been inconsistent. Objectives To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa or Actaea racemosa) for treating menopausal symptoms in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Search methods Relevant studies were identified through AARP Ageline, AMED, AMI, BioMed Central gateway, CAM on PubMed, CINAHL, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Health Source Nursing/Academic edition, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, MEDLINE, Natural medicines comprehensive database, PsycINFO, TRIP database, clinical trial registers and the reference lists of included trials; up to March 2012. Content experts and manufacturers of black cohosh extracts were also contacted. Selection criteria All randomised controlled trials comparing orally administered monopreparations of black cohosh to placebo or active medication in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently selected trials, extracted data and completed the 'Risk of bias' assessment. Study authors were contacted for missing information. Main results Sixteen randomised controlled trials, recruiting a total of 2027 perimenopausal or postmenopausal women, were identified. All studies used oral monopreparations of black cohosh at a median daily dose of 40 mg, for a mean duration of 23 weeks. Comparator interventions included placebo, hormone therapy, red clover and fluoxetine. Reported outcomes included vasomotor symptoms, vulvovaginal symptoms, menopausal symptom scores and adverse effects. There was no significant difference between black cohosh and placebo in the frequency of hot flushes (mean difference (MD) 0.07 flushes per day; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.43 to 0.56 flushes per day; P=0.79; 393 women; three trials; moderate heterogeneity: I2 = 47%) or in menopausal symptom scores (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.10; 95% CI -0.32 to 0.11; P = 0.34; 357 women; four trials; low heterogeneity: I2 = 21%). Compared to black cohosh, hormone therapy significantly reduced daily hot flush frequency (three trials; data not pooled) and menopausal symptom scores (SMD 0.32; 95% CI 0.13 to 0.51; P=0.0009; 468 women; five trials; substantial heterogeneity: I2 = 69%). These findings should be interpreted with caution given the heterogeneity between studies. Comparisons of the effectiveness of black cohosh and other interventions were either inconclusive (because of considerable heterogeneity or an insufficient number of studies) or not statistically significant. Similarly, evidence on the safety of black cohosh was inconclusive, owing to poor reporting. There were insufficient data to pool results for health-related quality of life, sexuality, bone health, vulvovaginal atrophic symptoms and night sweats. No trials reported cost-effectiveness data. The quality of included trials was generally unclear, owing to inadequate reporting. Authors' conclusions There is currently insufficient evidence to support the use of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms. However, there is adequate justification for conducting further studies in this area. The uncertain quality of identified trials highlights the need for improved reporting of study methods, particularly with regards to allocation concealment and the handling of incomplete outcome data. The effect of black cohosh on other important outcomes, such as health-related quality of life, sexuality, bone health, night sweats and cost-effectiveness also warrants further investigation.

Background Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major problem in children and adolescents, characterised by age-inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, and is associated with long-term social, academic and mental health problems. The stimulant medications methylphenidate and amphetamine are the most frequently used treatments for ADHD, but these are not always effective and can be associated with side effects. Clinical and biochemical evidence suggests that deficiencies of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) could be related to ADHD. Children and adolescents with ADHD have been shown to have significantly lower plasma and blood concentrations of PUFA and, in particular, lower levels of omega-3 PUFA. These findings suggest that PUFA supplementation may reduce the attention and behaviour problems associated with ADHD. Objectives To compare the efficacy of PUFA to other forms of treatment or placebo in treating the symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents. Search methods We searched the following databases in August 2011: CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1948 to July Week 3, 2011), EMBASE (1980 to 2011 Week 29), PsycINFO (1806 to current), CINAHL (1937 to current), BIOSIS (1969 to 30 July 2011), Science Citation Index (1970 to 30 July 2011), Social Science Citation Index (1970 to 30 July 2011), Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science (1990 to 30 July 2011), Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Social Science and Humanities (1990 to 30 July 2011), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2011, Issue 7), DARE (2011 Issue 2), Dissertation Abstracts (via Dissertation Express) and the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT). In addition, we searched the following repositories for theses on 2 August 2011: DART, NTLTD and TROVE. We also checked reference lists of relevant studies and reviews for additional references. Selection criteria Two review authors independently assessed the results of the database searches. We resolved any disagreements regarding the selection of studies through consensus or, if necessary, by consultation with a third member of the review team. Data collection and analysis Two members of the review team independently extracted details of participants and setting, interventions, methodology and outcome data. If differences were identified, we resolved them by consensus or referral to a third member of the team. We made all reasonable attempts to contact the authors where further clarification or missing data were needed. Main results We included 13 trials with 1011 participants in the review. After screening 366 references, we considered 23 relevant and obtained the full text for consideration. We excluded five papers and included 18 papers describing the 13 trials. Eight of the included trials had a parallel design: five compared an omega-3 PUFA supplement to placebo; two compared a combined omega-3 and omega-6 supplement to placebo, and one compared an omega-3 PUFA to a dietary supplement. Five of the included trials had a cross-over design: two compared combined omega-3/6 PUFA to placebo; two compared omega-6 PUFA with placebo; one compared omega-3 to omega-6 PUFA, and one compared omega-6 PUFA to dexamphetamine. Supplements were given for a period of between four and 16 weeks. There was a significantly higher likelihood of improvement in the group receiving omega-3/6 PUFA compared to placebo (two trials, 97 participants; risk ratio (RR) 2.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04 to 4.62). However, there were no statistically significant differences in parent-rated ADHD symptoms (five trials, 413 participants; standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.17, 95% CI -0.38 to 0.03); inattention (six trials, 469 participants; SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.29 to 0.21) or hyperactivity/impulsivity (five trials, 416 participants; SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.25 to 0.16) when all participants receiving PUFA supplements were compared to those receiving placebo. There were no statistically significant differences in teacher ratings of overall ADHD symptoms (four trials, 324 participants; SMD 0.05, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.27); inattention (three trials, 260 participants; SMD 0.26, 95% CI -0.22 to 0.74) or hyperactivity/impulsivity (three trials, 259 participants; SMD 0.10, 95% CI -0.16 to 0.35). There were also no differences between groups in behaviour, side effects or loss to follow-up. Overall, there were no other differences between groups for any other comparison. Authors' conclusions Overall, there is little evidence that PUFA supplementation provides any benefit for the symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents. The majority of data showed no benefit of PUFA supplementation, although there were some limited data that did show an improvement with combined omega-3 and omega-6 supplementation. It is important that future research addresses current weaknesses in this area, which include small sample sizes, variability of selection criteria, variability of the type and dosage of supplementation, short follow-up times and other methodological weaknesses.