Philip Prescott

Depression and anxiety in prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence rates

Objectives To systematically review the literature pertaining to the prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with prostate cancer as a function of treatment stage. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Participants 4494 patients with prostate cancer from primary research investigations. Primary outcome measure The prevalence of clinical depression and anxiety in patients with prostate cancer as a function of treatment stage. Results We identified 27 full journal articles that met the inclusion criteria for entry into the meta-analysis resulting in a pooled sample size of 4494 patients. The meta-analysis of prevalence rates identified pretreatment, on-treatment and post-treatment depression prevalences of 17.27% (95% CI 15.06% to 19.72%), 14.70% (95% CI 11.92% to 17.99%) and 18.44% (95% CI 15.18% to 22.22%), respectively. Pretreatment, on-treatment and post-treatment anxiety prevalences were 27.04% (95% CI 24.26% to 30.01%), 15.09% (95% CI 12.15% to 18.60%) and 18.49% (95% CI 13.81% to 24.31%), respectively. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the prevalence of depression and anxiety in men with prostate cancer, across the treatment spectrum, is relatively high. In light of the growing emphasis placed on cancer survivorship, we consider that further research within this area is warranted to ensure that psychological distress in patients with prostate cancer is not underdiagnosed and undertreated.

An Approximate Test for Outliers in Linear Models

A test statistic for detecting outliers in linear models involving residuals standardized by their individual standard deviations is considered and it is suggested that its critical values are adequately approximated by upper bounds for the critical values of a similar test statistic involving residuals standardized by a constant standard deviation. The test procedure is applicable to any linear model and does not require a re-analysis with the suspected outlier omitted or treated as a missing value. Two regression analyses are given to illustrate the procedure.

A systematic literature review of complementary and alternative medicine prevalence in EU

Background: Studies suggest that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used in the European Union (EU). We systematically reviewed data, reporting research quality and the prevalence of CAM use by citizens in Europe; what it is used for, and why. Methods: We searched for general population surveys of CAM use by using Ovid MEDLINE (1948 to September 2010), Cochrane Library (1989 to September 2010), CINAHL (1989 to September 2010), EMBASE (1980 to September 2010), PsychINFO including PsychARTICLES (1989 to September 2010), Web of Science (1989 to September 2010), AMED (1985 to September 2010), and CISCOM (1989 to September 2010). Additional studies were identified through experts and grey literature. Cross-sectional, population-based or cohort studies reporting CAM use in any EU language were included. Data were extracted and reviewed by 2 authors using a pre-designed extraction protocol with quality assessment instrument. Results: 87 studies were included. Inter-rater reliability was good (kappa = 0.8). Study methodology and quality of reporting were poor. The prevalence of CAM use varied widely within and across EU countries (0.3–86%). Prevalence data demonstrated substantial heterogeneity unrelated to report quality; therefore, we were unable to pool data for meta-analysis; our report is narrative and based on descriptive statistics. Herbal medicine was most commonly reported. CAM users were mainly women. The most common reason for use was dissatisfaction with conventional care; CAM was widely used for musculoskeletal problems. Conclusion: CAM prevalence across the EU is problematic to estimate because studies are generally poor and heterogeneous. A consistent definition of CAM, a core set of CAMs with country-specific variations and a standardised reporting strategy to enhance the accuracy of data pooling would improve reporting quality.

Practice, practitioner, or placebo? A multifactorial, mixed-methods randomized controlled trial of acupuncture.

Summary This multifactorial mixed‐methods randomized controlled trial quantified the specific and nonspecific factors of acupuncture, and found that the practitioner, not the treatment, has the strongest effect on outcome. Abstract The nonspecific effects of acupuncture are well documented; we wished to quantify these factors in osteoarthritic (OA) pain, examining needling, the consultation, and the practitioner. In a prospective randomised, single‐blind, placebo‐controlled, multifactorial, mixed‐methods trial, 221 patients with OA awaiting joint replacement surgery were recruited. Interventions were acupuncture, Streitberger placebo acupuncture, and mock electrical stimulation, each with empathic or nonempathic consultations. Interventions involved eight 30‐minute treatments over 4 weeks. The primary outcome was pain (VAS) at 1 week posttreatment. Face‐to‐face qualitative interviews were conducted (purposive sample, 27 participants). Improvements occurred from baseline for all interventions with no significant differences between real and placebo acupuncture (mean difference −2.7 mm, 95% confidence intervals −9.0 to 3.6; P = .40) or mock stimulation (−3.9, −10.4 to 2.7; P = .25). Empathic consultations did not affect pain (3.0 mm, −2.2 to 8.2; P = .26) but practitioner 3 achieved greater analgesia than practitioner 2 (10.9, 3.9 to 18.0; P = .002). Qualitative analysis indicated that patients’ beliefs about treatment veracity and confidence in outcomes were reciprocally linked. The supportive nature of the trial attenuated differences between the different consultation styles. Improvements occurred from baseline, but acupuncture has no specific efficacy over either placebo. The individual practitioner and the patient’s belief had a significant effect on outcome. The 2 placebos were equally as effective and credible as acupuncture. Needle and nonneedle placebos are equivalent. An unknown characteristic of the treating practitioner predicts outcome, as does the patient’s belief (independently). Beliefs about treatment veracity shape how patients self‐report outcome, complicating and confounding study interpretation.

Systematic review of the nutritional supplements dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in the treatment of osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE Conventional treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is associated with serious gastrointestinal side effects and in view of the recent withdrawal of some cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors, identifying safer alternative treatment options is needed. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the existing evidence from randomised controlled trials of two chemically related nutritional supplements, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in the treatment of OA to determine their efficacy and safety profile. METHODS The electronic databases [Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, Amed, Cinahl and NeLH (1950 to November 2007)] were searched. The search strategy combined terms: osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disorder, dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO, methylsulfonylmethane, MSM, clinical trial; double-blind, single blind, RCT, placebo, randomized, comparative study, evaluation study, control. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Data were extracted and quality was assessed using the JADAD scale. RESULTS Six studies were included [evaluating a total of 681 patients with OA of the knee for DMSO (N=297 on active treatment); 168 patients for MSM (N=52 on active treatment)]. Two of the four DMSO trials, and both MSM trials reported significant improvement in pain outcomes in the treatment group compared to comparator treatments, however, methodological issues and concerns over optimal dosage and treatment period, were highlighted. CONCLUSION No definitive conclusion can currently be drawn for either supplement. The findings from all the DMSO studies need to be viewed with caution because of poor methodology including; possible unblinding, and questionable treatment duration and dose. The data from the more rigorous MSM trials provide positive but not definitive evidence that MSM is superior to placebo in the treatment of mild to moderate OA of the knee. Further studies are now required to identify both the optimum dosage and longer-term safety of MSM and DMSO, and definitive efficacy trials.

Sequential application of Wilks's multivariate outlier test

A generalization of Wilkss single‐outlier test suitable for application to the many‐outlier problem of detecting from 1 to k outliers in a multivariate data set is proposed and appropriate critical values determined. The method used follows that suggested by Rosner employing sequential application of the generalized extreme Studentized deviate to univariate samples of reducing size, in which the type I error is controlled both under the hypothesis of no outliers and under the alternative hypothesis of 1, 2,. . ., k outliers. It is shown that critical values for the sequential application of Wilkss test to detect many outliers depend only on those for a single outlier test which may be approximated by percentage points from the F‐distributions as tabulated by Wilks. Relationships between Wilkss test statistic, the Mahalanobis distance between the ‘outlier’ and the mean vector, and Hotellings T2‐test between the outlier and the rest of the data, are used to reduce the amount of computation involved in applying the sequential procedure. Simulations are used to show that the method behaves well in detecting multiple outliers in samples larger than about 25. Finally, an example with three dimensions is used to illustrate how the method is applied.

Complementary medicine use by men with prostate cancer: a systematic review of prevalence studies

Men with prostate cancer are reported as commonly using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) but surveys have not recently been subjected to a rigorous systematic review incorporating quality assessment. Six electronic databases were searched using pre-defined terms. Detailed information was extracted systematically from each relevant article. Study reporting quality was assessed using a quality assessment tool, which demonstrated acceptable inter-rater reliability and produces a percentage score. In all, 42 studies are reviewed. All were published in English between 1999 and 2009; 60% were conducted in the United States. The reporting quality was mixed (median score=66%, range 23–94%). Significant heterogeneity precluded formal meta-analysis. In all, 39 studies covering 11 736 men reported overall prevalence of CAM use; this ranged from 8 to 90% (median=30%). In all, 10 studies reported prevalence of CAM use specifically for cancer care; this ranged from 8 to 50% (median=30%). Some evidence suggested CAM use is more common in men with higher education/incomes and more severe disease. The prevalence of CAM use among men with prostate cancer varies greatly across studies. Future studies should use standardised and validated data collection techniques to reduce bias and enhance comparability.

Is electrodermal testing as effective as skin prick tests for diagnosing allergies? A double blind, randomised block design study

Abstract Objective: To evaluate whether electrodermal testing for environmental allergies can distinguish between volunteers who had previously reacted positively on skin prick tests for allergy to house dust mite or cat dander and volunteers who had reacted negatively to both allergens. Design: Double blind, randomised block design. Setting: A general practice in southern England. Participants: 15 volunteers who had a positive result and 15 volunteers who had a negative result on a previous skin prick test for allergy to house dust mite or cat dander. Intervention: Each participant was tested with 6 items by each of 3 operators of the Vegatest electrodermal testing device in 3 separate sessions (a total of 54 tests per participant). For each participant the 54 items comprised 18 samples each of house dust mite, cat dander, and distilled water, though these were randomly allocated among the operators in each session. A research nurse sat with the participant and operator in all sessions to ensure blinding and adherence to the protocol and to record the outcome of each test. Outcome: The presence or absence of an allergy according to the standard protocol for electrodermal testing. Results: All the non-atopic participants completed all 3 testing sessions (810 individual tests); 774 (95.5%) of the individual tests conducted on the atopic participants complied with the testing protocol. The results of the electrodermal tests did not correlate with those of the skin prick tests. Electrodermal testing could not distinguish between atopic and non-atopic participants. No operator of the Vegatest device was better than any other, and no single participants atopic status was consistently correctly diagnosed. Conclusion: Electrodermal testing cannot be used to diagnose environmental allergies.

Mixture Designs for Four Components in Orthogonal Blocks

The problem of partitioning the blends (runs) of four mixture components into two orthogonal blocks when a quadratic model is fitted is considered. This is motivated by an industrial investigation of bread-making flours carried out at Spillers Milling Limited, a member of the Dalgety group of companies in the United Kingdom. The design solution proposed by John and described by Cornell is discussed and extended. Study of the characteristics of Latin squares of side 4 leads to reliable rules for quickly obtaining designs of specified kinds. One such design was selected for the experiment at Spillers Milling. Mixture-component values that cause singularity in the new designs are identified, and values that provide designs with highest D-criterion values are obtained for the class of designs discussed. Conveniently rounded, near-optimal mixture component values were chosen for the Spillers Milling experiment, and the analysis led to the prediction of an optimal flour mixture.

Systematic review of the nutritional supplement Perna Canaliculus (green-lipped mussel) in the treatment of osteoarthritis

Complementary treatments for osteoarthritis (OA) are sought by patients for symptomatic relief and to avoid the iatrogenic effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. This systematic review evaluates the efficacy of the nutritional supplement Perna Canaliculus (green-lipped mussel, GLM) in the treatment of OA and substantially adds to previous work by focussing solely on GLM use in OA as well providing a re-analysis of the original trial data. Randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials (comparative, placebo-controlled or crossover) were considered for inclusion from Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, Amed, Cinahl, Scopus and NeLH databases where adults with OA of any joint were randomized to receive either GLM vs. placebo, no additional intervention (usual care), or an active intervention. The methodological quality of the trials was assessed using the JADAD scale. Four RCTs were included, three placebo controlled, the fourth a comparative trial of GLM lipid extract vs. stabilized powder extract. No RCTs comparing GLM to conventional treatment were identified. All four studies assessed GLM as an adjunctive treatment to conventional medication for a clinically relevant time in mild to moderate OA. All trials reported clinical benefits in the GLM treatment group but the findings from two studies cannot be included in this review because of possible un-blinding and inappropriate statistical analysis. The data from the two more rigorous trials, in conjunction with our re-analysis of original data suggests that GLM may be superior to placebo for the treatment of mild to moderate OA. As a credible biological mechanism exists for this treatment, further rigorous investigations are required to assess efficacy and optimal dosage.