Non-medical management of asthma in adults

Abstract

Overview of reviews, compiling evidence from multiple Cochrane reviews into one accessible and usable document, is a new methodology being developed by the Cochrane methods group and mastered by the Child Health Network. Overviews of reviews are rapidly gaining in popularity as a 'friendly front end' to the Cochrane Library. Through collating the results of multiple reviews on a single subject, overview of reviews provides the reader with a quick bottom line regarding the quality and utility of existing evidence on the clinical decision at hand. This overview presents a summary of the results of all previous Cochrane reviews on the effect of complementary therapies (non-medical) for the treatment of asthma in adults. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was searched for all systematic reviews examining the complementary therapies (non-medical) treatment of asthma in adults. All reviews that were under the heading 'asthma' on the Cochrane Airways Group's Topic List were reviewed. Data were extracted and entered into tables; data were synthesized using qualitative and quantitative methods. Currently, twenty-three (23) reviews are published in the CDSR related to non-medical interventions for the management of asthma in adults. The known complexities associated with measuring the effect of complementary therapies resulted in all reviews being unable to find studies which--at least in the form reported--had the strength of evidence that could be generalized beyond the variables of the specific trial.