Chan RJ, Larsen E, Chan P, et al.
International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics. Date of publication 2012 Nov 1;volume 84(3):e357-62.
1. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2012 Nov 1;84(3):e357-62. doi:
10.1016/j.ijrobp.2012.05.009. Epub 2012 Jun 17.
Re-examining the evidence in radiation dermatitis management literature: an
overview and a critical appraisal of systematic reviews.
Chan RJ(1), Larsen E, Chan P.
Author information:
(1)Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Australia.
rchan@gmail.com
PURPOSE: To provide an overview and a critical appraisal of systematic reviews
(SRs) of published interventions for the prevention/management of radiation
dermatitis.
METHODS AND MATERIALS: We searched Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and the Cochrane
Library. We also manually searched through individual reference lists of
potentially eligible articles and a number of key journals in the topic area. Two
authors screened all potential articles and included eligible SRs. Two authors
critically appraised and extracted key findings from the included reviews using
AMSTAR (the measurement tool for "assessment of multiple systematic reviews").
RESULTS: Of 1837 potential titles, 6 SRs were included. A number of interventions
have been reported to be potentially beneficial for managing radiation
dermatitis. Interventions evaluated in these reviews included skin care advice,
steroidal/nonsteroidal topical agents, systemic therapies, modes of radiation
delivery, and dressings. However, all the included SRs reported that there is
insufficient evidence supporting any single effective intervention. The
methodological quality of the included studies varied, and methodological
shortfalls in these reviews might create biases to the overall results or
recommendations for clinical practice.
CONCLUSIONS: An up-to-date high-quality SR in the prevention/management of
radiation dermatitis is needed to guide practice and direction for future
research. We recommend that clinicians or guideline developers critically
evaluate the information of SRs in their decision making.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2012.05.009
PMID: 22713836 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
