Efficacy of physical therapy interventions on quality of life and upper quadrant pain severity in women with post-mastectomy pain syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of physical therapy interventions on quality of life (QoL) and pain severity in post-mastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS). METHODS: Multiple databases were searched from database inception to October 2020. Searches were limited to human studies published in either English or Chinese in peer-reviewed journals with full text available for randomized controlled trials conducted on females. Trials comparing the effectiveness of physical therapy interventions against control conditions on QoL and pain were included. RESULTS: Eighteen trials were included in the review. The pooled analysis of the four exercise trials revealed a significant effect of the intervention on general [standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.87 (95%CI: 0.36, 1.37); p = 0.001], physical [SMD: 0.34 (95%CI: 0.01, 0.66); p = 0.044], and mental health components [SMD: 0.27 (95%CI: 0.03, 0.51); p = 0.027] of QoL compared with the control condition. Meta-analyses of six exercise trials, two myofascial release trials, and two acupuncture trials revealed a significant improvement in pain severity in the treatment group than in the control group. However, meta-analyses of two studies revealed a non-significant effect of compression therapy compared to control on pain severity. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analyses found that exercise is beneficial for improving the QoL and pain severity of women with PMPS. Future studies are needed to determine the optimal parameters for exercise interventions designed to improve QoL and pain severity in women with PMPS. The effect of acupuncture, myofascial release, and compression therapy remains inconclusive, and future research is required to validate the effect of these interventions on PMPS.

The estimated age-group specific influenza vaccine coverage rates in Hong Kong and the impact of the school outreach vaccination program.

Previous studies have shown that seasonal influenza strikes annually causing millions to fall sick and several hundred thousand to die globally. Hence, universal vaccination is a public health aim to control influenza. The Hong Kong Government started to introduce the School Outreach Vaccination (SOV) program in 2018 to increase vaccination rates in children. This study looked at the impact this had on hospital admissions and estimated vaccination rates in the total population, using a questionnaire-based tool. The SOV program significantly increased vaccination coverage rates with a 1% increase associated with a reduction of 4.3 influenza-related hospital admissions of school-aged children. The estimation of vaccine coverage rates among the under 5-year olds (48.5%), primary school children (69.3%) and over 65-year olds (45.7%), through the questionnaire-based tool, was within the 95% confidence interval of the coverage rates published by the Center for Health Protection of the Hong Kong Government, 47.4%, 68.1% and 45.8%, respectively. Extension of the SOV program should be considered in secondary schools to increase the coverage rates in adolescents. The questionnaire survey may inform government how to achieve universal vaccination for specific age groups.