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Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil) for maintenance of remission in Crohn's disease

Turner D, Zlotkin SH, Shah PS, Griffiths AM

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2007

166 participants

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The anti-inflammatory effects of n-3 (omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil) have been suggested to be beneficial in chronic inflammatory disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the efficacy and safety of n-3 for maintaining remission in Crohn's disease (CD).

SEARCH STRATEGY: The following databases were searched from their inception without language restriction: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Healthstar, PubMed, and ACP journal club. Experts were contacted for unpublished data.

SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCT) of n-3 for maintenance of remission in CD were included. Studies must have enrolled patients of any age group, who were in remission at the time of recruitment, and were followed for at least six months. The intervention must have been fish oil or n-3 given in pre-defined dosage. Co-interventions were allowed only if they were balanced between the study groups. The primary outcome was relapse rate and secondary outcomes were change in disease activity scores, time to first relapse and adverse events.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two independent investigators reviewed studies for eligibility, extracted the data and assessed study quality using Jadad's criteria. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 4.2 software, weighted by the Mantel-Haenszel method. Random or fixed effect models were used according to degree of heterogeneity and subgroup analyses were…

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Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 166 participants or records.

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