No evidence available on best therapies for postextraction haemorrhage

Data sourcesThe review searched for published and ongoing trials in several databases with no restrictions on language or date of publication which included the Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials, Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, CINAHL, Embase, WHO Clinical Trials Registry Platform and clinical trial.gov.Study selectionRandomised clinical trials were considered that evaluated any intervention compared with another or with placebo for treating postoperative bleeding (PEB), post extraction. The primary outcome measures sought were: bleeding, amount of blood loss and cessation time required to control bleeding. The secondary outcomes: patient reported outcomes, such as pain or discomfort and adverse events.Data extraction and synthesisThree pairs of review authors independently screened the records.ResultsThe search strategy identified 1526 articles and abstracts. After removal of duplicates, 943 records were screened. Thirty-four full texts were examined. No trials met the inclusion criteria for the review.ConclusionsWe were unable to identify any reports of randomised controlled trials that evaluated the effects of different interventions for the treatment of post-extraction bleeding. In view of the lack of reliable evidence on this topic, clinicians must use their clinical experience to determine the most appropriate means of treating this condition, depending on patient-related factors. There is a need for well designed and appropriately conducted clinical trials on this topic, which conform to the CONSORT statement (www.consort-statement.org/).