Podcasts From The Cochrane Library

Malaria is arguably the most important parasitic disease in the world and the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group has produced more than 60 relevant reviews. These were added to in August 2023 with a new review of the effects of topical repellents. We asked lead author, Juan Carlos Gabaldon from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain to tell us about the findings in this podcast.

The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group produces reviews that cover the prevention and treatment of a wide range of illnesses. These include cholera and their review on cholera vaccines was updated in January 2024. Here's the new lead author, KM Saif-Ur-Rahman from Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Cochrane Ireland in University of Galway to tell us more.

There are more than 100 Cochrane reviews of interventions that might be used to help people with dementia. One of these, on dance movement therapy, was updated in August 2023 and we asked lead author, Vicky Karkou from Edge Hill University in Ormskirk in the UK, to tell us more in this podcast.

Many patients in intensive care develop delirium and there are several Cochrane reviews of ways to treat it. In November 2023, we added a review on the reliability of the confusion assessment method for diagnosing it and asked lead author, Fabian Miranda from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, to tell us about the topic and the review's findings in this podcast.

There are several Cochrane Reviews of the effects of a class of drugs called antioxidants, covering a wide range of health conditions. One of these, focused on adults with chronic kidney disease, was updated in November 2023. In this podcast, Julia Colombijn, talks with fellow author, Robin Vernooij, both from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, about the topic and the findings of the review.

One of the updated Cochrane Reviews from October 2023 is the third update of a review of the effects of vaccines for Herpes Zoster. It was conducted by a team of researchers in Brazil and we asked one of the authors, Juliana Gomes from the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Federal University of São Paulo, to describe its importance and main findings.

Respiratory infections are one of the commonest reasons for patients to present to primary care or general practice, and antibiotics are widely used as a treatment for them. However, there are increasing concerns about the use of antibiotics and various strategies have been developed to reduce their use. These include something called 'delayed antibiotics' and, in October 2023, the relevant Cochrane Review was updated. Here's Geoff Spurling from the University of Queensland in Australia to tell us about this strategy and the latest findings of the review.

Back in October 1998, we published the first version of the Cochrane review of the effects of cranberry for preventing urinary tract infections. Twenty-five years on, the sixth update was published in November 2023 and here's lead author, Gabrielle Williams from University of Sydney in Australia to bring us up to date in this podcast.

Alongside the several Cochrane reviews of ways to prevent falls in older people, a new review of the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy on their fear of falling was added in November 2023. Here's lead author, Eric Lenouvel from the University Hospital of Psychiatry in Bern Switzerland, to tell us more.

The Cochrane Skin Group has produced some of the largest Cochrane reviews, providing a “one stop shop” for people interested in a wide range of interventions for a particular skin condition. One such example is the review of systemic medicines to treat psoriasis, which was updated for the fourth time in July 2023. We asked two of the authors, Laurence Le Cleach, head of the French satellite of the Cochrane Skin group, and dermatologist at Henri Mondor hospital, AP-HP in France and Emilie Sbidian, a dermatologist working at the same hospital, to describe the findings. Here's Laurence to begin.

Age-related macular degeneration is a progressive and sight-threatening disease affecting the central area of the retina at the back of the eye. There are Cochrane Reviews of the use of antioxidant vitamin and mineral supplements to prevent or slow down progression of the disease and the latter was updated in September 2023. Here's lead author, Jenny Evans from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK to tell us about the latest evidence.

Hypertrophic and keloid scars are common skin conditions resulting from abnormal wound healing. One possible treatment involves the use of a laser and a new Cochrane Review of the evidence was published in September 2022. We asked one of the authors, Ana Carolina Nunes from Cochrane Brazil in Sao Paolo, to tell us more in this podcast.

The many Cochrane Reviews related to the use of insulin for people with diabetes were added to in November 2023 with a new review of the thermal stability and storage of human insulin. Here's Bernd Richter, lead author and Emeritus Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders Group, based in Düsseldorf, Germany, to tell us what they found.

An important problem for babies who are born too early is a condition called apnea and a new Cochrane review published in October 2023 brings together the evidence on the effects of a class of drugs called methylxanthines. We asked one of the authors, Matteo Bruschettini from Cochrane Sweden, to tell us about the review's findings in this podcast and he used an AI voice from elevenlabs.io to make the recording.

Cochrane Work has produced many systematic reviews of interventions that might help workers stay safe in the workplace. In this podcast, Roos Schelvis, senior researcher in mental health and work and Sietske Tamminga, assistant professor, both from Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands discuss the May 2023 update of one of these, which looks at the effects of individual-level stress interventions for healthcare workers.

Clear communication with the public is a key part of the response to disasters and health emergencies, and the October 2023 update of a rapid review from 2020 investigates this in relation to measures to help to prevent and control COVID-19. Here's lead author Rebecca Ryan from La Trobe University in Australia to tell us more.

The Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group produced several reviews relevant to the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the update for one of these, investigating the drug methylphenidate, was published in March 2023. Here's one of the authors, Maja Storm from the Psychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand in Denmark, to tell us about the latest evidence.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that affects people worldwide. There are several Cochrane reviews and these were added to in February 2023 with a new review of corticosteroid injections. Here's lead author, Nigel Ashworth from the University of Alberta in Canada, to tell us about the findings.

For some health conditions, there are multiple Cochrane reviews, each looking at the effects of a different intervention. Overviews of reviews are intended to help users to consider all interventions together and one of these overviews, for treating pain and disability in adults with complex regional pain syndrome was updated in June 2023. Here's lead author, Michael Ferraro from Neuroscience Research Australia, to describe the findings.

Alongside their reviews on treatments for chronic kidney disease, the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Group produce reviews for interventions that might help with its consequences. These were added to in August 2023 with a new review of ways to help manage the fatigue experienced by people requiring dialysis. Here's lead author, Patrizia Natale from the University of Sydney in Australia, to tell us about the review.