The question of whether and how to treat preterm infants with postnatal corticosteroids for the management of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, which is a chronic lung problem due to prematurity, has been a neonatologist's quandary for decades. In August 2023, Cochrane Neonatal published a network meta-analysis on the use of postnatal corticosteroids for its prevention. In this podcast, Roger Soll of Cochrane Neonatal, talks with the lead author Susanne Hay, an attending neonatologist at Beth...

Two of the Cochrane Reviews that investigate different ways to deliver health and social care services look at the qualitative and quantitative research into a strategy called hospital at home. In this podcast, Roses Parker, Cochrane’s Commissioning Editor talks with lead author of the March 2024 qualitative evidence synthesis of implementing hospital at home, Jason Wallis, a physiotherapist and researcher at Monash University in Australia, and Sasha Shepperd, researcher at Oxford Population...

Immunisation is a key component in the prevention of illness and the Cochrane review of interventions to improve coverage of childhood immunisation in low- and middle-income countries was updated for the second time in December 2023. We asked lead author, Angela Oyo-Ita from University of Calabar Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, to tell us about the latest findings in this podcast.

Among the Cochrane Reviews of treatments to help patients with kidney stones, our review comparing shock wave treatment with surgery was updated for the second time in August 2023. Here's lead author, Vasun Setthawong from Rangsit University in Bangkok, Thailand to tell us about the latest findings.

Alpha-lipoic acid is sometimes used for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. In this podcast, one of the authors, Caterina Delcea, talks with lead author Cristian Baicus, consultant in internal medicine from Colentina University Hospital Bucharest in Romania, about the January 2024 Cochrane review of this treatment.

The Cochrane Neonatal group has produced several hundred systematic reviews of interventions that might help to improve the care and treatment of preterm infants and their families. In this podcast, one of the group’s researchers, Dirk Bassler, talks with lead author Friederike Haslbeck, a clinical music therapist and senior researcher at the University Hospital Zurich, Department of Neonatology in Switzerland, about the September 2023 review looking at music and vocal interventions to...

The Cochrane Colorectal Group produces reviews across a wide range of conditions affecting the intestines. These were added to in March 2024 with a new review of different ways to close the skin when a person’s stoma is reversed. We asked lead author, Shahab Hajibandeh from Health Education and Improvement Wales to tell us more and he used the ElevenLabs AI Voice Generator to record this podcast.

The Cochrane Collaboration has published more than 30 reviews on interventions for patients with pelvic organ prolapse. Of these, a series of 6 systematic reviews specifically relating to surgical management were first published in 2016. These are currently being updated, with the update for one, on transvaginal mesh or grafts in transvaginal prolapse surgery being published in March 2024. In this podcast, one of the co-authors, Professor Christopher Maher speaks with lead author, Dr Ellen...

Over nearly 30 years, the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group has produced close to 200 reviews. One of their earliest, antibiotics for acute otitis media in children, was first published in 2000 and it was updated for the fourth time in November 2023. Here's two of the authors, Sharon Sanders and Paul Glasziou from the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare at Bond University in Australia to talk about the latest findings.

There are several Cochrane reviews of strategies and interventions to reduce falls, particularly in older people. In January 2024, we published a new review of population-based approaches for falls prevention, and, in this podcast, Chris Todd, talks to co-author Lisa McGarrigle, both from the University of Manchester in the UK about the findings.

There are several Cochrane reviews relevant to hip or knee replacement surgery, covering a variety of interventions. In this podcast, Parag Raval, a trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, talks with Naomi Gibbs from the Systematic Review Initiative at NHS Blood and Transplant in Oxford, UK, who is one of the authors of the January 2024 review looking at the best medication to stop bleeding in people having this surgery.

Ibuprofen is a widely used painkiller and a new Cochrane review from January 2024 brings together the evidence on its use for postoperative pain in children. In this podcast, two of the co-authors, Sara Pessano from Gaslini Children's Hospital in Genoa Italy, and Natasha Gloeck from the Health Systems Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council, tell us about the findings.

There are more than 60 Cochrane Reviews relevant to multiple sclerosis and, one of these, a network meta-analysis of immunomodulators and immunosuppressants for relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis, was updated in January 2024. We asked the lead author, Francesco Nonino from the Institute of Neurological Science in Bologna, Italy, to tell us more about the condition and the latest evidence in this podcast.

Cochrane Incontinence has produced more than 40 Cochrane reviews of interventions that might help people suffering from incontinence. In this podcast, Roses Parker, Cochrane's Commissioning Editor talks with lead author of the review Emily Carter, a senior clinician and researcher in urogynaecology in the Manchester Foundation Trust in the UK about the October 2023 update of the review for single-incision slings, a type of surgery for stress urinary incontinence.

Digital interventions, or mHealth or eHealth interventions, are increasingly common in health care and it's important to evaluate their effects. With this in mind, a new Cochrane Review from February 2024 examines the evidence for smartphone interventions for adolescents and adults with overweight or obesity. In this podcast, Eva Madrid, from the University of Valparaíso in Chile, talks with lead author Maria-Inti Metzendorf, from the University of Düsseldorf, Germany, both of whom are...

When someone has an acute ischemic stroke, urgent, effective, simple and reliable treatments will reduce their risks of disability or dying from their brain tissue damage. The treatments used vary around the world, and a drug called cerebrolysin and its analogues are widely used in post-Soviet countries, Eastern Europe, and Central and Southeast Asia. In October 2023, the latest update of the Cochrane review was published by researchers from Cochrane Russia based at the Russian Medical...

The Cochrane Library contains many reviews relevant to the management of low back pain, one of the common health problems in the world. This includes reviews of what to look out for when someone presents with low back pain and the review of red flags that would highlight the need to screen for a spinal fracture was updated in August 2023. Here’s Chris Han from the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and the University of Sydney in Australia to describe the latest findings.

We’re all probably familiar with physical first aid, but there is also something called mental health first aid and a new Cochrane review was published in August 2023, looking at the evidence on its effects. In this podcast, Roses Parker, Cochrane's Commissioning Editor, talks with two co-authors, Rachel Richardson who leads the Methods Support Unit in Cochrane and George Wellby who works as a psychiatric registrar in London, UK, about the review.

A variety of drugs are used for people with panic disorder and the effects of these were brought together in November 2023 in a Cochrane review and network meta-analysis by Giuseppe Guaiana from Western University in St Thomas Canada and a large group of international authors. Here's Giuseppe to tell us about the problem, and whether these drug treatments are helpful.

Taking over as the Cochrane Review with the most included studies when it was updated in November 2023, is the Cochrane Methodology Review of strategies to improve the response rates for postal and web questionnaires. Here's lead author, Phil Edwards from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK, to outline the importance of the review and its latest findings.

About one in ten live births around the world are preterm and many very preterm babies will develop respiratory distress soon after birth and require help with their breathing. Various strategies are available for this and an updated Cochrane review from July 2023 provides the latest evidence on the early use of nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation compared with nasal continuous positive airway pressure. We asked one of the authors, Marc-Olivier Deguise from the Children's...

About one in ten live births around the world are preterm and many of these babies will develop respiratory distress and require help with their breathing. Various strategies are available for this and an updated Cochrane review from July 2023 provides the latest evidence on the comparison of nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation versus nasal continuous positive airway pressure when a baby’s breathing tube is removed. We asked one of the authors, Marc-Olivier Deguise from the...

Alongside the many thousands of Cochrane reviews of the effects of health care interventions, is a review of decision aids that might help people make decisions about treatment or screening. This was first published in January 2003 and the fifth update has been published 21 years later. Here's the current lead author, Dawn Stacey from the University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in Canada, who's been working on the review for all that time to tell us about the need for the...