Cochrane Library Podcasts

We're producing a series of reviews covering the accumulating evidence on COVID-19, which are not only looking at the diagnosis and treatment of the disease but are also examining its links to other conditions. One of these reviews, on the effects of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health, was published in March 2021. In this podcast, co-author Keng Siang Lee, from the University of Bristol speaks with the first author, Pierpaolo Pellicori (photo) from the University of Glasgow in the UK about the findings.

In March 2021, the Cochrane Neuro-Oncology Group published a series of eight new systematic reviews on priority topics for the brain tumour community. These were selected from the most important unanswered questions identified by people in this area, using James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership methods, which bring together patients and the public with practitioners. In this podcast, one of the Group’s consumer representatives, Helen Bulbeck, talks with lead author Robin Grant, a consultant neurologist involved in the Edinburgh Centre for Neuro-Oncology in the UK, which is one of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission Centres of Excellence, about the recent review of interventions to reduce time to diagnosis of brain tumours.

In March 2021, the Cochrane Neuro-Oncology Group published a series of eight new complex systematic reviews on priority topics for the brain tumour community. These were selected from the most important unanswered questions identified by people in this area using James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership methods, which bring together patients and the public with practitioners. In this podcast, one of the Group’s consumer representatives, Helen Bulbeck, talks with author Robin Grant, a consultant neurologist involved in the Edinburgh Centre for Neuro-Oncology in the UK about the review of the long-term neurocognitive and other side effects of using radiotherapy as a treatment for glioma.

Alongside its many reviews of interventions to help people quit smoking, the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group published a new review in March 2021 which looks at the effects of quitting smoking on mental health. Co-author, Dr Amanda Farley from the University of Birmingham in the UK tells us about the importance of the review and its findings in this podcast.

The Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group has produced more than 200 reviews of a very wide range of interventions for patients with musculoskeletal problems. In this podcast, senior author Peter Wall, talks with Imran Ahmed, Trainee Orthopaedic Surgeon and NIHR Doctoral Researcher at Warwick Clinical Trials Unit and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in the UK about their December 2020 review of the effects of using a tourniquet in knee replacement surgery.

Cochrane is preparing a special series of reviews to help decision makers deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, and we are keeping these up to date as new evidence becomes available. One of these reviews examines the accuracy of using signs and symptoms to diagnose whether someone has the disease. It was first published in June 2020 and has been updated in February 2021. Here’s the lead author, Thomas Struyf from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, to tell us about the latest findings.

More than 140 Cochrane Reviews investigate the accuracy of diagnostic tests, covering a very wide range of conditions. One of these reviews, on a test used to detect tuberculosis, was updated in January 2021. The first author, Mikashmi Kohli from McGill University in Montreal Canada, tells us about the updating of the review and what they found.

Up to one in four couples planning a baby may have difficulty conceiving. Several interventions are available that might help and Cochrane has reviewed many of these. In August 2020, our review of antioxidants for female subfertility was updated and we asked one of the authors, Dr Rebecca Mackenzie-Proctor from the Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand to tell us about the rationale for the review and the latest evidence.

Alongside many Cochrane reviews of treatments for people with dementia, there are some that look at the effects of interventions that might help the people who care for them. These were added to in January 2021 with a new review of interventions designed to be delivered remotely. Here’s one of the authors, Jenny McCleery from the Oxford Health NHS Trust in England, to tell us about the findings.

One of the earliest Cochrane Reviews studied the effects of steroids for women at risk of a pre-term delivery, and built on an even earlier review. The Cochrane Review has been updated several times and the most recent version was published in December 2020. Two of the authors discuss the latest evidence in this podcast, starting with Emma McGoldrick from the Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust in the UK, who’s talking with Fiona Stewart from the Department of Women's and Children's Health at The University of Liverpool.