Cochrane Library Podcasts

Many women who are breastfeeding experience breast engorgement and this can be a very distressing condition.  Several possible treatments are known. The evidence for these were brought together in a third update to the relevant Cochrane Review in September 2020. The two authors, Irena Zakarija-Grković from Cochrane Croatia, based at the University of Split School of Medicine, and Fiona Stewart from the University of Liverpool in the UK talk about their findings in this podcast, starting with Fiona.

Pine bark extract supplements are marketed to prevent or treat a wide range of chronic diseases and a Cochrane Review from September 2020 assesses the evidence on their efficacy and safety. Monika Evans spoke with lead author, Nina Robertson from Stellenbosch University in South Africa about the findings.

Alongside the many thousands of Cochrane Reviews of the effects of interventions, our reviews of diagnostic test accuracy, or DTA, provide evidence to help clinicians choose between different techniques for diagnosing a health problem. In July 2020, we published the new DTA review on ultrasound versus x-ray for diagnosing pneumothorax in trauma patients. Here's lead author, Kenneth Chan from the Department of Emergency Medicine in the University of Calgary in Canada, to tell us what they found.

Obstructive sleep apnoea is a sleeping disorder that stops a person's breathing for periods during the night. Several treatments have been suggested and a new Cochrane Review for one of these, myofunctional therapy, was published in November 2020. Here's Emma Dennett, Managing Editor from the Cochrane Airways Group to tell us about the condition and the therapy, and the review's findings.

The Cochrane Neonatal Group has produced more than 400 reviews in the last 25 years and strives to keep these up to date as new research becomes available. In October 2020, they produced the third update of the review of probiotics to prevent necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or very low birth weight infants. We asked lead author, William McGuire from the University of York in the United Kingdom, to tell us about the latest evidence.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we gathered the most important questions from a range of stakeholders, including clinicians, patients and researchers. These led to a string of new reviews during 2020 and one of these, published in November 2020, looks at interventions to support the resilience and mental health of frontline workers. Here’s Alex Pollock from Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland to tell us about the review.

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating challenges for diagnosis of the disease, as well as for its treatment. The rapid reviews being prepared and updated by Cochrane are covering both areas. We asked the lead author of the November 2020 versions of our review of the evidence on using imaging tests to diagnose the condition, Nayaar Islam from The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in Canada, to describe the latest findings in this podcast.

The Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group has produced more than 80 reviews on assisted reproduction and continues to add to these. In July 2020, they added a new review on the use of growth-factor supplemented culture media and we asked the lead author, Sarah Armstrong from the University of Sheffield in the UK to tell us what they found.

Chronic pain is a major problem for many people, and it’s important to have up-to-date evidence on the effects of possible treatments. With that in mind, we published the third update of the Cochrane Review of psychological therapies for chronic pain in August 2020 and here’s lead author, Amanda Williams from University College London in the UK to tell us about the latest findings.

Renal vasculitis causes damage to the small blood vessels inside the kidneys and - when untreated - can lead to a rapid loss of kidney function. Therapies that block the immune system to switch off the vasculitis process are available but can lead to serious infections and other long-term complications. The Cochrane Review of treatments to induce and maintain disease remission for renal vasculitis was updated in January 2020 and we asked lead author, Giles Walters from Canberra Hospital in Australia to bring us up-to-date with the findings.