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Cochrane Library Podcasts

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Cochrane produces systematic reviews which are recognized as the highest standard in evidence-based health care resources. Listen to Cochrane review authors explain in plain language the evidence and findings of their high-impact reviews. In 5 minutes or less, healthcare professionals to patients and families can understand the latest trusted evidence to help make better informed decisions.
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Episodes

What are the effects of interventions on sales of antimicrobial drugs without prescription in community pharmacies?

The Cochrane Collaboration has produced several systematic reviews of interventions focusing on the problem of antimicrobial resistance. In January 2025, these were added to with a new review about the role of community pharmacies and, in this podcast, Sadatoshi Matsuoka, talks with lead author Moe Moe Thandar from the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Japan about this pressing issue.

Jan 30, 20256 min

Are midwife continuity of care models versus other models of care for childbearing women better for women and their babies?

Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth has produced many reviews of interventions relevant to the organization and delivery of maternity care. In this podcast, two of the group’s researchers, Cristina Fernandez Turienzo and Hannah Rayment-Jones, midwives and senior research fellows at King’s College London in the UK, discuss their April 2024 update for one of these reviews, looking at the effects of midwife continuity of care models for childbearing women.

Jan 09, 20256 min

How accurate are cognitive assessment tools, that are completed by people themselves, at detecting dementia?

There are more than 100 Cochrane reviews relevant to dementia, and these were added to in December 2024 with a new review of the accuracy of self-administered cognitive assessment tools for its detection. In this podcast, Podcast Editor for the Cochrane Library, Mike Clarke, talks with one of the authors, Fariha Naeem from Glasgow Royal Infirmary in Scotland, about the review and its findings.

Dec 19, 20244 min

What are the benefits and risks of different treatments that could delay or slow the progression of progressive multiple sclerosis?

There are more than 60 Cochrane Reviews relevant to multiple sclerosis and, one of these, a network meta-analysis of immunomodulators and immunosuppressants for progressive multiple sclerosis, was updated in September 2024. We asked one of the authors, Francesco Nonino from the Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna in Italy, to tell us about the condition and the latest evidence in this podcast.

Dec 18, 20245 min

Improving the implementation of school-based policies and practices to improve student health

Helping young people develop a healthy lifestyle could have long term implications for their health and wellbeing. In this podcast, Mia Parkinson, Cochrane Communications Officer, talks with Daniel Lee from the University of Newcastle in Callaghan, Australia, about the December 2024 update of the Cochrane review of ways to enhance the implementation of school-based policies or practices to improve diet and physical activity and reduce obesity, and the use of tobacco and alcohol.

Dec 13, 20245 min

Healthcare workers' perceptions and experiences of communicating with older adults about vaccination

Infectious diseases are a major cause of illness and death among older adults. Vaccines can prevent some of these diseases but the uptake of vaccination among older adults varies across settings and groups. Communication with their healthcare worker can help older people makes decisions about vaccination and this is explored in the July 2021 Cochrane qualitative evidence synthesis of healthcare workers’ perceptions and experiences of communicating with people over 50 about vaccination. In this p...

Dec 12, 20246 min

What are the benefits and risks of corticosteroids in adults undergoing heart surgery?

The Cochrane Heart Group’s reviews cover a very wide range of topics, including several relevant to cardiac surgery. In March 2024, their review of using prophylactic corticosteroids for cardiopulmonary bypass was updated. In this podcast, Carla Lucarelli from Imperial College London speaks with new lead author, Riccardo Abbasciano from the University of Leicester in the UK about this latest version of the review.

Dec 11, 20245 min

What are the benefits and risks of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for heart failure?

Cochrane Reviews cover a very wide range of interventions for people with heart disease. One of these looks at exercise-based rehabilitation for patients with heart failure and it was updated for the fourth time in March 2024. Two of the authors, Rod Taylor and Cal Molloy from the University of Glasgow in the UK, discuss the latest findings in this podcast.

Dec 03, 20246 min

Training health workers in breast examination for early detection of breast cancer in low- and middle-income countries

Cochrane Breast Cancer has produced several reviews relevant to the detection of breast cancer. In April 2023, these were added to with a new review of training health workers in low- and middle-income countries to do breast examinations. Here is the lead author, Shahin Sayed from the Aga Khan University in Nairobi Kenya, to tell us about the importance of the review and its findings.

Dec 03, 20245 min

Do biosimilar monoclonal antibodies perform as well as the original medicine for cancer treatment?

Alongside Cochrane Reviews of the effects of original drugs for the treatment of some diseases, reviews are starting to appear of the effects of biosimilars for these drugs. In this podcast, Roses Parker, Cochrane’s Commissioning Editor tells us about the evidence in one of these reviews, published in November 2024, which considers biosimilar monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of patients with cancer.

Nov 29, 20244 min

How long do clinical trials take to publish their results?

In this podcast, you’ll hear from Marian Showell of the University of Auckland in New Zealand about a significant concern in medical research known as publication bias. The updated Cochrane Methodology Review was published in November 2024, bringing together evidence on the size of this problem, drawing on more than 200 studies.

Nov 28, 20245 min

What are the benefits and risks of different perineal techniques during the second stage of labour for preventing post-birth injury?

Globally, postpartum haemorrhage is responsible for a quarter of maternal deaths after childbirth. Tears of the perineum, which are common in vaginal births, are a major contributor to this excessive blood loss, and a variety of techniques are used to try to prevent them. The effects of these interventions are reviewed in a new Cochrane Review published in October 2024 and two of the authors, Tilly Fox and Kerry Dwan from The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK, talk about the findin...

Nov 25, 20245 min

What are the benefits and risks of using tests for lung maturation to assess if preterm newborns need to receive surfactant therapy to improve lung function?

I'm pleased to welcome you to this podcast for a crucial topic in the care of preterm babies: the use of surfactant therapy guided by tests of their lung function. Practice is evolving in this area, and we're here to discuss the latest evidence. Three guests are joining me today, Greta Sibrecht and Franek Borys, authors of the October 2023 Cochrane review, and, later, Anna Lavizzari, lead investigator for one of the ongoing studies.

Nov 22, 20246 min

What are the benefits and harms of interventions to increase eating of fruit and vegetables among children aged five years and under?

Helping people develop good eating habits early in life could have long term implications for their health and wellbeing. In this podcast, Mia Parkinson, Cochrane Communications Officer, talks with Rebecca Hodder from the University of Newcastle in Callaghan, Australia, lead author of the Cochrane review of programs to increase eating of fruit and vegetables among children aged 5 years and under, the latest version of which was published in September 2024.

Nov 12, 20245 min

In women who have had one or both breasts removed, which breast reconstruction technique leads to better quality of life: use of implants or use of the woman's own tissue?

Women undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer treatment or risk reduction can choose among different options for breast reconstruction. In this podcast, the lead author of a new Cochrane review from October 2024, Nicola Rocco, breast oncoplastic surgeon and assistant professor at the University Hospital Federico II of Naples (Italy) discusses its findings for the comparison of implants and autologous tissue for breast reconstruction following mastectomy, with one of his c0-authors, Corrado Rispo...

Nov 04, 20245 min

Is artificial intelligence (AI) better than humans for diagnosing the eye condition 'exudative age-related macular degeneration'?

Age-related macular degeneration is a progressive, sight-threatening disease affecting the retina at the back of the eye. There are several Cochrane Reviews of its treatment and, in October 2024 we published a new review of the use of artificial intelligence for its diagnosis. Here’s the review’s first author, Chaerim Kang from Brown University in the USA, to tell us more.

Nov 04, 20244 min

Can psychological or educational interventions (or combinations of both) reduce falls in older adults who live at home?

One of our most highly cited and largest reviews, published in 2012, looks at interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. During its updating, it’s being split into a series of smaller reviews focused on specific interventions. In this podcast, two authors, Amy Drahota and Heather Mackenzie from the Universities of Portsmouth and Southampton in the UK, talk about the update for the studies of psychological and educational interventions, which was published in Octo...

Nov 04, 20246 min

What are the benefits and risks of treating premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors?

In August 2024, we published the latest update of the Cochrane Review of the effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on women with premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. In this podcast, two of the authors, Jeppe Bennekou Schroll and Cecilie Jespersen, both from Cochrane Denmark, talk about the need for the review and its latest findings.

Oct 09, 20247 min

Drugs to prevent malaria in HIV-positive pregnant women

Some Cochrane Reviews cut across more than one Cochrane Group. This is the case with the September 2024 update of the review of interventions for malaria and HIV in pregnancy. Here are two of the authors, Clara Pons-Duran and Raquel González from Barcelona University in Spain to tell us about the importance of the review and its findings.

Sep 26, 20245 min

Which approaches help with recovery after a broken ankle in adults?

Ankle fractures are one of the most common fractures of the lower limb and it’s important to have evidence on how to help people recover from them. There’s been a Cochrane Review of this since 2008 and the most recent update was published in September 2024. In this podcast, Sophie Degraeve from Symmetron, talks with new author, Chris Bretherton from the Blizard Institute at Queen Mary University of London in the UK, about the latest findings.

Sep 23, 20245 min

Psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating anxiety, depression and existential distress in people with life-threatening diseases

Several Cochrane Reviews look at interventions for palliative care. These were added to in September 2024 with the publication of a new review of psychedelic-assisted therapy. In this podcast, two of the authors, Sivan Schipper from Spital Uster and Christopher Boehlke from University Hospital Basel both in Switzerland, tell us about the treatment and the review’s findings.

Sep 18, 20245 min

Medicines to reduce pain and discomfort during spinal tap in newborns

The Cochrane Neonatal Group produces and updates Cochrane Reviews to provide comprehensive coverage of the evidence on the care of babies and infants. In this podcast, we present an important topic in neonatal care: the management of pain and discomfort during spinal taps in newborns, for which a new Cochrane review was published in September 2023. In this podcast, two of the authors talk about the findings. Ehsan Hedayati and Sara Pessano, welcome to the podcast.

Sep 10, 20244 min

Comparing skin treatments for eczema

The Cochrane Skin group has produced more than 100 reviews. These were added to in August 2024 by a new network meta-analysis of topical anti-inflammatory treatments for eczema. We asked lead author, Robert Boyle from Imperial College London in the UK to tell us about the condition and the findings of his review in this podcast.

Sep 05, 20244 min

What are healthcare workers' views, experiences and practices regarding their informal use of personal mobile phones to support their work?

Mobile phones feature widely in the delivery of health care, and they are also used informally by people delivering this care. This is explored in an August 2024 Cochrane qualitative evidence synthesis of healthcare workers’ use of their own phones at work. In this podcast, two of the authors, Nelson Sewankambo from Makerere University in Uganda and Claire Glenton from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences talk about why they did the review and its findings.

Aug 28, 20247 min

Does diabetes increase the risk of tuberculosis?

There are many Cochrane Reviews about the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis and those involved in managing this condition also need to know about its prognosis, especially in the presence of other illnesses. We can now help them in regard to diabetes and tuberculosis, with a new review published in August 2024. Here are two of the authors, Juan Franco and Yang Guo from the Institute of General Practice, Medical Faculty of the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf in Germany, to tell us more...

Aug 26, 20246 min
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