Podcasts from The Cochrane Library

Is alpha-lipoic acid (a natural antioxidant) better than no treatment or dummy treatment for nerve damage in people with diabetes?

1 week 5 days ago

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.

Can music and vocal interventions benefit preterm infants and their parents?

2 weeks ago

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 improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm infants.

Comparing two methods of wound closure in stoma reversal: purse-string closure versus linear skin closure

2 weeks 1 day ago

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.

Should transvaginal mesh, biological grafts, or native tissue be utilised to repair vaginal prolapse?

2 weeks 1 day ago

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 Yeung, a consultant urogynaecologist who works in Brisbane, Australia about the latest findings.

Antibiotics for acute middle ear infection (acute otitis media) in children

2 weeks 1 day ago

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.

Are population-based interventions (those aimed at entire communities rather than individuals) helpful in preventing falls and fall-related injuries in older people?

2 weeks 2 days ago

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.

What is the best medication to stop bleeding in those having non-emergency hip or knee surgery?

2 weeks 6 days ago

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.

What are the benefits and harms of ibuprofen for managing pain after an operation in children?

3 weeks 1 day ago

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.

What are the benefits and risks of drugs acting on the immune system to treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis ?

3 weeks 1 day ago

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.

How effective and safe are single-incision slings for women with urinary incontinence compared with other operations?

1 month ago

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.

Smartphone apps for people with overweight or obesity

1 month ago

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 currently on fellowships at the Iberoamerican Cochrane Center in Barcelona, Spain.

Cerebrolysin for acute ischaemic stroke

1 month ago

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 Academy of Continuing Professional Education and two of the authors, Dilyara Nurkhametova and Liliya Eugenevna Ziganshina, discuss it for this podcast.

Use of red flags to screen for vertebral fractures in people with low back pain

1 month 2 weeks ago

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.

Mental Health First Aid as a tool for improving mental health and well-being

1 month 3 weeks ago

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.

Pharmacological treatments in panic disorder in adults: a network meta-analysis

1 month 3 weeks ago

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.

How can response to postal or web questionnaires be increased?

1 month 3 weeks ago

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.

Early nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) versus early nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) for preterm infants

1 month 3 weeks ago

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 Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Canada to tell us about the findings, and he used ElevenLabs to make this recording.

Nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) versus nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) for preterm neonates after extubation

1 month 3 weeks ago

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 Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Canada to tell us about the findings, and he used ElevenLabs to make this recording.

Patient decision aids to help people who are facing decisions about health treatment or screening

1 month 4 weeks ago

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 review and its latest findings.

Interventions to encourage use of seat belts

2 months ago

Before its closure in 2023, the Cochrane Injuries Group worked on more than 150 reviews and one of these, on interventions to encourage the use of seat belts was published in January 2024. Here's the lead author, Andrit Lourens from the Namibia University of Science and Technology to tell us about the findings.

Checked
13 hours 20 minutes ago
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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