Podcasts from The Cochrane Library

How accurate is the CAM-ICU tool for the diagnosis of delirium in adult patients admitted to critical care units?

1 year ago

Many patients in intensive care develop delirium and there are several Cochrane reviews of ways to treat it. In November 2023, we added a review on the reliability of the confusion assessment method for diagnosing it and asked lead author, Fabian Miranda from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, to tell us about the topic and the review's findings in this podcast.

Antioxidants for adults with chronic kidney disease

1 year ago

There are several Cochrane Reviews of the effects of a class of drugs called antioxidants, covering a wide range of health conditions. One of these, focused on adults with chronic kidney disease, was updated in November 2023. In this podcast, Julia Colombijn, talks with fellow author, Robin Vernooij, both from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, about the topic and the findings of the review.

Vaccines for preventing shingles in older adults

1 year ago

One of the updated Cochrane Reviews from October 2023 is the third update of a review of the effects of vaccines for Herpes Zoster. It was conducted by a team of researchers in Brazil and we asked one of the authors, Juliana Gomes from the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Federal University of São Paulo, to describe its importance and main findings.

Delayed antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory tract infections

1 year 1 month ago

Respiratory infections are one of the commonest reasons for patients to present to primary care or general practice, and antibiotics are widely used as a treatment for them. However, there are increasing concerns about the use of antibiotics and various strategies have been developed to reduce their use. These include something called 'delayed antibiotics' and, in October 2023, the relevant Cochrane Review was updated. Here's Geoff Spurling from the University of Queensland in Australia to tell us about this strategy and the latest findings of the review.

Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections

1 year 1 month ago

Back in October 1998, we published the first version of the Cochrane review of the effects of cranberry for preventing urinary tract infections. Twenty-five years on, the sixth update was published in November 2023 and here's lead author, Gabrielle Williams from University of Sydney in Australia to bring us up to date in this podcast.

Which medicines, taken by mouth or injected, work best to treat a skin condition called plaque psoriasis?

1 year 1 month ago

The Cochrane Skin Group has produced some of the largest Cochrane reviews, providing a “one stop shop” for people interested in a wide range of interventions for a particular skin condition. One such example is the review of systemic medicines to treat psoriasis, which was updated for the fourth time in July 2023. We asked two of the authors, Laurence Le Cleach, head of the French satellite of the Cochrane Skin group, and dermatologist at Henri Mondor hospital, AP-HP in France and Emilie Sbidian, a dermatologist working at the same hospital, to describe the findings. Here's Laurence to begin.

Do antioxidant vitamin and mineral supplements slow down the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)?

1 year 1 month ago

Age-related macular degeneration is a progressive and sight-threatening disease affecting the central area of the retina at the back of the eye. There are Cochrane Reviews of the use of antioxidant vitamin and mineral supplements to prevent or slow down progression of the disease and the latter was updated in September 2023. Here's lead author, Jenny Evans from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK to tell us about the latest evidence.

Laser therapy for hypertrophic and keloid scars

1 year 1 month ago

Hypertrophic and keloid scars are common skin conditions resulting from abnormal wound healing. One possible treatment involves the use of a laser and a new Cochrane Review of the evidence was published in September 2022. We asked one of the authors, Ana Carolina Nunes from Cochrane Brazil in Sao Paolo, to tell us more in this podcast.

Temperature and storage conditions for human insulin

1 year 1 month ago

The many Cochrane Reviews related to the use of insulin for people with diabetes were added to in November 2023 with a new review of the thermal stability and storage of human insulin. Here's Bernd Richter, lead author and Emeritus Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders Group, based in Düsseldorf, Germany, to tell us what they found.

What are the benefits and risks of methylxanthines (mild stimulant medicines) for premature babies whose breathing pauses during sleep (apnea)?

1 year 1 month ago

An important problem for babies who are born too early is a condition called apnea and a new Cochrane review published in October 2023 brings together the evidence on the effects of a class of drugs called methylxanthines. We asked one of the authors, Matteo Bruschettini from Cochrane Sweden, to tell us about the review's findings in this podcast and he used an AI voice from elevenlabs.io to make the recording.

The effect of individual-level interventions for reducing stress in healthcare workers

1 year 1 month ago

Cochrane Work has produced many systematic reviews of interventions that might help workers stay safe in the workplace. In this podcast, Roos Schelvis, senior researcher in mental health and work and Sietske Tamminga, assistant professor, both from Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands discuss the May 2023 update of one of these, which looks at the effects of individual-level stress interventions for healthcare workers.

How can we communicate better with people and communities about measures which help to prevent and control COVID-19?

1 year 2 months ago

Clear communication with the public is a key part of the response to disasters and health emergencies, and the October 2023 update of a rapid review from 2020 investigates this in relation to measures to help to prevent and control COVID-19. Here's lead author Rebecca Ryan from La Trobe University in Australia to tell us more.

Is methylphenidate an effective treatment for children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and does it cause unwanted effects?

1 year 2 months ago

The Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group produced several reviews relevant to the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the update for one of these, investigating the drug methylphenidate, was published in March 2023. Here's one of the authors, Maja Storm from the Psychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand in Denmark, to tell us about the latest evidence.

Which treatments are effective for the management of complex regional pain syndrome in adults?

1 year 2 months ago

For some health conditions, there are multiple Cochrane reviews, each looking at the effects of a different intervention. Overviews of reviews are intended to help users to consider all interventions together and one of these overviews, for treating pain and disability in adults with complex regional pain syndrome was updated in June 2023. Here's lead author, Michael Ferraro from Neuroscience Research Australia, to describe the findings.

Are interventions for fatigue effective among people with kidney failure requiring dialysis?

1 year 2 months ago

Alongside their reviews on treatments for chronic kidney disease, the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Group produce reviews for interventions that might help with its consequences. These were added to in August 2023 with a new review of ways to help manage the fatigue experienced by people requiring dialysis. Here's lead author, Patrizia Natale from the University of Sydney in Australia, to tell us about the review.

What are the effects of intensive control of blood sugar before, during and after surgery in people with diabetes?

1 year 2 months ago

People with diabetes face additional challenges when they need treatments, such as surgery, for other conditions. In the August 2023 update to the Cochrane review, reviewers examined whether perioperative glycaemic control might help with this, and we asked joint lead author, Dídac Mauricio from the CIBER of Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Disease in Barcelona Spain to tell us more in this podcast.

Which remotely-delivered psychological approaches help people with long-term chronic pain to improve symptoms?

1 year 2 months ago

The Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Group has produced more than 300 reviews and added to these in August 2023 with a review of remotely-delivered psychological therapies for chronic pain in adults. Here's one of the authors, Geoff Duggan formerly from the Bath Centre for Pain Services in the UK, to tell us about the importance of the review and its findings.

Checked
6 hours 33 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.
Subscribe to Podcasts from The Cochrane Library feed