Most Cochrane Reviews take their evidence from randomized trials of the effects of healthcare interventions, and these trials need to be efficient and reliable. A challenge for many trials is ensuring that people who agree to join the study are followed up, so that their outcomes are measured. An updated Cochrane Methodology Review from March 2021 looks at research into ways to improve this retention, and our Podcast Editor, Mike Clarke, spoke with lead author, Katie Gillies, from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland about the review in this podcast.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the most common lung conditions and there are several Cochrane reviews of possible treatments. One of these, dealing with integrated disease management, was updated in September 2021 and we asked lead author Charlotte Poot from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands to tell us about the latest findings.

Blood transfusions are a very common medical procedure, and it’s important to balance the potential benefits and harms. In December 2021, Jeffrey Carson from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in New Brunswick in the USA, and colleagues updated the Cochrane Review of research comparing different triggers for transfusing red blood cells and we asked him to tell us more about the importance of the review and its findings.

Among the many Cochrane reviews of possible treatments for depression, the one looking at the effects of omega-3 fatty acids was updated in November 2021. Here’s lead author, Katherine Appleton from Bournemouth University in the UK to tell us about the update and the latest evidence.

Alongside the thousands of Cochrane Reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions, there are many that look at how to organise and deliver health care. One of these, on the use of a strategy called “paying for performance” was updated in May 2021. Here's one of the authors, Sophie Witter from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh in Scotland, to tell us about the strategy and its effectiveness.

Cochrane is producing a series of reviews to help in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these, our systematic review of interventions for palliative symptom control in people dying of COVID-19 was published in August 2021. In this podcast, Claire Iannizzi speaks with the lead author, Marike Andreas, both from the University Hospital Cologne in Germany, about the review’s findings. 

Cochrane has produced several reviews to help decision makers respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, we published the first version of a living systematic review on systemic corticosteroids and, in this podcast, the first authors, Mirko Griesel of the University of Leipzig Medical Center and Carina Wagner of the University Hospital in Cologne, Germany, talk about the evidence they’ve found and the potential effects of these drugs.