Cochrane is named in honour of Archie Cochrane, a British medical researcher who contributed greatly to the development of epidemiology as a science. 

Archie Cochrane is best known for his influential book, Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services, published in 1972. The principles he set out in it so clearly were straightforward: he suggested that, because resources would always be limited, they should be used to provide equitably those forms of health care which had been shown in properly designed evaluations to be effective. In particular, he stressed the importance of using evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) because these were likely to provide much more reliable information than other sources of evidence. Cochrane's simple propositions were soon widely recognised as seminally important - by lay people as well as by health professionals.

How can we have a rational health service if we don’t know which of the things being done in it are useful and which are useless or possibly even harmful? — Archie Cochrane

In 1979 he wrote, "It is surely a great criticism of our profession that we have not organised a critical summary, by specialty or subspecialty, adapted periodically, of all relevant randomised controlled trials." His challenge led to the establishment during the 1980s of an international collaboration to develop the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials.

In 1987, the year before Cochrane died, he referred to a systematic review of RCTs of care during pregnancy and childbirth as "a real milestone in the history of randomized trials and in the evaluation of care", and suggested that other specialties should copy the methods used. His encouragement, and the endorsement of his views by others, led to the opening of the first Cochrane Centre (in Oxford, UK) in 1992 and the founding of  Cochrane in 1993.

Archie portrait made up of contributors pictures

Today Cochrane members and supporters come from 190 countries . We are researchers, health professionals, patients, carers, and people passionate about improving health outcomes for everyone, everywhere. Our global independent network gathers and summarizes the best evidence from research to help you make informed choices about treatment and we have been doing this for 30 years.

The 12th of January marks Archie Cochrane's birthday and it's a great opportunity to reflect on his contributions.

• Learn more about Archie Cochrane on Wikipedia
• Read BMJ Editorial 'Revisiting the value of Archie Cochrane’s contributions' by Xavier Bonfill
• Learn more about the work of Cochrane

Thursday, January 11, 2024

慢性静脈不全に対する水療法 要点 - バルネオセラピー（水療法）は、何もしない場合と比較して、慢性静脈不全（血液が心臓にうまく戻らず、足に溜まってしまう状態）の人で、おそらく病気の重症度が少し改善し、痛みや皮膚の色の変化も改善する可能性がある。 - 水療法は無治療と比較して生活の質(QOL)を改善する可能性があるが、その結果については非常に不確かなものである。副作用、下腿潰瘍、浮腫（脚の腫れ）に差があることを示すエビデンスはほとんど見つからなかった。 - 水療法を他の治療法と比較したエビデンスは非常に限られている。フレボトニック（毛細血管脆弱性を軽減し、静脈不全における微小循環を改善する薬剤）と呼ばれる薬との比較では、痛みや浮腫を感じる人の数に差があることを示すエビデンスは見つからなかった。乾燥地での運動と比較して、水療法はQOLと浮腫を若干改善する可能性があるが、QOLに関しては非常に不確かなエビデンスである。 慢性静脈不全とは？ 慢性静脈不全は、下肢静脈に血液が異常に運ばれ、静脈が心臓に十分な血液を送り返すことができないために起こる病気である。この症状の人は、静脈がこぶのように肥大していることが多い。多くの症状が考えられる中で、最も深刻なのは静脈性潰瘍である。 慢性静脈不全はどのように治療するのか？ 慢性静脈不全の治療法には、圧迫（力を加えること）、理学療法、薬物療法、手術な...

慢性閉塞性肺疾患に対し、呼吸筋を鍛える運動は有効か？ 要点 ・通常の運動に呼吸筋を鍛えるための運動を取り入れても、息切れ、体力、および生活の質は改善されない可能性がある。呼吸筋の強さと持久力は増加したが、患者に十分な変化をもたらすほどではなかった。 ・運動をしない場合と比較した場合、呼吸筋を鍛えるための運動は、息切れ、体力、および生活の質を改善する可能性がある。呼吸筋の強さと持久力は増加したが、患者に利益をもたらすかどうかは不明である。 ・呼吸筋の機能が低下している患者が、通常の運動または呼吸筋を鍛える運動を数週間行うことが効果的かどうかは不明である。 ・今後は、呼吸筋の機能が低下している患者に焦点を当て、より多くの参加者を対象にした研究を行う必要がある。 慢性閉塞性肺疾患（COPD）とは何か？ 慢性閉塞性肺疾患（COPD）とは、息切れや咳を引き起こす気道の閉塞を特徴とする肺の疾患で、タバコの煙や化学物質などの刺激性ガスを長期にわたって吸入した後に発症する。呼吸筋を訓練し鍛えることで、呼吸が改善され、気道の閉塞が軽減されると考えられている。 COPD患者はどのような運動療法を行っているのか？ COPDの改善のためにさまざまな運動療法が行われている。 ・症状を軽減し、運動能力や生活の質を向上させるために、一般的な運動や教育のプログラムを実施する人もいる。 ・専用の器具を使った一連の...

Cochrane London 2023: Forward together for trusted evidence
4-6 September 2023
Central London, UK

Cochrane UK is delighted to be hosting the  Cochrane Colloquium at the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Centre in London, UK from the 4 to 6 of September 2023, with satellite events and meetings on the 3rd September.

Cochrane is an international non-profit network that provides evidence-based scientific knowledge to improve healthcare for all people worldwide. Cochrane Reviews summarise all available research on a specific health question. They are up-to-date, follow a rigorous scientific methodology, and are free from commercial conflicts of interest. Health professionals, patients, and policy makers trust Cochrane Reviews for their healthcare decision-making. Cochrane works with researchers, health professionals, patients, policy makers, and media representatives from around the world to make Cochrane Reviews relevant and usable.

Cochrane holds an annual conference, known as a Colloquium, that brings together Cochrane researchers, clinical professionals, early career professionals, patients and carers, policymakers, and anyone interested in evidence synthesis and evidence-based healthcare. The events are a mix of keynote speakers, training opportunities, workshops, presentations, and a lively social and networking atmosphere. They are an exciting opportunity for a community of evidence synthesis enthusiasts to share, learn, and connect.  

We invite everyone to visit the website - colloquium2023.cochrane.org - for all information related to the colloquium as it's released, including submissions for abstracts and awards/prizes, registration, stipend applications, and the event programme.

The theme of the Colloquium is 'Forward together for trusted evidence', which explores the challenges for the future around the trustworthiness of healthcare information whilst also celebrating 30 years of producing trusted evidence. Today, we have launched guidance and recommendations to help you prepare in advance for your abstract submissions. The official call for abstracts will open on the 30 January 2023.

We invite abstract submissions for the following streams: producing trusted evidence; advocating for trusted evidence; informing health and care decisions; and co-production and working together. 

• Abstract  submission guidance
  
• Workshop submission guidance 

Catherine Spencer, Cochrane CEO said, “The Cochrane Colloquium will bring people together in one place to discuss, develop and promote Cochrane’s work. I am looking forward to a packed programme at my first colloquium and encourage you to start to think about your contributions now as the call for abstracts will be open soon.”

Martin Burton, Director of Cochrane UK, said: “We are really looking forward to receiving submissions of abstracts for London 2023.  We’d like to encourage everyone to start thinking about their contributions now – whether they are planning oral presentations, workshops or posters. We have prepared this guidance to help everyone to prepare their contributions in good time before submissions are formally opened on 30 January 2023.” 

• Abstract  submission guidance
  
• Workshop submission guidance 
• Colloquium website 
• #CochraneLondon
• Press contact: Katie Abbotts, Cochrane UK

  Wednesday, January 18, 2023

認知症の睡眠障害に対する非薬物的介入 認知症の人の睡眠の問題とは何か？ 認知症の人は、目覚めている時間の長さや回数が増えたり、眠りが浅くなるなど、睡眠に問題があることが多い。そのため、認知症の人やその親族、介護者にさまざまな問題が生じ、場合によっては介護者の苦痛につながり、老人ホームや介護施設に入所することになる。 薬以外の介入は有効か？ 認知症の人の睡眠を改善するために薬が役立つかどうかは分からないので、薬以外の介入が頻繁に推奨されている。光療法、社会的・身体的活動、環境を変える（夜間の騒音や光を減らすなど）、あるいは昼間の睡眠を避けることなどが挙げられる。また、これらの構成要素を2つ以上組み合わせた介入プログラム（いわゆる「マルチモーダル介入（複合的介入）」；例、光療法と認知症の人のための活動の組み合わせ）も利用できる。 何が知りたかったのか？ 認知症と睡眠障害を持つ人に対する薬以外の介入の効果を検証した臨床試験を検索した。これらの介入やプログラムが、睡眠を改善し、認知症患者やその介護者に対する副作用を回避できるかどうかを検討した。 何を行ったのか？ 認知症の人の睡眠を改善するための薬以外の介入を評価するランダム化比較試験（通常、治療の効果について最も信頼できるエビデンスを与える研究デザイン）を検索した。研究方法と参加者数などの因子に基づいて、研究結果とエビデンスの確信度を比...

ケロイドの治療にシリコンゲルシートを使用する利点とリスクは何か？ 要点 以下の場合よりも、シリコンゲルシートの使用が瘢痕の外観をより改善させるかどうかは不明である： - 処置を行わなかった場合 - シリコンを含まないシリコンゲルシートに類似した貼付材による処置を行った場合 - トリアムシノロンアセトニドを病変部または皮下へ直接注入した場合 シリコンゲルシートによる処置が、処置を行わなかった場合と比較した際の痛みに及ぼす影響については不明である。 シリコンゲルシートを使用しない場合やトリアムシノロンアセトニドの局所注射を行った場合と比較して、シリコーンゲルシートによる処置が痛みに影響を与えるかどうかは不明である。 ケロイドとは何か？ 傷や怪我が治った後に皮膚に残る傷跡を瘢痕（はんこん）と言う。瘢痕が異常に発達して隆起した場合にケロイドが形成されるが、その見た目の悪さから、身体的、精神的に影響を及ぼすことがある。ケロイドは軽いけがの後に発症することが多く、元の傷の周囲の皮膚に広がることがある。ケロイドは治療が困難で、性別や、年齢を問わず発生する可能性がある。 ケロイドはどのように治療されるのか？ シリコンゲルシートは、弾力性のあるシリコンを配合した、柔軟性のある被覆材である。ゴムのような柔らかな感触で、皮膚に容易に貼り付けることができる。シリコンゲルシートは、ケロイドの治療に最適と考...

成人の糖尿病性腎臓病の患者における低たんぱく質食 何が問題なのか？ 透析を必要としない糖尿病性腎臓病（DKD）の患者には、慢性腎臓病の進行を遅らせるために、食事中のたんぱく質の量を制限することが推奨される場合がある。しかし、たんぱく質の摂取量については依然として不明な点がある。 何を行ったのか？ 透析を受けていない成人のDKD患者において、低たんぱく質食が腎臓病の進行に及ぼす影響に関するエビデンスについて検索を行った。検索したエビデンスは2022年11月17日までのものである。低たんぱく質食（0.6～0.8g/kg/日）と通常食、または非制限食（1.0g以上/kg/日）について12か月以上比較を行った研究を検索し、すべての研究の結果を統合した。 何が見つかったのか？ 異なる病期の慢性腎臓病を持つ計486人のDKD患者を対象とした8件の研究が見つかった。研究には、1型糖尿病と2型糖尿病が含まれていた。その結果、低たんぱく質食の糸球体濾過率の減少を遅らせる効果については不確実であった。通常食、または非制限食と比較した場合、低たんぱく質食は死亡、または透析が必要な腎不全への進行に対し、ほとんど影響を及ぼさない可能性が示唆された。ほとんどの研究で栄養状態が報告されており、低たんぱく質食群において栄養不良の可能性を示した研究は1件のみであった。健康に関連した生活の質（QOL）にはほとんど、...

Location: Flexible location (remote working) – contract type dependent on location.
Specifications: Permanent position. Employment contract if successful applicant based in UK, Germany or Denmark. Consultancy contract in other locations.
Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week) or part-time (please specify desired working hours)
Salary: £30,000 per annum, prorata
Application Closing Date: Tuesday 17 January 2023 (Midnight GMT).

This role is an exciting opportunity to use your communication and problem-solving skills to make a difference in the field of healthcare research and publishing. 

Cochrane implemented Editorial Manager in 2021 as the editorial and production system for Cochrane Reviews. This role has a significant focus on supporting authors, editors and peer reviewers in using Editorial Manager for submission and peer review; and our linked system Convey for managing Declarations of Interest. Applications are particularly welcomed from candidates with experience of using these or similar systems.

The Cochrane Support team provides technical and user support to Cochrane editorial teams and review authors; and handle enquiries from members of the public about Cochrane’s work. We pride ourselves on our timely and coordinated support service, covering a broad range of areas, with a focus on Cochrane review-writing software and editorial processing and publication.

The team works closely with Cochrane’s Central Editorial Service and other related departments, to ensure accurate, consistent responses to queries on Cochrane technology, policies and methods.

Cochrane is a global, independent network of health practitioners, researchers, patient advocates and others, responding to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. We do this by synthesizing research findings to produce the best available evidence on what can work, what might harm and where more research is needed. Our work is recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to their values.

How to apply: 

• For further information on the role and how to apply, please click here  
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples.
• If you are applying for part-time work, please specify the number of hours you are interested in working.
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement
• Deadline for applications: Tuesday 17 January 2023 (12 midnight GMT)

 

Thursday, December 22, 2022 Category: Jobs

Location: Remote, UK. 
Specifications: Permanent contract.
Hours: Full-time week (flexible working considered) – 37.5 hours.
Salary: £52,363 per annum.
Application Closing Date: 8 January (Midnight GMT Time)

We are a global, independent organization that strives to inform health-care decisions every day. We gather and summarize the best evidence from research to help doctors, nurses, patients, carers, researchers, funders, and policymakers. We do not accept commercial or conflicted funding, and work to minimize risk of bias, in order to generate authoritative and reliable information.

As our new IT Infrastructure Operations Manager, you will ensure the fitness-for-purpose, cost-effectiveness, availability, and security of Cochrane’s IT systems infrastructure and operations. Monitor and help manage the lifecycle of our in-house software. Set policy for, and advise on the provision of, IT for the Cochrane Central Executive team (ca. 100 people).

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to their values.

How to apply:

• For further information on the job description and how to apply, please click here. 
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples. 
• Note that we will assess applications as they are received, and therefore may fill the post before the deadline.
  
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement
• Deadline for applications: 8 January 2023 (Midnight GMT).
• Interviews to be held on: W/C 16 February 2023(times and exact dates to be confirmed).

Thursday, December 22, 2022 Category: Jobs

Specifications: Full Time (Permanent)
Salary: £51,489 per annum
Location: Ideally based in the UK, Germany or Denmark. Candidates from the rest of the world will be considered; however, Cochrane’s Central Executive Team is only able to offer consultancy contracts outside these countries (1-year fixed-term contracts)
Application Closing Date: 8th January 2023

Cochrane has established a centrally-resourced Editorial Service to support the efficient and timely publication of high-quality systematic reviews in the Cochrane Library. The reviews that are published through the Central Editorial Service address some of the research questions considered to be the most important to decision makers.

Working as part of a friendly and supportive international team, the Senior Managing Editor will be responsible for managing the efficient and timely editorial processing of a portfolio of approximately 150 publications per year.  The role holder will be expected to prioritise and delegate editorial tasks as appropriate. They will also need to be an advocate for the Editorial Service internally and externally to Cochrane and remain alert to immediate demands of delivering high-quality review content for publication in a timely fashion.      

Reporting to the Executive Editor and working with members of the Editorial Production and Methods Directorate, the role holder will need to have good awareness of Cochrane guidance for different types of standard and complex systematic reviews (intervention, qualitative, diagnostic test accuracy, prognosis, rapid and overview), plan how they will need to be handled in their team, and work to ensure that deadlines are met. The role holder will also be required to ensure that pilots aimed at innovating the editorial process can be supported as needed.  

The majority of Cochrane Central Executive staff are located in London, UK, however flexible locations are possible for the right candidate. Please note, however, that we are only able to offer consultancy contracts outside of the UK, Germany or Denmark.

We will consider extended notice periods if required for applicants who wish to honour existing contracts. We fully support remote and flexible working arrangements.  

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply, please click here. 
• The deadline to receive your application is by 8th January 2023. 
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples.
• Note that we will assess applications as they are received, and therefore may fill the post before the deadline.
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 Category: Jobs

Cochrane Crowd is a global community of volunteers who are helping to classify the research needed to support informed decision-making about health care. Recently Cochrane Mexico held an in-person screening challenge that helped introduce students to randomized control trials and evidence assessment while contributing to global research efforts. 

The job of the Cochrane Crowd community is to review descriptions of research studies to identify and classify randomized controlled trials (RCTs), a type of study that is considered the gold standard for clinical trials. Reports of RCTs are then fed into Cochrane’s Central Register of Controlled Trials, helping Cochrane authors and other systematic reviewers around the world quickly find the evidence they need to determine whether a treatment works, or whether a diagnostic test is accurate.

8,000 RCTs identified in 24-hour student event

The Cochrane Mexico Associated Centre at Sinaloa’s Pediatric Hospital and the Autonomous University of Sinaloa took on their second in-person Cochrane Crowd challenge. For 24 hours students from both logged into Cochrane Crowd, screened studies, and identified RCTs. In total, 579 students performed more than 250,000 classifications, which identified 8,712 RCTs. This 24-hour event topped the number of RCTs identified in Cochrane Mexico’s first Cochrane Crowd event in 2018, which lasted for 3 days.

Students who screened more than 1,000 records received their Cochrane membership . In addition, evidence-based medicine books were awarded to all those who exceeded 1,000 classifications, had a sensitivity greater than 95%, and an overall accuracy greater than 70% to identify clinical trials. 

Giordano Perez-Gaxiola, director of Cochrane Mexico and key challenge organizer, says: “Cochrane Crowd is a great introduction to systematic reviews and randomized control trials for students. Having students participate in a time-limited challenge is a fun way to engage students and was simple for us to set-up. The students exceeded all our expectations this year and we are so proud of them! Many of the students enjoyed it so much and could see results of their efforts for global health research that they are continuing to do screening on Cochrane Crowd!”

Anyone can join Cochrane Crowd and no previous experience is necessary

“Cochrane sends its thanks to all those involved in this citizen scientist challenge using Cochrane Crowd – what an amazing achievement in just 24 hours!” says Anna Noel-Storr, Head of Cochrane’s Evidence Pipeline. “We hope these students inspire everyone to give Cochrane Crowd a try. From medical students, to clinicians, to anyone with an interest in health research – being a part of Cochrane Crowd can help individuals develop skills in understanding health evidence while collectively contributing to global research efforts.” 

Has Cochrane Mexico inspired you to organise a Cochrane Crowd challenge at your workplace or university? If so, please get in contact and we will support you to get one up and running: crowd@cochrane.org.

• Join Cochrane Crowd - everyone is welcome! 
• If you teach evidence-based medicine, check out Cochrane Classmate, the platform we run challenges on.  

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Dear Cochrane Colleagues, Members and Supporters, 

Thank you to everyone across our community for your dedication and commitment to Cochrane during 2022. The last few years have at times felt tumultuous, both due to Covid and world events, but also because of the changes we are making to ensure that Cochrane is fit for a future that meets our vision of a world of better health for all people, where decisions about health and care are informed by high-quality evidence. 

We are well on our way to creating an evolved impact-driven organisation to support evidence-based health and social care. With your help we are building on your enormous achievements, over the past thirty years, to create new ways of producing the right evidence, in a timely manner, to support decision making.  

Our updated Future Cochrane micro-site demonstrates the scale of progress at Cochrane and the work under way to transition to our new model. The site is designed to be a one-stop shop for news and information on the change process.  

In November we announced Cochrane’s first seven new Thematic Groups. The first groups are: 

• Global Ageing 
• Health Equity 
• Nutrition and Physical Activity 
• Person-Centred Care, Public Health and Health Systems 
• Sexual and Reproductive Health 
• Vascular 
• Work and Health and Social Security 

Feature profiles of each Thematic Group will be published in the months ahead, with Person Centred Care, Health Systems and Public Health and Nutrition and Physical Activity kicking off the series this month. Keep an eye out for Health Equity when the series resumes in early February.  

Many of you are interested in the next steps of our transition. We will make further announcements about the process for establishing Evidence Synthesis Units next year. 

At the end of November Jimmy Volmink provided a superb Cochrane lecture focusing on equality and diversity. Many of the themes and challenges that he raised are already being threaded through our future plans.  

Open Access is of course key to that future, ensuring that more people have immediate access to our content.  Progress demonstrating our commitment was evident last month when Cochrane launched Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods, our first open access journal, in which we will publish diverse types of evidence synthesis, methods research, and research on other areas vital to evidence synthesis. This new platform allows us to disseminate research beyond systematic reviews from across Cochrane groups and collaborators ­– who until now, have not been able to publish their research in a Cochrane journal.  

And of course, we have been delighted with the high-profile reviews that we’ve published in the Cochrane Library. 

• Efficacy and safety of COVID‐19 vaccines  
• Unintended consequences of measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review 
• SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to prevent COVID-19 
• Janus kinase inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19 
• Interleukin-1 blocking agents for the treatment of COVID-19 
• Interventions for preventing falls in Parkinson's disease 
• Interventions to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake: a scoping review 
• Inhaled corticosteroids for the treatment of COVID-19 
• Immunity after COVID-19 vaccination in people with higher risk of compromised immune status: a scoping review 
• Replacing salt with low-sodium salt substitutes (LSSS) for cardiovascular and renal health in adults, children and pregnant women 
• Fluvoxamine for the treatment of COVID-19 
• Guaiac-based faecal occult blood tests versus faecal immunochemical tests for colorectal cancer screening in average-risk individuals 

As we ramp up our fundraising efforts across the organisation it’s great to see that we have already had success in the US, with  $5 million for Cochrane Eyes & Vision US Satellite,  $1 million to Cochrane US Network and in South Africa with partners, funding for The Global Evidence, Local Adaptation project.  

Other successes include: 

• 6,100+ plain language summaries were translated in 15 different languages in 2022 so far 
• Cochrane Rehab joins World Rehab Alliance 
• Impact factor increased 
• WHO postnatal guidelines 
• WHO labour recommendations  

Diversity and Inclusion progress: 

• Diversity and inclusion report 
• Launch of Evidence Essentials 5: consumer involvement in Cochrane  
• Signed a public involvement pledge 
• Updated Cochrane Engage volunteer hub 

And there’s also great news from our Evidence Pipeline Team. Cochrane has always been a leader in innovation, and now we have demonstrated further success by introducing the ability to browse the Cochrane Library by patient/population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes, which is universally shortened to PICO. It is now possible to browse Cochrane content using themed groups of included PICOs from the Cochrane Library homepage. Users can discover Cochrane content using themed groups of included PICOs curated and maintained by Cochrane PICO ontology experts. With one click, users can see all available search results for categories with included PICOs. In addition, there is clear contextual help for those new to PICOs, with clear guidance on using PICOs and links to the relevant section of the Cochrane Handbook.  

Additional successes include: 

• Over 5200 new contributors have joined Cochrane Crowd this year, bringing total Crowd community to 28,302 people from 178 countries! 
• 1.7 million records assessed by the Crowd this year 
• Launched new Crowd task PICO Extract in August 2022. Over 4000 RCTs have now been PICO annotated.  
• We launched the Central Study Identification Service – a service that helps to identify the studies for any Cochrane Review. We are in a pilot phase at the moment but the service has been used by 7 Cochrane Intervention Reviews so far and reduced author screening by an average of 70%.  
• Cochrane Crowd hosted a huge 24-hour screening challenge in October this year: organised by Cochrane Mexico using Cochrane Classmate, nearly 600 students screened over 250,000 records in just 24 hours. 

2022 has been a busy but productive year, thank you all for the incredible work you have done. 

2023 promises to be challenging as we continue our transformation. This includes the changes to UK Review Groups as a result of the loss of NIHR funding in the UK; their contribution to the Cochrane Library and Cochrane has been immense. It is difficult to find words which adequately describe how much they have given to Cochrane. 

As we look towards a new future at Cochrane I look forward to collaborating and working with you to use the best of the past to create more impact in more locations around the world. 

Best wishes for a wonderful festive season and a happy and healthy 2023, 

Catherine Spencer, CEO 

On behalf of the Executive Leadership Team 

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Thursday, December 15, 2022

早産・低出生体重児の動脈管開存症（PDA）に対するパラセタモール（アセトアミノフェン）の効果と危険性は何か？ 背景 早産児や未熟児、低出生体重児によく見られる合併症に、動脈管開存症（PDA）がある。赤ちゃんが生まれる前は、肺がまだ機能していないため、肺への血液循環は必要ない。その代わり、胎盤が胎児の血液に酸素を供給している。PDAは、肺動脈（生まれた後には、心臓から肺に酸素が少ない血液を運ぶ血管）と大動脈（肺静脈を通って肺から心臓へと戻された、新鮮な酸素を多く含んだ血液を、心臓から全身へと送り出す血管）をつなぐ胎児の仮設の血管である。言い換えれば、PDAは肺を通る胎児の血液循環を「ショートカット」させるものである。子宮の中にいる時は生命を維持するために必要で、出まれた後は閉じるべき血管であるが、児の発達が未熟な場合に動脈管が開いたままになってしまうことがある。 早産児のPDAは、生命を脅かす合併症と関連している。PDAの治療には、プロスタグランジンの生成を抑制してPDAの閉鎖を促すインドメタシンやイブプロフェンという薬剤が一般的に使われてきた。プロスタグランジンは、特定の臓器に限らず全身で作られる化学物質で、特に軟部組織が損傷した場所で作られる。その合成は、治癒の過程において重要な役割を担っている。この物質は、動脈管が開いている状態を維持するのに重要な役割を果たすことが知られてお...

Cochrane is made up of 11,000 members and over 67,000 supporters come from more than 130 countries, worldwide. Our volunteers and contributors are researchers, health professionals, patients, carers, people passionate about improving health outcomes for everyone, everywhere.

Getting involved in Cochrane’s work means becoming part of a global community. The Cochrane International Mobility programme connects successful applicants with a placement in a host Cochrane Group, learning more about the production, use, and knowledge translation of Cochrane reviews. The prgramme offers opportunities for learning and training not only for participants but also for host staff.

In this series, we profile those that have participated in the Cochrane International Mobility Program and learn more about their experiences.

Name: Martina Albertella
Location: Italy
Cochrane International Mobility location: Cochrane Sweden

How did you first learn about Cochrane?
I first heard about Cochrane at my University (in Genoa, Italy): during lectures a lot of Professors used to mention Cochrane evidence and results, as it has such a high impact. I was interested in the paediatrics research field, so I looked for more information about the organization, I contacted Matteo at Cochrane Sweden and I started the Cochrane Interactive Learning modules before coming to Sweden. These modules were my first real learning opportunity about systematic reviews.

What was your experience with your Cochrane International Mobility?
I’ve always been interested in the research field and Cochrane is the perfect environment to learn everything about it. I also wanted to have an abroad experience so, thanks to Matteo’s help, I applied to start my Erasmus Traineeship at Cochrane Sweden for three months.

What are you doing now in relation to your Cochrane International Mobility experience?
My team and I submitted a few weeks ago our systematic review about the use of an enzyme to prevent a chronic disease in preterm infants. That was a great learning experience: Matteo and Martin have been always supportive. They explained to me very clearly how to do the work, step by step. Whenever we had a doubt, they were always there to help us! After that, I joined another team working on another systematic review, but still related to paediatrics: now I feel more confident and it’s great because I realize how much you can learn with this experience!

Do you have any words of advice to anyone considering a Cochrane International Mobility experience?
If you want to learn more about systematic reviews but also about how to read and understand a scientific text and its methodology, this is the perfect experience for you. It also gives you the opportunity to work and collaborate with people from all over the world and to improve your English skills. If you are a student like me, who didn’t have any experience in the research field before, my personal advice is: connect yourself to Cochrane! This is a chance to put into practice everything you are learning.

 

 

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

かぜ予防のためのワクチン レビューの論点 ワクチンはかぜの予防になるか？ 背景 かぜは、主に上気道のウイルス感染によって引き起こされる。かぜをひいた人は、体調が悪くなり、鼻水、鼻づまり、くしゃみ、のどの痛みの有無にかかわらず咳をし、体温が少し高くなる。しかし、通常、自己の免疫システムがウイルス感染による影響をコントロールすることで、回復する。かぜに対する治療は、症状を和らげることを目的としている。世界的に見ると、かぜは広く病気を引き起こし、大きな経済的損失をもたらしている。米国では、かぜによる経済的損失は年間400億ドルを上回ると推定され、これには数百万日もの欠勤日数や学校での欠席日数が含まれる。欧州では、1回の発症あたりの総費用は最大1,102ユーロとなる可能性がある。また、不適切な抗菌薬処方による支出も大きい。かぜの原因ウイルスは複数存在するため、予防のためのワクチンを製造することは困難であった。健康な人に対するかぜ予防のためのワクチンの効果はまだ不明である。 検索日 エビデンスは2022年4月26日現在のものである。 研究の特性 今回の更新では新規の試験は見つからなかった。このレビューには、過去に確認されている、1965年に実施されたランダム化比較試験（参加者を2つ以上の治療群のうちの1つに無作為に割り当てるタイプの試験）が含まれている。この研究は、米国海軍の訓練施設に所属...

Specifications: Full Time, 37.5 hours per week
Employment Type: Permanent employment contract if in the UK, Denmark or Germany, consultancy contract if outside these three areas
Salary: £60,000 per annum full-time salary
Location: Flexible location but must have a demonstrable understanding of UK regulations
Application Closing Date: Sunday 8th January 2023 at midnight

Cochrane is a charity and a global, independent network of health practitioners, researchers, patient advocates and others, responding to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. They do this by synthesising research findings to produce the best available evidence on what works. Their work has been recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

The core purpose of this role is to lead Cochrane’s governance and to support the strategic aims and operational activities of the organisation. The role will provide oversight of policy development, implementation, monitoring, and reporting to the Governing Board to ensure that Cochrane is compliant and follows the best practice.

Part of your duties will include:

• Maintaining knowledge and being well-informed of best practice and developments within charity governance and policy, advising the Board, CEO and Executive Leadership Team.
• Ensuring the appropriate support structures and processes are in place to enable Cochrane’s Governing Board to meet its responsibilities and obligations; and lead and oversee high-quality support to the Board, its Committees, the Cochrane Council, and other governance bodies.
• Contributing to Cochrane’s budget planning processes and manage the governance budget effectively.
• Working with the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Finance & Corporate Services, develop a strategy to ensure an appropriate level of assurance for the charity and wider Community with implementation, monitoring and evaluation plans.
• Working with the CEO and the ELT to establish and review policies and procedures that ensure the organisation meets constitutional, legal, and regulatory requirements relating to company administration.

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to their values.

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply, please click here
• The deadline to receive your application is by 8 January 2023
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples
• Note that we will assess applications as they are received, and therefore may fill the post before the deadline
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement

Tuesday, December 13, 2022 Category: Jobs

Cochrane’s Editor in Chief, Dr Karla Soares-Weiser, has today published an editorial to mark the end of 2022 and the beginning of Cochrane's 30th anniversary year in 2023. In Looking back, looking forward: Cochrane at 30 and beyond, Karla reflects on Cochrane’s many contributions to global health, recognizes past and future challenges, and shares her deep gratitude to the Cochrane community – who for three decades have delivered the trusted evidence our rapidly changing world needs.

"As the third year of the pandemic draws to a close" Karla writes, "it seems we have reached something of an inflection point where as individuals, as an organization, and as a global community we are looking back and assessing the consequences and costs of COVID-19, and to consider what lies ahead."

In doing so, Karla looks back at the major challenges faced and achievements realized by Cochrane before and during the pandemic and looks forward as we transition to a new, sustainable model of evidence production in especially tumultuous times for health, funding and geo-political stability. She underscores the critical issue of equity following years of deepening health and wealth disparities, and restates Cochrane’s commitment to fostering diversity, tacking inequity and making a tangible contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

Karla says:

Cochrane's values, focus on collaboration, and commitment to rigour and innovation have been vital to cementing our reputation as one of the most trusted sources of evidence in health and care decisions over three decades. We draw on these strengths now more than ever, as the shifting health landscape demands that we increase the pace of high-quality evidence production, deliver on our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and respond in a more focused way to the diverse needs of all our users.

The shape and output of our organization continues to adapt to the needs of the times, while together we continue to deliver the evidence the world needs at this critical juncture for humanity.

• Read Karla’s full editorial
• Find out more about the changes underway within Cochrane 

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

小児の急性呼吸器感染症の予防と治療における経口ホメオパシー薬の利点とリスクは何か？ 要点 ホメオパシーは、補完代替医療の一種である。これは、健康な人に病気や症状を引き起こす可能性のある物質が、ごく少量であれば、病気や症状を治療できるということ、そして、高度に希釈された物質の分子は、元の物質の記憶を保持しているという2つの主要な考え方に基づいている。明確なエビデンスが存在しないために、小児の急性呼吸器感染症（ARTI）の予防と治療に対する経口ホメオパシー薬の利点とリスクは、未だ不明である。研究デザインや報告の質が低い研究においては、しばしば経口ホメオパシー薬の有益性の可能性が示唆されているが、質の高い研究においては有益性を示す報告はない。 呼吸器感染症とは何か？ 風邪やインフルエンザに代表される呼吸器感染症は、一般的にウイルスの感染によって引き起こされるが、肺や耳においては細菌の感染によって引き起こされるものも存在する。これらの感染症は同時に発症することもあり、見分けるのが困難な場合がある。これらの感染症の多くは、治療を行わなくても改善するが、最初の感染が治まった後にも症状が続くことがある。そのため、治療は症状の緩和が目的となる。 なぜ小児における呼吸器感染症が重要なのか？ 小児は、年間で平均3回から6回の呼吸器感染症にかかる。ほとんどは軽症で、治療が可能だが、急性（症状が重く、急...

根管治療（歯の神経の治療）は、1回で完了すべきか、複数回に分けて行うべきか？ 要点 歯の中心部にある神経や血管を含む柔らかい組織（歯髄）が、生きているか死んでいるかに関わらず、単回治療でも、複数回による治療でも、歯内療法（根管治療）は同程度に効果的である。 また、どちらの治療法を用いたとしても、治療後の短期的な痛みを伴うことがある。 根管治療とは何か？ 根管治療とは、歯髄が回復不可能なほど損傷している場合に必要となる、歯科における一般的な処置（いわゆる「神経の処置」）である。根管治療は、治療後、痛みなどの症状がなく、レントゲン上で骨や歯の支持組織への損傷が見られず、また、歯肉の腫れや、ろう孔（膿の通路）の形成などの感染の兆候が見られない場合に「成功」とみなされる。 根管治療はどのように行われるのか？ 根管治療は、1回または複数回の治療で行われる。まず、治療する歯にゴム製のシート（ラバーダム）を装着し、唾液から隔離した後、ドリルで歯冠（歯の口の中に見える部分）を歯髄に到達するまで削り、歯髄を除去する。そして根管（歯髄の入っていた管）内を消毒した後、最後に詰め物（根管充塡材）を用いて根管内を密封する。 以前は、これらの処置は2回以上に分けて行われ、次回の治療との間に少量の薬剤（根管貼薬剤）を根管内に入れておくことで、残存した細菌の殺滅を図っていたが、現在は薬剤（根管貼薬剤）を使用せず...