Cochrane Library

Geddes JR, Freemantle N, Mason J, Eccles MP, Boynton J (1999). SSRIs versus alternative antidepressants in depressive disorder (Cochrane Review). In Cochrane Library, Issue 4. Oxford Update Software. 

Cochrane Library. The Cochrane Library [44] includes The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, a collection of regularly updated, systematic reviews of the effects of health care. It is maintained by contributors to the Cochrane Collaboration. Cochrane reviews are reviews mainly of randomized controlled trials. To minimize bias, evidence is included or excluded on the basis of explicit quality criteria. Data are often combined statistically, with meta-analysis, to increase the power of the findings of numerous studies, each too small to produce reliable results individually. Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness is also included. It consists of critical assessments and structured abstracts of good systematic reviews published elsewhere. The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register with bibliographic information on controlled trials and other sources of information on the science of reviewing research and evidence-based health care are part of the Cochrane Library. It is commercially available on CD-ROM or the Internet. 

The Cochrane Library, [Internet]. URL http //hiru. mcmaster.ca/cochrane/cochrane/revabstr/cca-bout.htm, accessed 10-15-2000. 

Birks J and Flicker L (2003). Selegiline for Alzheimer s disease (The Cochrane Library No. 4). John Wiley Sons, Chichester, UK. 

Birks J, Grimley Evans J and Van Dongen M (2003). Ginkgo Biloba for Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (The Cochrane Library No. 1). Update Software, Oxford, UK. 

Lancaster T et al. Effectiveness of interventions to help people stop smoking findings from the cochrane library. Br Med J 2000 321(7257) 355-358. 

Jacobson TZ, Barlow DH, Koninckx PR, Olive D, Farquhar C (2004) Laparoscopic surgery for subfertility associated with endometriosis. Cochrane Library, Issue 4. Update Software, Oxford... 

MacLennan A, Lester S, Moore V (2004) Oral oestrogen replacement therapy versus placebo for hot flushes (Cochrane Review). In The Cochrane Library, Issue 1. Wiley, Chichester... 

Data from The Cochrane Library in 2004 show that there are more than 11,500 people working within The Cochrane Collaboration in 91 countries, half of whom are authors of Cochrane Reviews. The number of people has increased by about 20% every year for the last five years. The increase in the number of contributors from low, lower-middle and upper-middle income countries has been even greater, to more than 1000 (9.3%) in 2004 - up by 42% since 2003, and by 248% since 2000. See Reference Centres by country (www.cochrane.org/contact/country.htm) and a world map showing the locations of the Cochrane Centres (www.cochrane.org//contact/entities.htm centres). 

The Cochrane Collaboration s central functions are funded by royalties from its publishers, John Wiley and Sons Limited, which come from sales of subscriptions to The Cochrane Library. The individual entities of The Cochrane Collaboration are funded by a large variety of governmental, institutional and private funding sources, and are bound by organisation-wide policy limiting uses of funds from corporate sponsors (www.cochrane.org/news/ articles/2004.04.06.htm). There is a Funders Forum to help facilitate discussions between The Cochrane Collaboration and funders (www.cochranefunders. 

Cochrane Reviews are systematic assessments of evidence of the effects of healthcare interventions, intended to help people to make informed decisions about health care, their own or someone else s. Cochrane Reviews are needed to help ensure that healthcare decisions throughout the world can be informed by high quality, timely research evidence. This is described in Systematic reviews and The Cochrane Collaboration (www.cochrane. org/docs/whycc.htm). Cochrane Reviews are published in full in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, one of several databases in The Cochrane Library (www.thecochranelibrary.com). 

Specialist subsets of Cochrane Reviews Cochrane Reviews are listed by Collaborative Review Group on the website (www.cochrane.org/ cochrane/revabstr/crgindex.htm). Several subsets of Cochrane Reviews published in The Cochrane Library are also published separately, namely The WHO Reproductive Health Library (available in both English and Spanish) (www. update-software.com/RHL/) The Cancer Library (www.update-software.com/cancer/) The Mental... 

Versions of Cochrane Reviews in languages other than English The Cochrane Library is available in Spanish La Cochrane Library Plus en es-panol (www.update-software.com/clibplus/). For information on translations of reviews and their abstracts into other languages, contact the Collaboration s publishers, John Wiley and Sons (mcouat wiley.co.uk). 

Britton A, Russell R. Multidisciplinary team interventions for delirium in patients with chronic cognitive impairment (Cochrane review). In The Cochrane library. Issue 4. Oxford Update Software 1999. 

Endocrinology is widely covered in the Cochrane Library. At the time of writing no less than 34 systematic reviews with diabetes, 8 with thyroid, 3 with pituitary and 24 with contraception in the record title were available in the Cochrane database. Of course space does not permit to refer to all these particular reviews individually. However, the indications given and the treatments which are recommended rely as far as possible on evidence-based data as covered by the Cochrane Collaboration Reviews. 

Dugan, L., Fenton, M., Dardennes, R.M., El-Dosoky, A., lndran, S. Olanzapine for schizophrenia (Cochrane Review). Cochrane library, Issue 2. Update Software, Oxford, 2001. 

Mattick RP Hall W (1996). Are detoxification programmes effective. Lancet, 347, 97-100 Mattick RP, Ali R, White JM, O Brien S, Walk S Danz C (2003). Buprenorphine versus methadone maintenance therapy a randomized double-blind trial with 405 opioid-dependent patients. Addiction, 98, 441-52 Mattick RP, Kimber J, Breen C Davoli M (2004). Buprenorphine maintenance versus placebo or methadone maintenance for opioid dependence (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library, issue 2. Chichester, UK John Wiley Sons... 

Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library. Chichester John Wiley Sons Solberg U, Burkhart G Nilson M (2002). An overview of opiate substitution treatment in the European Union and Norway. International Journal of Drug Policy, 13, 477-84 Soyka M (2000). Substance misuse, psychiatric disorder and violent and disturbed behaviour. British Journal of Psychiatry, 176, 345-50 Spataro J, Mullen PE, Burgess PM, Wells DL Moss SA (2004). Impact of child sexual abuse on mental health. Prospective study in males and females. British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, 416-21... 

Subsequently, three similar articles have appeared. In one of these, Als-Nielsen et al. (2003) analyzed 370 RCTs in 25 meta-analyses in the Cochrane Library. The experimental drug was recommended as treatment of choice in 16 per cent of trials funded by non-profit organizations and in 51 per cent with for-profit sponsorship. Trials funded by the latter type of organization had a 5.3 times greater chance (95 per cent CI, 2.0, 14.4) of recommending the product being tested as the treatment of choice compared to trials with non-profit sponsorship. 

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials has been performed to determine whether dexamethasone therapy in the first 15 days of life prevents chronic lung disease in premature infants (14). Studies were identified by a literature search using Medline (1970-97) supplemented by a search of the Cochrane Library (1998, Issue 4). Inclusion criteria were (a) prospective randomized design with initiation of dexamethasone therapy within the first 15 days of life (b) report of the outcome of interest and (c) less than 20% crossover between the treatment and control groups during the study period. The primary outcomes were mortality at hospital discharge and the development of chronic lung disease at 28 days of life and 36 weeks postconceptional age. The secondary outcomes were the presence of a patent ductus... 

Leng GC, Price Jp Jepson RG. Lipid-lowering for lower limb atherosclerosis (Cochrane review). In The Cochrane Library. Oxford, England Update Software, 2001. 

Comparisons of different typical drugs Amisulpride versus typical neuroleptic drugs In an extensive review of 19 randomized studies for the Cochrane Library (n = 2443), most of the trials were... 

In an extensive review of 19 randomized studies for the Cochrane Library (n = 2443), most of the trials were small and of short duration (8). The data from four trials with 514 participants with predominantly negative symptoms suggested that low-dose amisulpride (up to 300 mg/ day) was more acceptable than placebo (n = 514 RR = 0.6 95% Cl = 0.5, 0.8). 

Birks, J. Evans, J. G. Ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library. Chichester, UK John Wiley Sons, 2004. 

Beney J, Bero LA, Bond C. Expanding the roles of outpatient pharmacists effects on health services utilisation, costs, and patient outcomes (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2002. Oxford, U.K. Update Software. 

Del Mar C B, Glasziou P P, Spinks A B 2001 Antibiotics for sore throat (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library 2. Oxford Update Software. 

Katzenschlager R, Sampaio C, Costa J (2003) Anticholinergics for symptomatic management of Parkinson s disease. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, The Cochran Library, Copyright 2005, The Cochrane Collaboration Volume (4). 

Towheed, T.E. Anastassiades, T.P. Shea, B. Houpt, J. Welch, V. Hochberg, M.C. Glucosamine therapy for treating osteoarthritis (Cochrane review). In Cochrane Library Issue 3 Update software Oxford, 2001. 

Keirse MJNC. Indomethacin tocolysis in preterm labour. In Cochrane Library. CDROM and online versions. 

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