Cochrane works collaboratively with contributors around the world to produce authoritative, relevant, and reliable evidence, in the form of Cochrane Reviews.

Cochrane Reviews are systematic reviews of primary research in human health care and health policy, and are internationally recognized as the highest standard in evidence-based health care resources. They investigate the effects of interventions for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. They also assess the accuracy of a diagnostic test for a given condition in a specific patient group and setting. They are published online in the Cochrane Library.

Each systematic review addresses a clearly formulated question; for example:

Can antibiotics help in alleviating the symptoms of a sore throat?

To answer this question, we search for and collate all the existing primary research on a topic that meets certain criteria; then we assess it using stringent guidelines, to establish whether or not there is conclusive evidence about a specific treatment.

Cochrane Reviews are peer reviewed and dynamic; we update them regularly to incorporate new research. This ensures that you can base treatment decisions on the most up-to-date and reliable evidence.

Cochrane is working to make this evidence accessible by creating summaries of these systematic review findings. We hope that you will find this useful. To search among the available summaries, please click here.