Blogs written by the Cochrane UK Trainees

Children, babies and mothers' health

• Vitamin D supplements in pregnancy: what’s the latest evidence? by Emily Carter (August 2019)
• Yummy, yummy in my tummy, getting big with milk from mummy. Getting preterm babies feeding orally - a roundup of current evidence by Rufaro Ndokera (February 2017)
• There were twins in a bed and Cochrane said no difference by Anna Sutherland (May, 2016)
• Idiopathic toe walking in children: what’s the evidence for interventions? Siobhan McCormack (May, 2020)
• Recurrent abdominal pain in children: evidence and uncertainty by Rufaro Ndokera (May, 2017)
• Ventilated, oxygenated and oh so comfy: positioning preterm babies by Rufaro Ndokera (February, 2017)

Dementia

• Drugs for agitation in people with dementia: benefits and risks by Charlotte Squires and James Garrard (May 2022)
• Preventing dementia: what’s the evidence? by James Garrard (May 2022)
• Tube feeding for people with severe dementia: making decisions by Charlotte Squires (September 2021)

Dental care 

• Dental check-ups: how often is often enough? by Patrick Fee (April, 2021)

Diabetes

• SGLT2 inhibitors – looking beyond glucose-lowering in diabetes by Ven Gee Lim (December, 2019)

Exercise 

• Kinesio taping – should we stick with it? by Rebecca Gould (March, 2022)
• Can walking help lower your blood pressure? The latest Cochrane evidence by Rebecca Gould (May, 2021)
• Exercise for intermittent claudication: does the type of exercise make a difference? by Rebecca Gould (January, 2021)
• Physical Activity: what’s the latest guidance? by Rebecca Gould (February, 2021)
• Exercise for period pain: New evidence to support exercising to reduce painful cramping by Puteri Zainuddin and Emily Carter (May 2020)

Heart and vascular health

• Stroke: advances in treatment offer hope for patients by James Garrard (April 2022)
• Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in severe aortic stenosis patients with low surgical risk – does it spell the end of surgical aortic valve replacement? by Ven Gee Lim (January, 2020)
• Beta-blocker use in acute myocardial infarction – a Cochrane systematic review which affirms routine clinical practice by Ven Gee Lim (January, 2020)
• Trust me, I’m a patient! Managing anticoagulation therapy by David Roberts (August, 2016)
• How should we deal with non-culprit lesions during a STEMI? A mid-night conundrum by Chris McAloon (August, 2017)

Learning about, and practicing, evidence-based medicine

• Sensitivity and specificity explained by Saul Crandon (November, 2019)
• What is the Academic Foundation Programme? by Saul Crandon (March 2018)
• The Audit Cycle by Saul Crandon (January 2018)
• Case-control and Cohort studies: A brief overview by Saul Crandon (December 2017)
• Should you intercalate? by Saul Crandon (November 2017)
• Sample size: A practical introduction by Saul Crandon (September 2017)
• Linear regression: a practical introduction (August 2017)
• Conducting a systematic literature search by Saul Crandon (July 2017)
• Blinding: A detailed guide for students by Saul Crandon (June 2017)
• Be sceptical: The reasons why most healthcare research may be wrong by Saul Crandon (May 2017)
• !BREAKING NEWS! The media and medical research: Relationship issues continue… by Saul Crandon (April 2017)
• Peer Review – The Achilles Heel of Modern Research by Saul Crandon (April 2017)
• We call him tortoise because he taught us - reflections on a workshop for trainees held at the Cochrane UK & Ireland Symposium 2017, by Rufaro Ndokera (April, 2017)
• Writing a Cochrane Review - the trainee experience by Rufaro Ndokera, Eoin O'Sullivan and David Roberts (September, 2017)
• Talking with patients about sex. Asking, Listening, Learning by Rufaro Ndokera, Chris McAloon, Eoin O’Sullivan, Rachel Kuo, Chris Jones and Natalie Blencowe (March, 2017)
• Why should I care about antibiotic resistance? by James Chan, Rachel Kuo, Eoin O’Sullivan, Rufaro Ndokera, Neha Pathak and Bosun Hong (November, 2017)
• Meet the Cochrane Trainees and engage in evidence! by the Cochrane UK & Ireland Trainees Advisory Group (October, 2016)

Palliative and end-of-life care

• Hospital at Home Increases the Chances of Dying at Home by Anna Sutherland (May, 2016; also published in The BMJ Opinion). 
• Cochrane systematic review highlights the importance of lactulose in the management of hepatic encephalopathy by Anna Sutherland, Faeqa Hami and James Maggs (December, 2016)
• Frequently Asked Questions for Palliative Medicine Specialty Trainees by Anna Sutherland and Katrien Naessens (September, 2017)

Public health

• A pinch of evidence on how to cut salt intake by David Roberts (November, 2016)
• Texting 2 quit – using mobile phones to help people quit smoking by David Roberts (May, 2016)
• MMR vaccines: do they work and are they safe? Siobhan McCormack (June, 2020)

Respiratory health

• Pulmonary rehabilitation and exercise training for adults with chronic respiratory conditions by Rebecca Gould (July, 2021)

Surgery and critical care

• Preparing for an operation with lifestyle changes by Rebecca Gould and Brian Devlin (June 2022)
• Closing the skin after surgery: the Cochrane evidence by Christina Uwins (May, 2020)
• Traumatic brain injury: is decompressive surgery worth the risks? by Jason Yuen (April, 2020)
• No more neurosurgery for unruptured brain AVMs? by Jason Yuen (November, 2019)
• Rules for the road to recovery: factors affecting the use of protocols for ventilation weaning in intensive care by Rufaro Ndokera (March, 2017)
• Videolaryngoscopy: watch this space by Rufaro Ndokera (October, 2017)
• Fluid resuscitation: evidence-based solutions? by Kinseng Tong (November, 2019)