Summaries of Systematic Reviews Published in the January 2012 Issue of the Cochrane Library

ABSTRACT

The Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews is published quarterly as a DVD and monthly online. The January 2012 issue (1st DVD for 2012) contains 4929 complete reviews, 2098 protocols for reviews in production, and 16773 short summaries of systematic reviews published in the general medical literature. In addition, there are citations of 666,000 randomized controlled trials, and 15,000 cited papers in the Cochrane methodology register. The health technology assessment database contains just over 11,000 citations. One hundred and thirty-six new reviews have been published in the last 3 months, of which nine have potential relevance for practitioners in pain and palliative medicine. The impact factor of the Cochrane Library stands at 6.186. Readers are encouraged to access the full report for any articles of interest as only a brief commentary is provided.

KEYWORDS :

• acetaminophen
• advanced progressive illness
• ankylosing spondylitis
• antidepressants aspirin
• cannabis
• capsaicin
• chronic nonmalignant pain
• fatigue
• inflammatory arthritis
• methotrexate
• muscle relaxants
• nefopam
• neuromodulators
• neuropathic pain
• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• opioids
• orofacial pain
• paracetamol
• phantom limb pain
• psoriatic arthritis
• psychosocial
• rheumatoid arthritis
• spondyloarthritis
• weight loss