Cochrane Library

The Cochrane Library publishes the most rigorous systematic reviews in medicine. Reviews are produced by Cochrane Review Groups using a standardized methodology and updated as new evidence emerges. Abstracts and Plain Language Summaries are free to anyone; full text often requires institutional access (most academic centers have it, plus many public libraries via national subscriptions).

• Cochrane Library home
• Browse Cochrane Reviews by topic
• Cochrane Clinical Answers — short, structured answers built from Cochrane Reviews; subscription.
• Cochrane Special Collections — themed bundles (e.g., COVID-19, antibiotics in childhood URI).

High-value Cochrane Groups for Med-Peds

• Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group
• Cochrane Childhood Cancer
• Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth
• Cochrane Neonatal
• Cochrane Hypertension
• Cochrane Heart
• Cochrane Vaccines Field

How to use at the bedside

1. Search by topic + outcome (e.g., “antibiotics acute otitis media”).
2. Read the Plain Language Summary first — it’s the synthesized bottom line.
3. Check the Authors’ conclusions — often hedged, but the most defensible single sentence.
4. The Summary of findings table quantifies effect sizes with GRADE certainty.

Free / open alternatives if you can’t access full text

• Cochrane Clinical Answers free sampler
• Plain Language Summaries — patient-facing, but include the headline numbers.
• Trials referenced — search in PubMed — each Cochrane review’s included studies are individually retrievable.

Citation: The Cochrane Library. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Cochrane Collaboration.