Cochrane Reviews are the main product of Cochrane Library and are internationally recognized as the highest standard in evidence-based health care.

A Cochrane Review is a research paper that addresses a clearly formulated question regarding a healthcare intervention and investigates whether or not there is conclusive evidence about a specific treatment.

Example: A Cochrane Review might try to answer a question like: Can antibiotics help alleviate the symptoms of a sore throat?

All existing primary research on the topic is thoroughly searched, collated and assessed using strict guidelines.

Cochrane Reviews have used evidence to reliably identify what works in health care and describe the benefits and harms (or lack of evidence) for more than 6000 healthcare questions. Cochrane Reviews are used to inform clinical practice guidelines and justify new studies but, most importantly, they aid people in making well-informed decisions about health care.

Without Cochrane Reviews, people making decisions are unlikely to be able to access and make full use of existing healthcare research.

Cochrane Reviews and their updates are published upon completion in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, which can be found online in Cochrane Library at thecochranelibrary.com.