May 2013

http://ent.cochrane.org/ @CochraneENT

The 20th anniversary of the founding of

The Cochrane Collaboration marked in 2013 The occasion of our 20th Anniversary is being celebrated throughout the year with a series of events, publications and videos. Many of you have been members of the Cochrane ENT Group and the wider Cochrane Collaboration for many years and we thank you for your contribution and support. We hope that you share our pride in our achievements. For those of you who are new to Cochrane, we would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about our organisation:

Who we are and what we do The Cochrane Collaboration is a not-for-profit, global network of approximately 28,000 dedicated people in 120 countries. We are all bound by a shared passion for helping patients, policy-makers and practitioners make informed healthcare decisions based on all the best research evidence available. The Collaboration also has a small central team of 500 full- and part-time staff. Many of our contributors are world leaders in their field of medicine, health policy, research methodology and consumer advocacy. These experts work together from all over the world and are situated in some of the world’s finest academic and medical institutions.

The best scientific evidence on whether different drugs and procedures are safe and effective is scattered across different sources and journals, often in different languages. Practitioners and patients need a fast way to access the best evidence and use it to influence their decisions. They also need to know that the source of this evidence is trustworthy and kept up-to-date. The Cochrane Collaboration is a trusted organisation that gathers the best available scientific evidence, analyses what this collective evidence says about a particular drug or procedure, and shares the findings with practitioners, governments and the public. We use a powerful, systematic process to create Cochrane reviews. Our reviews are widely considered to be the gold standard of health evidence.

The work of The Cochrane Collaboration touches on multiple aspects of health and health care. We produce Cochrane reviews across the widest possible range of healthcare topics. The Cochrane Library now includes more than 5400 individual reviews on a wide range of healthcare topics, with more than 2300 underway. These reviews are produced by 53 different Review Groups, of which the ENT Group is one, each focused on specific aspects of health.

What makes us unique and important

The Cochrane Collaboration is a recognised leader in furthering the science of systematic reviews. Before Cochrane embarked on its work, systematic reviews were virtually unknown in health care. From its inception, The Cochrane Collaboration has involved innovative methodologists who developed many of the methods that have set the standard for systematic reviews today. These standards and methods are continuously being developed and improved.

We are generating impact around the world. Fifty per cent of the world’s population has free one-click

The Cochrane Collaboration is named

in honour of Archie Cochrane (1909-1988), a British medical

researcher who made a great

contribution to the science of

epidemiology.

Picture credit: Cardiff University

Library, Cochrane Archive, University Hospital Llandough

Cochrane Ear, Nose & Throat Disorders Group

Newsletter

access to full-text reviews (many low-income countries are granted free access to The Cochrane Library). From February 2013 all Cochrane reviews will be freely available via ‘open access’ 12 months after publication in The Cochrane Library. Abstracts and Plain Language Summaries of all Cochrane reviews are also available for free worldwide.

Cochrane reviews are frequently used to set national and international healthcare policies and regularly appear in guidelines. Some of the guidelines citing ENT reviews in the last 12 months are listed here.

The Cochrane Collaboration’s reputation for excellence has allowed us to forge close working ties with several of the world’s leading independent healthcare bodies, including the World Health Organization. We have been awarded a seat on the World Health Assembly, allowing the Collaboration to provide input on WHO health resolutions as a Non‐Governmental Organization in Official Relations with the WHO.

The principles & ethos of The Cochrane Collaboration

We are dedicated, first and foremost, to advancing health care. We foster a culture of sharing, not competition. We encourage open and transparent communication and collaboration between all our contributors around the world.

One of the main principles of The Cochrane Collaboration is minimising bias. We have a strict policy that prevents commercial sponsorship, in any form, from supporting the creation of any Cochrane review. We are not influenced by commercial or financial interests. Our independent status helps us maintain the quality of our output at all times.

The Cochrane Collaboration is led by a Board of Trustees, known as the Steering Group, which is made up of elected members from around the world, drawn from the leadership of Cochrane groups. Expert scientists, researchers, health policy-makers, consumer advocates and patients give their time freely, and align themselves with our ethos, to produce Cochrane reviews. Our volunteer-driven model means those individuals who contribute to the Collaboration do so for the public good. This is far more sustainable than a remunerative model. In fact, the number of people working within Cochrane in 120 countries has increased by about 25 per cent every year for the last five years. People want to be a part of this effort.

We aim to empower patients and healthcare consumers by providing the evidence they need to make informed decisions about their own health care and ensuring patient viewpoints are included in the Cochrane review production process. We publish our Plain Language Summaries and abstracts online, making them easy to search and available free of charge to the public in The Cochrane Library and through Cochrane Summaries.

How our stakeholders can contribute to the success of our mission

We encourage people with different skills and backgrounds to contribute to The Cochrane Collaboration in a variety of ways. These might include: preparing new or updated systematic reviews, training people to conduct and use Cochrane reviews, developing methodology and acting as peer reviewers. We continually strive to reduce barriers to contributing and are committed to encouraging diversity.

Health care is, ultimately, about patients and their families. That’s why we encourage patients throughout

the world to share their perspectives and influence the direction and output of healthcare research through

their involvement in the Cochrane Consumer Network.

The Cochrane Collaboration has a broad collegial framework, not framed by traditional structures. As a part

of the Collaboration, you have access to a large and varied medical, academic and scientific network. There

is a generation of social and intellectual capital in The Cochrane

Collaboration. It is a remarkable and generous organisation, whose

spirit and ethos allows its international contributors to improve

health and the place of evidence while building relationships with

colleagues around the world.

21st Cochrane Colloquium Better Knowledge for Better Health (Un meilleur savoir pour une meilleure santé)

The focus of this year’s Colloquium is on how evidence informs healthcare decisions at every level - from patient to practitioner, to institutional or government policy-maker.

Plenary sessions will feature international experts addressing topics within this theme, from the perspectives of decision-makers, global health and equity and looking both back over the last 20 years of better knowledge for better health and forward to the next 20 years. In addition, there will be special sessions on specific topics, including: Wikipedia and transferring health information; Patients, evidence production and its use; Evidence for policy-makers; Systematic reviews and guideline development.

The Colloquium will commence on Friday 20 September 2013 with the opening ceremony and first plenary session and end on Monday 23 September. In addition to an excellent scientific programme, there will also be a superb social programme with opportunities to network and meet new and existing colleagues from around the world. The Welcome Reception will take place on the evening of Thursday 19 September.

Registration is now open. An early registration discount is available until 15 July 2013 and registration closes on 6 September 2013. Full details are at http://colloquium.cochrane.org/.

Cochrane signs up to AllTrials initiative to campaign for registration and reporting of all clinical trials

The AllTrials initiative (All Trials Registered | All Results Reported) was launched in January 2013 to campaign on the issue of unreported trial data. Full release of data is critical to allow clinicians and regulators to make informed decisions about treatments, yet hundreds of thousands of clinical trials have been conducted from which no or insufficient data have been made available. This is a major problem for clinicians, patients, policy-makers and healthcare researchers such as The Cochrane Collaboration. We depend on complete release of evidence about a treatment to fully assess its benefits and harms.

Since its inception, the AllTrials initiative has gathered more than 50,000 signatures and has gained the support of hundreds of organisations and institutions working in research, patient advocacy and health care. The Cochrane Collaboration was one of the first organisations to offer support and in April 2013 formalised its involvement as a principal supporter and organiser of the AllTrials campaign.

All Cochrane contributors are encouraged to read about the AllTrials campaign and to consider ways of bringing this campaign to the attention of their own local networks and institutions.

“Patients around the world are being

harmed because clinical decisions on

their health care are skewed by the

absence of clinical trials data. For 20

years The Cochrane Collaboration has

been working to give clinicians,

researchers and patients the best

possible evidence-based information to

help them make informed decisions,

and it is a scandal that we still do not

have access to all trials data so that we

can be confident in our conclusions. By

taking this step, we hope to emphasize

to Cochrane contributors worldwide

that, through working together to

maximize the impact of our collective

voices, we can achieve as much in this

area as in our work to produce

Cochrane reviews.”

Mark Wilson, CEO of The Cochrane

Collaboration, announcing the new

partnership

Page 4

New Cochrane ENT reviews published & in progress

The last 12 months have seen publication in The Cochrane Library of 10 new reviews, 17 new protocols and 13 updates. We have registered 18 new titles.

New protocols published

Acid reflux treatment for globus pharyngeus (Full text*)

Acupuncture for sudden idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (Full text*)

Amplification with hearing aids for patients with tinnitus and co-existing hearing loss (Full text*)

Antioxidants for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (Full text*)

Anti-reflux treatment for signs and symptoms of laryngopharyngeal reflux (Full text*)

Fine-needle aspiration cytology versus core-needle biopsy for major salivary gland lesions (DTA) (Full text*)

Interventions for the treatment of Frey's syndrome (Full text*)

Interventions to improve hearing aid use in adult auditory rehabilitation (Full text*)

Low-level laser therapy for tinnitus (Full text*) Non-surgical interventions for human papilloma

virus-positive local advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer (Full text*)

Perioperative local anaesthesia for reducing pain following tonsillectomy (Full text*)

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (Full text*)

Radiosurgery for acoustic neuroma (Full text*) Sentinel lymph node biopsy for the diagnosis of

lymph node involvement in oral/oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (DTA) (Full text*)

Virtual reality training for improving the skills needed for performing surgery of the ear, nose or throat (Full text*)

Water precautions for prevention of infection following tympanostomy tube (grommet) insertion in children (Full text*)

Zinc supplementation for tinnitus (Full text*) DTA: diagnostic test accuracy

New reviews published

Alternative injectable materials for vocal fold medialisation in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (Abstract; Full text*)

Antibiotics for otitis media with effusion in children (Abstract; Full text*)

Antivirals for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (Abstract; Full text*)

Exercise interventions for shoulder dysfunction in patients treated for head and neck cancer (Abstract; Full text*)

Helminth therapy (worms) for allergic rhinitis (Abstract; Full text*)

Interventions for atrophic rhinitis (Abstract; Full text*)

Interventions for the prevention of postoperative ear discharge after insertion of ventilation tubes (grommets) in children (Abstract; Full text*)

Modifications of the Epley (canalith repositioning) manoeuvre for posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) (Abstract; Full text*)

Surgery for congenital choanal atresia (Abstract; Full text*)

Topical steroids for nasal polyps (Abstract; Full text*)

*Subscription or institutional/national access to The Cochrane Library required. Abstracts are freely available through the links. See also ‘Access to our reviews’ page 11.

Updated reviews published

Adjuvant antiviral therapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (Full text*)

Antibiotics to reduce post-tonsillectomy morbidity (Full text*)

Antidepressants for patients with tinnitus (Full text*)

Autoinflation for hearing loss associated with otitis media with effusion (Full text*)

Enteral feeding methods for nutritional management in patients with head and neck cancers being treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy (Full text*)

Ginkgo biloba for tinnitus (Full text*) Hyperbaric oxygen as an adjuvant treatment

for malignant otitis externa (Full text*) Hyperbaric oxygen for idiopathic sudden

sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus (Full text*)

Interventions for recurrent idiopathic epistaxis (nosebleeds) in children (Full text*)

Interventions to promote the wearing of hearing protection (Full text*)

Sound therapy (masking) in the management of tinnitus in adults (Full text*)

Surgery for Ménière's disease (Full text*) Surgical versus non-surgical interventions for

vocal cord nodules (Full text*)

New titles registered

Betahistine for symptoms of vertigo Capsaicin for non-allergic rhinitis Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with weekly

versus three-weekly cisplatin in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Elective neck dissection versus no neck dissection for the N0 neck in patients with primary parotid cancers

Induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy with or without adjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Interventions for early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx

Interventions for squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx (chemotherapy)

Interventions for squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx (novel agents)

Intranasal antibiotics for chronic rhinosinusitis

Intranasal corticosteroids for non-allergic rhinitis

Melatonin for tinnitus Nasal saline for allergic rhinitis Pharmacological treatment for the

prevention of vestibular migraine Therapeutic exercises for affecting post-

treatment swallowing in people treated for advanced stage head and neck cancers

Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic rhinosinusitis

Tranexamic acid for reducing tonsillectomy-related haemorrhage in adults

Trans-oral robotic surgery (TORS) versus radiotherapy/chemo-radiotherapy for early-stage oropharyngeal carcinoma

Voice therapy for patients with dysphonia and concomitant gastro-oesophageal reflux

A full list of all of our published reviews and those in progress, along with our complete topic list, can be found on our website at: http://ent.cochrane.org/our-reviews. We are always happy to discuss any ideas for systematic reviews from prospective authors. Managing Editor Jenny Bellorini can be contacted at jenny.bellorini@nds.ox.ac.uk for advice.

Page 5 Cochrane Ear, Nose & Throat Disorders Group

Update your address books: we’ve moved! Our Oxford based staff are now at: Jenny Bellorini jenny.bellorini@nds.ox.ac.uk Sam Faulkner: samantha.faulkner@nds.ox.ac.uk Martin Burton: mburton.centdg@nds.ox.ac.uk

Publication & The Cochrane Library news

New publishing contract for The Cochrane Library The Cochrane Collaboration has renewed and re-defined its partnership with John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., to publish The Cochrane Library from February 2013 for a further six years, to the end of 2018. Key features of the new agreement include: Open access to Cochrane reviews after 12 months. Enriched user experience of The Cochrane Library, including:

linking content in new and dynamic ways; upgrading the ‘look and feel’ of the Library; customising the website for different user groups or preferences and creating the

technological flexibility to incorporate those platforms into other health systems; moving from monthly publication of Cochrane reviews and protocols to a ‘publish when

ready’; upgrading the search functionality for advanced users; implementing a new classification framework for

Cochrane reviews to highlight whether a Cochrane review addresses a historical or current question, and also to indicate whether the Cochrane review is considered up to date, has an update pending, or is not intended to be updated.

Multilingual content. Quality improvement initiatives. Enhancing our impact by developing strategic partnerships

with news providers, policy-makers, healthcare organisations, technology providers and others who can disseminate, promote and use Cochrane content in effective and appropriate ways.

Significantly improved financial terms for Cochrane.

For full details of the new publishing arrangements see here.

"This new agreement provides a huge boost to The Cochrane Collaboration's work. It marks a significant advance in establishing funded, free, and open access to Cochrane systematic reviews for clinicians, researchers and patients around the world; provides major investment in technology and new product development to keep us at the cutting edge of innovation in healthcare information; and also supports our organisational ambitions to promote evidence-based health care across the globe." Mark Wilson, Chief Executive Officer

Cochrane reviews to be ‘open access’ after 12 months

Under the new publishing agreement with Wiley, new Cochrane reviews and Cochrane reviews with new citations, and protocols published from 1 February 2013 will become available on an open access basis 12 months after publication in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (green open access). Additionally, authors and funders have the option to fund individual articles, or groups of articles, to be open access immediately upon publication (gold open access). Authors from many low- and middle- income countries will be eligible to have their publication fees waived. More information about all aspects of the new access options is also available on this page.

The Licence for Publication Form which authors sign when we publish their reviews and protocols has been amended to reflect the introduction of green open access. Authors now have the right to post a PDF of the final version of their protocol or review in an institutional repository or any repository mandated by the author’s funder, such as PubMed Central, 12 months after publication. It also clarifies the right to post the protocol or review as an electronic file on the author’s own website and/or the author’s institution’s intranet, using the PDF version available in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. These new terms are backdated to 1 February 2013.

Faster publication of Cochrane reviews from June 2013

From Monday 3 June 2013 we will be moving from our current monthly publication schedule to ‘publish when ready’. This change means that we at the ENT Group editorial base will be able to publish new reviews, protocols and updates immediately. We will also have the flexibility to choose a publication date and time to fit in with other requirements or events (such as a press release). Without fixed deadlines, we will have more freedom to take the time needed to make sure all published work is as we and the authors want it to be. At the same time, once approved for publication authors will be able to enjoy seeing their work released with minimal delay. The ‘publish when ready’ model will bring real benefits to those who read and use Cochrane reviews, our authors and to the editorial team. Forms Release for publication will still depend upon all co-authors completing the necessary ‘License for publication’ and ‘Conflicts of interest’ forms online in Archie. To speed this process, make sure you activate your Archie account and respond promptly to the form request e-mails.

Update your review!

All Cochrane review updates now receive a new MEDLINE citation

Until 2012, updated Cochrane reviews republished in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) only received a new citation in MEDLINE if the changes made were substantive (generally speaking, changes which resulted in a change to the review conclusions). This policy has now changed and all updated Cochrane reviews, whether the change is substantive or minor, receive a new citation.

This change in policy has been implemented following discussions between the Cochrane Editorial Unit and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). It ensures that abstracts displayed in CDSR and in PubMed are consistent. Updated reviews will also now be correctly placed when search results are sorted in PubMed by date and it will be much clearer to users that a Cochrane review has been updated. It will also help to make the last updated date much more visible in CDSR.

This is good news for authors, as it means that all the hard work that goes into an update will be always be recognised with a new citation, whether the review has changed significantly or not.

Impact factors for 2011

In June 2012, the impact factors of all journals

indexed in the ISI Journal Citation Report were

published. The 2011 impact factor for the

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (The

Cochrane Library) is 5.912. The individualised

2011 impact factor for the Cochrane ENT Group

is 3.667 (24 publications cited 88 times). In other

words, a review published by the Ear, Nose and

Throat Disorders Group in 2009 or 2010 was

cited, on average, 3.667 times in 2011. This

made us the top-ranking ENT journal.

Impact factors for 2012 will be released in June

2013 and we will inform ENT Group members via

our e-newsletter.

Publication & The Cochrane Library news

Page 8

Could you help us with occasional

translation?

When our authors are working on their systematic reviews they frequently identify trials published in languages other than English. As the range of international databases we search on behalf of authors has expanded over the years, the number of non-English language papers encountered has steadily increased. These papers need to be assessed for eligibility for potential inclusion in our reviews and, if they meet the necessary criteria, have data and other information extracted. For this we need a pool of volunteers with a wide range of languages that we can call on from time to time.

We are enormously grateful to the Cochrane authors who already regularly help us out with occasional translation; from a basic quick check for eligibility to full data extraction. We always need more translators, however. If you have a language and would be able to offer occasional help please get in touch with Jenny Bellorini, Managing Editor (jenny.bellorini@nds.ox.ac.uk).

Funded ENT projects

Cochrane/National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK) Incentive Award funding for a systematic review of ‘Antibiotics for otitis media with effusion in children’ (van Zon et al) enabled completion of this important review which was published in Issue 9, 2012 of The Cochrane Library.

Our NHS-Cochrane Engagement Award project ‘Helping commissioners, managers and GPs make more use of Cochrane reviews: an investigation focused on ENT disorders’, undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Primary Care at the University of Oxford, was successfully completed. Recommended changes to our reviews that were an outcome of this project have already been implemented, with the development of linked video content demonstrating the Epley manoeuvre and Dill-Hallpike test.

We received UK Health Technology Assessment (HTA) funding for an individual patient data meta-analysis on a priority topic: ‘Adenoidectomy with or without grommets in children with otitis media with effusion (OME)’ (joint application with the University of Utrecht). This project is now complete; the findings were discussed and agreed at a productive and enjoyable joint meeting of the project team and triallists in Oxford in September 2012 (pictured) and the final report was recently submitted to the HTA.

Picture: meeting of the adenoidectomy IPD meta-

analysis project team and triallists, Balliol College, Oxford, UK September 2012. (Left to right:

Margaretha Casselbrant, Jenny Bellorini, Richard Maw, Sam Faulkner, Martin Burton, Petri

Mattila, Anne Schilder; Front: Chantal Boonacker,

Maroeska Rovers)

Videos of UK Cochrane

21st Anniversary

Symposium plenary

sessions now available

online The Cochrane UK & Ireland 21st Anniversary Symposium took place in Oxford in March 2013. Speakers included UK Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies and Dr Ben Goldacre, prize-winning science journalist and author of the bestseller Bad Pharma, who discussed the challenges facing Cochrane in the future. You can watch the plenaries here.

James Lind Alliance: work in ENT Top 10 tinnitus research questions

In September 2012, the James Lind Alliance (JLA) Tinnitus Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) published the top 10 research uncertainties for tinnitus agreed by patients and clinicians:

What management strategies are more effective than a usual model of audiological care in improving outcomes for people with tinnitus?

Is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), delivered by audiology professionals, effective for people with tinnitus? Here comparisons might be with usual audiological care or CBT delivered by a psychologist.

What management strategies are more effective for improving tinnitus-related insomnia than a usual model of care?

Do any of the various available complementary therapies provide improved outcome for people with tinnitus compared with a usual model of care?

What type of digital hearing aid or amplification strategy provides the most effective tinnitus relief?

What is the optimal set of guidelines for assessing children with tinnitus?

How can tinnitus be effectively managed in people who are deaf or who have a profound hearing loss?

Are there different types of tinnitus and can they be explained by different mechanisms in the ear or brain?

What is the link between tinnitus and hyperacusis (over-sensitivity to sounds)?

Which medications have proven to be effective in tinnitus management compared with placebo? One of these topics is already being taken forward as a Cochrane review: ‘Amplification with hearing aids for patients with tinnitus and co-existing hearing loss’ (Protocol).

Page 9 Cochrane Ear, Nose & Throat Disorders Group

New Rhinology Editor

In January 2013 we welcomed a new editor to the ENT Group: Dr Richard Harvey agreed to join our editorial panel to assist with rhinological topics.

Dr Harvey is Program Head and Conjoint Associate Professor in Rhinology & Skull Base Surgery at the University of New South Wales & St Vincent's Hospitals, and Clinical Associate Professor and Macquarie University, Australia. He has authored or co-authored four Cochrane rhinology reviews and has been a peer referee for our group.

We are delighted that Dr Harvey has become further involved with the Group in an editorial capacity.

We are now on Twitter! Follow us at @CochraneENT and receive regular updates about our work, the activities of the wider

Cochrane Collaboration, training opportunities, and news from the evidence-based medicine and ENT communities

‘Students 4 Best Evidence’ A new network for students interested in

evidence-based health care Globally, a growing number of students are interested in becoming involved with evidence-based health care. If you are a medical or nursing student, or still at school and thinking about working in health care, you may be interested in a new website which is being put together with the support of the UK Cochrane Centre. ‘Students 4 Best Evidence’ aims to pull together evidence-based health care resources for newcomers in one interactive space, providing all the information you need plus the opportunity to meet other like-minded students.

The website will be officially launched shortly; bookmark it now!

Are you a Cochrane author or thinking of becoming one?

If so, the Cochrane Training website provides access to a range of resources to meet your training and support needs. Materials are available in a range of formats and cover both intervention and diagnostic test accuracy reviews. The resources are primarily designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the core methods used by most Cochrane reviews.

Resources include:

Workshops - face-to-face workshops to give you a hands-on introduction.

Online learning modules - introductory online course for authors .

Cochrane Live! webinars - brief, interactive, online seminars, plus recordings of past webinars.

Presentations - video and slidecast presentations on:

core topics in the preparation of intervention reviews;

specialised and advanced topics for intervention reviews;

reviews of diagnostic test accuracy. Other resources - essential documents and

useful links.

Evidently Cochrane Sharing the latest Cochrane reviews

The UK Cochrane Centre has launched a new ‘Evidently Cochrane’ blog to disseminate the results of Cochrane reviews that are of interest to the UK National Health Service (NHS). In January 2013 the review on 'Topical steroids for nasal polyps' was featured. Read the blog here.

Managing expectations: What does The Cochrane Collaboration expect of authors, and

what can authors expect of The Cochrane Collaboration?

Producing a Cochrane review and keeping it up to date requires significant commitment and author teams also need to have diverse competencies and skills. At the same time, authors should be able to expect a certain level of support from the staff at their editorial base (i.e. the ENT Group) and their local Cochrane Centre. The Cochrane Collaboration is committed to inclusivity and encourages wide participation in its activities, however the level of support editorial teams and centres are able to provide to authors is inevitably limited, particularly as the number of Cochrane reviews being produced continues to increase rapidly. Cochrane reviews also need to meet very high standards of quality.

With this in mind, The Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group has issued a new policy document, which sets out in general terms the minimum expertise and skills that any group of authors will need to bring to their review project, as well as the support that authors should be able to expect from their editorial team. The document sets out these broad expectations for all parties and forms the basis of a ‘contract’ between authors and editorial teams and centres. New authors for the Cochrane ENT Group are

sent a link to the document at the point that their new title is registered. Existing authors may also be interested to read it: managing expectations document.

Cochrane ENT Group ENT Department John Radcliffe Hospital - West Wing Oxford, OX3 9DU United Kingdom

Phone: +44 1865 231051 Fax: +44 1865 231091 E-mail: jenny.bellorini@nds.ox.ac.uk Web: http://ent.cochrane.org/

Twitter:

@CochraneENT

The Cochrane ENT Group Editorial Team

Co-ordinating Editors Mr Martin Burton & Professor Anne Schilder Managing Editor Jenny Bellorini Acting Trials Search Sam Faulkner Co-ordinator & Assistant Managing Editor Editors Statistician Dr Lito Acuin (Philippines) Dr Rafael Perera, UK Dr Richard Harvey (Australia) Dr Adrian James (Canada) Dr Terry Jones (UK) Professor Stephen O’Leary (Australia) Dr Rich Rosenfeld (USA) Dr Maroeska Rovers (Netherlands) Dr Ian Williamson (UK)

Contact

Please contact us if you would

like any more information or if

you would like to become

involved in our activities.

We would welcome your

contributions to this newsletter

- please send us any items that

you would like us to publish, or

let us know about any issues

you would like to see covered.

Any comments which will help

us improve this newsletter will

b e gr a t e f u l l y r ece i v e d .

Contributions, comments and

suggestions should be forwarded

to Jenny Bellorini at the address

above.

Access/subscription to The Cochrane Library

Details of The Cochrane Library can be found on the Cochrane Collaboration website http://www.cochrane.org. For subscription information please see:

http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/

Residents in a number of countries or regions can access The Cochrane Library online for free through a ‘provision’ or a special scheme. These exist for the following geographic areas: Australia; Canada (New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan); Denmark; Finland; India; Ireland; Latin America and the Caribbean; low-income countries; New Zealand; Norway; Pakistan; South African Cochrane Centre Sponsorship; Spain; Sweden; United Kingdom; United States (Wyoming).

For full details see http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/ (‘Access’).

The Cochrane Centres

There are currently 14 Cochrane Centres around the world.

All the centres provide support for Cochrane review authors and other volunteers in their areas. Details can be found on the Cochrane website (http://www.cochrane.org) or obtained from the Cochrane ENT Group.

CRG Funding Acknowledgement The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the largest single funder of the Cochrane Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Group. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR, NHS or the Department of Health.