Cochrane Back Review Group: Up-to-date information on the Cochrane Back Review Group

What's New at the Back Review Group

We published two new protocols in The Cochrane Library 2010, issue 8. This brings the number of published reviews to 46 and protocols to 14.

New Protocols
Red flags to screen for vertebral fracture in patients presenting with low-back pain (N Henschke, et al)
Botulinum toxin for subacute/chronic neck pain (P Peloso, et al)

Other Important Announcements

1. The 2009 impact factors (IF) have now been published by Thomson ISI.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews has an Impact Factor of 5.653 and is ranked 11th out of 132 in the ISI category Medicine, General & Internal.

The 2008 IF was 5.182 and the ranking was 12th out of 107 journals. The 2007 IF was 4.654 and the ranking was 14th out of 100.

2. Co-publications in 2010

Negrini S, Minozzi S, Bettany-Saltikov J, Zaina F, Chockalingam N, Grivas T, et al. Braces for Idiopathic Scoliosis in Adolescents. Spine 2010; 35(13): 1285-93.

3. Collaboration with Canadian Institutes for Health Research

With the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Review Group, we submitted our 2010 new and updated reviews to the Canadian Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis for the Cochrane Corner on their website.

4. Complimentary subscription to The Cochrane Library

Did you know that one of the ‘perks’ of being the lead author of an up to date review (i.e. your literature search has been updated within the past 30 months and the results incorporated into the review) is that you receive free access to The Cochrane Library? Follow these steps to access it:

Log in to Archie (http://archie.cochrane.org).
Click on your Person Properties tab: the easiest way to do this is to click on your name in the top right-hand corner of the opening screen in Archie.
If you are eligible to receive a complimentary subscription, you will see a ‘Subscription’ tab. (Please note that if you do not see this tab, this means that you are not the ‘Contact person’ or your review is not up to date.)
The free subscription default is set to ‘Suspend’. To alter this, highlight the Subscription row and click on Edit.
Select the type of subscription you prefer: Online or DVD-ROM, or ‘Donate’ your subscription. (Please note that you can only donate your subscription to a person with a record in Archie.)

5. Building the Trials Register

Would you like to help add relevant trials and guidelines to the Cochrane Review Group’s Trials Register? Do you have access to one of these journals? If interested, please contact Rachel Couban, our Trials Search Co-ordinator at rcouban@iwh.on.ca for more information.

American Journal of Orthopedics (continues Orthopaedic Review): 1994 to present
European Spine Journal: May 2009 to present
Journal of the American Osteopathic Association: 1989 to present
Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation: 1991; 2009, Vol. 22 Issue 4
Orthopaedic Review: 1972 (Vol.1) through 1994 (Vol. 23, final issue) Continued by Am J of Orthopedics
Seminars in Spine Surgery: 1996 to present
Spine: February 2006 to present
The Spine Journal: 2002 (Vol. 2 Issue 5) to present

6. Timelines for each ‘phase’ of a Cochrane review

completed protocols should be checked in for editorial approval within six months of title registration
completed reviews should be checked in for editorial approval within one year of protocol publication
reviews should be updated within two years of publication of the previous version

7. Speeding up the editorial process

Before initial submission:

Complete a spell check, consult with the Cochrane Style Guide and The Handbook to ensure proper format (link through ‘help’ in RevMan 5)
Ensure all the sections are completed and all the numbers add up
Make sure everyone on the review team has read and agreed on the final copy (this includes the statistician on the team)
Check the validation report and correct any errors and as many warnings as possible (file -> reports -> validation report)

After receiving peer referee comments:

Try to set aside time to complete your revisions within three to four weeks of receiving the referee comments
Complete the ‘collated referee comments’ table, indicating your revisions
Repeat the steps outlined above

Visit our website www.cochrane.iwh.on.ca for more information.

The Cochrane Back Review Group had two important papers published that will be of interest to our readers and authors:

van Tulder MW, Suttorp M, Morton S, Bouter LM, Shekelle P. Empirical evidence of an association between internal validity and effect size in randomized controlled trials of low-back pain. Spine 2009; 34(16):1685-1692.

Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of the criteria list recommended by the Cochrane Back Review Group Editorial Board by evaluating whether individual items and a total score are associated with effect sizes in randomized controlled trials of back pain interventions. Conclusion. We conclude that the 11-item Internal Validity Checklist is associated with effect size in randomized trials of interventions for back pain, and that our data support the use of a sum score of the number of fulfilled items in this list.

Furlan AD, Pennick V, Bombardier C, van Tulder M, Cochrane Back Review Group. 2009 updated method guidelines for systematic reviews in the Cochrane Back Review Group. Spine 2009; 34(18):1929-41.

Objective. To help review authors design, conduct and report systematic reviews of trials in this field. Conclusions. Citations of previous versions of the method guidelines in published scientific articles (1997 – 254; 2003 – 209; searched February 10, 2009) suggest that others may find these guidelines useful to plan, conduct, or evaluate systematic reviews in the field of spinal disorders.

We would like to thank Michele Crites-Battié for her support over the past five years. Michele is stepping down from her position as peer referee and a member of the Advisory Board to devote more time to her other academic pursuits.

If you are an author of a Cochrane review and you have questions about using RevMan 5 that are not answered by information available on the RevMan 5 website, click here for our Revman 5 Tips page, or please contact Vicki Pennick, Managing Editor, Cochrane Back Review Group (vpennick@iwh.on.ca).

Do you have a question about a treatment for neck or back pain that we may be able to answer by doing a systematic review? If so, please send your ideas to Vicki Pennick, Managing Editor at cochrane@iwh.on.ca or vpennick@iwh.on.ca

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