TY - JOUR
T1 - Cochrane systematic reviews in the field of addiction
T2 - What's there and what should be
AU - Amato, Laura
AU - Davoli, Marina
AU - Vecchi, Simona
AU - Ali, Rober
AU - Farrell, Michael
AU - Faggiano, Fabrizio
AU - Foxcroft, David
AU - Ling, Walter
AU - Minozzi, Silvia
AU - Chengzheng, Zhao
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by the Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Region, Italy .
PY - 2011/1/15
Y1 - 2011/1/15
N2 - The Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group aims to produce, update, and disseminate systematic reviews on the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of problematic drug and alcohol use. The objective of the present paper was to summarize the main characteristics of the published systematic reviews in the field of drug and alcohol dependence, in terms of the topics covered, methods used to produce the reviews, and available evidence. By January 2010, the Group had published 52 reviews with 694 primary studies included out of 2059 studies considered for inclusion. Of these publications, 44% were published in 12 journals, including Drug and Alcohol Dependence (11%) with the highest number of publications, and 68% were conducted in North America. The majority of included studies (90%) were randomized controlled trials. Evaluating their methodological quality, we found that allocation concealment methods were not properly described in the majority of studies (18% adequate, 73% unclear, 9% inadequate). The percentage of interventions shown to be beneficial varied according to the substance considered: 42% for opioids, 37% for alcohol, 14% for psychostimulants, 7% for polydrugs, and 33% for prevention. Furthermore, 75% of the reviews provided specific information on further research needs. Cochrane reviews provide information on the most effective treatments, particularly in the area of opioid and alcohol dependence, and help clarify areas for further research.
AB - The Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group aims to produce, update, and disseminate systematic reviews on the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of problematic drug and alcohol use. The objective of the present paper was to summarize the main characteristics of the published systematic reviews in the field of drug and alcohol dependence, in terms of the topics covered, methods used to produce the reviews, and available evidence. By January 2010, the Group had published 52 reviews with 694 primary studies included out of 2059 studies considered for inclusion. Of these publications, 44% were published in 12 journals, including Drug and Alcohol Dependence (11%) with the highest number of publications, and 68% were conducted in North America. The majority of included studies (90%) were randomized controlled trials. Evaluating their methodological quality, we found that allocation concealment methods were not properly described in the majority of studies (18% adequate, 73% unclear, 9% inadequate). The percentage of interventions shown to be beneficial varied according to the substance considered: 42% for opioids, 37% for alcohol, 14% for psychostimulants, 7% for polydrugs, and 33% for prevention. Furthermore, 75% of the reviews provided specific information on further research needs. Cochrane reviews provide information on the most effective treatments, particularly in the area of opioid and alcohol dependence, and help clarify areas for further research.
KW - Cochrane reviews
KW - Drug and alcohol
KW - Efficacy of interventions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78651495349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.08.003
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.08.003
M3 - Review article
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 113
SP - 96
EP - 103
JO - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
JF - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
IS - 2-3
ER -