Rev Esp Cardiol
-
Review Comparative Study
[Usefulness of Cochrane Collaboration for pediatric cardiology].
The Cochrane Collaboration provides growing and readily accessible resources to help ensure that medical decision-making is based on detailed, methodical, and up-to-date reviews of the best available evidence. We analyzed systematic reviews in the field of pediatric cardiology published by the Cochrane Collaboration's 50 Collaborative Review Groups. We found a total of 20 systematic reviews: 13 published by the Cochrane Neonatal Group, 6 by the Cochrane Heart Group, and 1 by the Cochrane Peripheral Vascular Disease Group. ⋯ In pediatric cardiology, many therapies continue to be used without supportive evidence. We found no systematic reviews of important cardiologic topics in childhood such as heart failure, shock, hypertension, congenital cardiopathy, and arrhythmia. Clinical practice guidelines complement systematic reviews, which can recommend only strategies that are supported by strong evidence or suggest further research when scientific evidence is inadequate.