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News

New DTA review: Accuracy of measures for antiretroviral adherence in people living with HIV
Health staff sometimes use questionnaires, counting pills, pharmacy notes, or gadgets to estimate if people with HIV are taking their antiretroviral drugs. None of these approaches were reliable when compared to viral load testing, according to the authors of a new Cochrane review.
What's New! CIDG publications June 2022
During June 2022, the CIDG published one new review, and two updated reviews in Issue 6, 2022 of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
New review: Interventions to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene for preventing soil-transmitted helminth infection
What is the aim of this review?This review summarizes randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (studies where participants are randomly assigned to one of two or more treatment groups) and non‐randomized trials (non‐RCTs) evaluating the effect of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions on preventing soil‐transmitted helminth infections. 
Update: (21 June 2022) Pyronaridine‐artesunate for treating uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria
What is the aim of this review?The aim of this Cochrane Review was to find out if the antimalarial drug pyronaridine‐artesunate is effective and safe in treating uncomplicated cases of an important type of malaria (Plasmodium falciparum). We collected and analysed all relevant studies to answer this question and found 10 studies.
Ivermectin for COVID-19 review update: 11 trials and no evidence of benefit shown
There remains no evidence to support the use of ivermectin for treating or preventing COVID-19 infection, state the authors of an updated Cochrane Review, which now contains 11 trials across 3409 people. The authors note that evidence is limited, and evaluation of ivermectin is continuing in ongoing studies. 
'Meet the Editor' - Dr Joseph Pryce
In this instalment of the CIDG 'Meet the Editor' series, we talk with Dr Joseph Pryce from the UK.
Update (20 May 2022) Signs and symptoms to determine if a patient presenting in primary care or hospital outpatient settings has COVID‐19
How accurate are symptoms and medical examination to diagnose COVID‐19?Key messages‐ The results suggest that a single symptom included in this review cannot accurately diagnose COVID‐19.
New Review: Xpert MTB/XDR for detection of pulmonary tuberculosis and resistance to isoniazid, fluoroquinolones, ethionamide, and amikacin
Why is improving the diagnosis of tuberculosis drug resistance important?Tuberculosis tests, like Xpert MTB/RIF, Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, and Truenat, only diagnose rifampicin resistance, but do not provide information about resistance to other drugs used to treat tuberculosis. This information is needed to allow for effective treatment to be started quickly.
Update: (16 May 2022) Thoracic imaging tests for the diagnosis of COVID‐19
How accurate is chest imaging for diagnosing COVID‐19?Why is this question important?People with suspected COVID‐19 need to know quickly whether they are infected, so they can receive appropriate treatment, self‐isolate, and inform close contacts.
What's new! CIDG publications April 2022
During April 2022, the CIDG published one new protocol and one new review in Issue 4, 2022 of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.