The CIDG Specialized Register contains records of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials relevant to the Group’s topics. New records were identified through searches for trials for specific reviews and searches for trials in relevant topics such as malaria and tuberculosis conducted every 2 months. The CIDG Information Specialist, Vittoria Lutje (Vittoria.Lutje@lstmed.ac.uk) maintained the CIDG Specialized Register up to July 2021, when it contained 8612 records.

The records in the CIDG Specialized Register were also included in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials available through the Cochrane Library. Records from the CIDG Specialized Register can be identified in the Cochrane Library by searching for “SR-INFECTN”.

The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials (CENTRAL) includes RCT and quasi-RCT (q-RCT) records, identified by Cochrane’s Centralised Search Service using different methods such as highly sensitive searches, machine learning, and crowdsourcing in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase.com, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO ICTRP, plus reports of trials included in published Cochrane reviews.

As of July 2021, the CIDG stopped updating the CIDG Specialized Register and has focused instead on conducting searches for individual reviews. This decision was due to the comprehensive coverage of RCTs and quasi-RCTs provided by CENTRAL; and additional considerations, including the increased number of CIDG reviews that include non-RCTs, such as qualitative reviews or diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) reviews.