Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by a new strain of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) discovered in 2019, and not previously identified in humans. Common symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the current COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic.

For authoritative information about the science underpinning the epidemic, see the UK Research and Innovation Coronavirus resource.

Cochrane Oral Health are collecting information and guidance from international professional dental bodies. At this time, it is more important than ever to work together and the Global Evidence Ecosystem for Oral Health (GEEOH) will continue to do this.

We will publish links on this page as they become available. If you would like us to link to a resource that is not currently on our list, please contact us.

Guidance for the oral and dental care team from our Global Alliance and GEEOH partners:

• The Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) has published a rapid review on Aerosol Generating Procedures - available here.
  
  
• Public Health England's infection and control guidance for the dental setting can be found here.
  
  
• A rapid review is available on aerosol-generating procedures and their mitigation in international guidance documents, read it here.
   
• A rapid review is available on recommendations for the re-opening of dental services after the COVID-19 pandemic, read it here.
  
  
• The World Health Organization (WHO) have produced a guidance document: Considerations for the provision of essential oral health services in the context of COVID-19.
  
  
• The Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) have produced guidance on dental practice recovery, find it here. They have also issued a guide for managing acute oral conditions during the pandemic, find it here. These documents will be updated regularly, so please check back often.
  
  
• Read a commentary on the Cochrane review on personal protective equipment for the dental and oral health care team.
  
  
• The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) has a COVID-19 updates and resource service, including a blog and links to relevant publications. 
  
  
• The American Dental Association's (ADA) resources can be found here, these include guidance on minimising the risk of transition and information on donning and doffing personal protective equipment. The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) has a free resource with infection control articles available to download.
  
  
• The British Association of Oral Surgeons (BAOS) has published a series of COVID-19 updates, find them here. 
  
  
• The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) has dental resources for children, plus other general guidance. Find their resources here.

Cochrane Oral Health reviews

• Interventions to reduce contaminated aerosols produced during dental procedures for preventing infectious diseases

Cochrane Oral Health have produced the following reviews in conjunction with Cochrane ENT:

• Antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays administered to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection to improve patient outcomes and to protect healthcare workers treating them
  
  
• Antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays to protect healthcare workers when undertaking aerosol‐generating procedures (AGPs) on patients without suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection.
  
  
• Use of antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays by healthcare workers to protect them when treating patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection

Read a summary of the findings here.

Other guidance for the oral and dental care team:

• The Australian Dental Association has a COVID-19 resources centre, find it here. 
  
  
• The British Dental Association (BDA) have a Coronavirus FAQs page, which gives information and advice to dental practitioners.
  
  
• The General Dental Council (GDC) have produced a document on remote consultation and prescribing.
  
  
• The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) guidance for the dental setting is here, there is some advice on filtering facepiece respirators here.
  
  
• Le Collège National des Chirurgiens-Dentistes Universitaires en Santé Publique has published guidance for dental teams in France, here.
  
  
• The British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) has issued guidance on personal protective equipment for oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures during the pandemic.
  
  
• Guidance on managing head and neck cancer patients from ENT UK can be found here, there is also some guidance on remote triaging of those with suspected head and neck cancer here.
  
  
• From Colombia, recommendations for pediatric dentists on COVID-19 made by Academia Colombiana de Odontología Pediátrica can be found here.
  
  
• The Polish Dental Association Working Group recommendations on working in a dental office at a time of increased epidemiological risk are available via the Journal of Stomatology.

Cochrane evidence

1. Cochrane resources and news: Cochrane has an extensive collection of resources related to COVID-19 and these are available here. Cochrane Clinical Answers, summaries of the evidence produced for clinicians, have been developed. Find them here.

2. Cochrane Special Collections relating to coronavirus have been developed:

• Evidence relevant to critical care. Also available in Simplified Chinese, German, Farsi, French, Japanese, Bahasa Malaysia, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
  
  
• Evidence relevant to clinical rehabilitation
  
  
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): regional anaesthesia to reduce drug use in anaesthesia and avoid aerosol generation. This collection is also available in Japanese, Bahasa Malaysian, Russian and Spanish.
  
  
• Infection control and prevention measures. Also available in Simplified Chinese, Farsi, French, Japanese, Bahasa Malaysia, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
  
  
• Effective options for quitting smoking during the pandemic. This Special Collection is also available in Farsi, French, German, Japanese, Bahasa Malaysia, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

• Remote care through telehealth. This collection is also available in French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

• Optimizing health in the home workspace. This Special Collection is also available in French, Japanese, Malay, Portuguese, and Spanish.

• Support for well-being in the healthcare workforce. Also available in German, Farsi, French, Japanese, Malay, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

3. Cochrane COVID Rapid Reviews. The Cochrane COVID Review Bank includes:

• Review titles that Cochrane has committed to supporting and keeping up to date (see priorities diagram).
• Questions or topics that fall within the priority areas where high-quality submissions will be considered.
• COVID Reviews underway within Cochrane Review Groups that are priorities within a given clinical area.

Details of how questions were collected and prioritized can be found on the Prioritization page.

4. COVID-19 Consumer rapid response group. Cochrane are recruiting consumers to be a part of a COVID-19 consumer rapid response group. Cochrane are particularly looking for healthcare consumers who have experience of helping with Cochrane or other systematic reviews, and have experience of COVID-19 either as a patient, an informal carer or as someone at high risk of catching the disease. Find out more here. 

In December 2020, a supplement to the Cochrane Library was published: Collaborating in response to COVID-19: editorial and methods initiatives across Cochrane. It pulls together information on Cochrane's various projects and initiatives to combat COVID-19. Read an accompanying editorial here.

In November 2020, an editorial was published in the Cochrane Library: Policymakers must act on incomplete evidence in responding to COVID-19.

Relevant Cochrane reviews published so far:

• NEW! Non‐pharmacological measures implemented in the setting of long‐term care facilities to prevent SARS‐CoV‐2 infections and their consequences: a rapid review

• Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19
  
  
• Ivermectin for preventing and treating COVID-19. Listen to a podcast by the review's authors, here.
  
  
• Systemic corticosteroids for the treatment of COVID-19

• Interleukin‐6 blocking agents for treating COVID‐19: a living systematic review

• COVID‐19 and its cardiovascular effects: a systematic review of prevalence studies (listen to a podcast from one of the authors)

• Signs and symptoms to determine if a patient presenting in primary care or hospital outpatient settings has COVID-19 disease
  
  
• Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for prevention and treatment of COVID‐19 (see a visual abstract, here)
  
  
• Measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID‐19 pandemic: a scoping review
  
  
• Care bundles for improving outcomes in patients with COVID-19 or related conditions in intensive care - a rapid scoping review
  
  
• Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses
  
  
• Routine laboratory testing to determine if a patient has COVID-19
  
  
• Interventions to support the resilience and mental health of frontline health and social care professionals during and after a disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic: a mixed methods systematic review

• Prophylactic anticoagulants for people hospitalised with COVID‐19. Listen to the podcast, here.

• Thoracic imaging tests for the diagnosis of COVID‐19. Listen to the podcast here.
  
  
• How effective is quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to control coronavirus (COVID-19)?  Listen to the podcast, here.

• Personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases due to exposure to contaminated body fluids in healthcare staff

• Barriers and facilitators to healthcare workers’ adherence with infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines for respiratory infectious disease. Read a reflection on the process of writing the review from the author team, here.
  
  
• Handcleaning with ash to reduce viral and bacterial infections. This is also available as a podcast here.
  
  
• Convalescent plasma or hyperimmune immunoglobulin for people with COVID-19. Read an interview with the author team, here. 
  
  
• Video calls for reducing social isolation and loneliness in older people: a rapid review. Listen to the podcast here.
  
  
• Antibody tests for identification of current and past infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 
  
  
• Digital contact tracing in epidemics: a rapid review
  
  
• Rapid, point‐of‐care antigen and molecular‐based tests for diagnosis of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Listen to the podcast. 
  
  
• Oxygen targets in the intensive care unit during mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory distress syndrome: a rapid review
  
  
• Universal screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Listen to the podcast, here. 
  
  
• Travel-related control measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic
  
  
• Vitamin D supplementation for the treatment of COVID-19: a living systematic review

General guidance on COVID-19:

• The World Health Organization has provided coronavirus resources here. They have also published guidance on maintaining essential health services during the outbreak.
  
  
• The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has issued guidance on infection prevention and control for caring for patients with COVID-19 in healthcare settings.
  
  
• Evidence Aid's Coronavirus resources include evidence on healthcare workers' protection and prevention management.
  
  
• Public Health England (PHE) resources relating to Coronavirus can be found here, these include information and advice on aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs). Find some advice on personal protective equipment here.
  
  
• The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are publishing a series of rapid guidelines, on the management of coronavirus, find out more here.
  
  
• The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) in Oxford has a series of rapid reviews underway, check back often for updates.

COVID-19 trials in-progress and data from trials

Cochrane has launched a COVID-19 trial register to support rapid evidence synthesis, find it here.

For a register of COVID-19-related trials that are in-progress and may – or may not – have yet published results (links are included when results are available) please see Covid-19 TrialsTracker.

Cochrane's partner Vivli is collecting and sharing data from COVID-19-related clinical trials (published data and individual patient data from published and unpublished trials); find out more here.