Cochrane’s Central Editorial Service aims to support Review Group Networks to deliver reviews identified as high priority in their strategic plan.

Cochrane’s Central Editorial Service has been instrumental in the Cochrane’s COVID-19 response, managing the editorial process for the following published reviews:

• Care bundles for improving outcomes in patients with COVID-19 or related conditions in intensive care - a rapid scoping review (21 December 2020)
• Measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review (17 December 2020) 
• Thoracic imaging tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19 (26 November 2020)
• Routine laboratory testing to determine if a patient has COVID-19 (19 November 2020)
• Convalescent plasma or hyperimmune immunoglobulin for people with COVID-19: a living systematic review (first updated 10 July 2020; second update 10 October 2020)
• Interventions to support the resilience and mental health of frontline health and social care professionals during a disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic and following de-escalation (5 November 2020)
• Prophylactic anticoagulants for people hospitalised with COVID‐19 (2 October 2020)
• Thoracic imaging tests for the diagnosis of COVID‐19 (30 September 2020)
• Travel-related control measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review (16 September 2020)
• Universal screening for people with COVID-19: a rapid review (15 September 2020)
• Quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to control COVID-19: a rapid review (first published 8 April 2020; updated 14 September 2020; see also Cochrane Clinical Answers)
• Rapid, point-of-care antigen and molecular-based tests for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection (26 August 2020)
• Digital contact tracing technologies in epidemics: a rapid review (18 August 2020)
• Convalescent plasma or hyperimmune immunoglobulin for people with COVID-19: a living systematic review (first published 14 May 2020; updated 10 July 2020) (see also: Cochrane Clinical Answer)
• Signs and symptoms to determine if a patient presenting in primary care or hospital outpatient settings has COVID-19 disease (7 July 2020) (see also: podcast and Cochrane Clinical Answer)
• Antibody tests for identification of current and past infection with SARS-CoV-2 (25 June 2020)
• Video calls for reducing social isolation and loneliness in older people: a rapid review (22 May 2020) (see also: podcast and Cochrane Clinical Answer)
• Hand cleaning with ash for reducing the spread of viral and bacterial infections: a rapid review (28 April 2020) (see also: podcast and Cochrane Clinical Answer)
• Barriers and facilitators to healthcare workers’ adherence with infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines for respiratory infectious diseases: a rapid qualitative evidence synthesis (21 April 2020) (see also: podcast and Cochrane Clinical Answer)
• Personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases due to exposure to contaminated body fluids in healthcare staff (updated 15 April 2020; further update 15 May 2020) (see also: Cochrane Clinical Answer)
• Quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to control COVID-19: a rapid review (8 April 2020) (see also: podcast and three Cochrane Clinical Answers)

To submit a COVID-19 rapid review to the Central Editorial Service please see this page for further instructions.

Cochrane’s Central Editorial Service, previously known as the Fast-Track Service, is managed by the Central Editorial Service Team, in collaboration with the relevant Cochrane Review Group. It will draw on the combined expertise and resources of the Editorial and Methods Department, Cochrane Review Groups, Networks and Methods Groups to ensure a streamlined editorial process.

The original Fast-Track Service, piloted in 2017, had as its rationale to provide an expedited, ‘journal-like’ route to publication in the Cochrane Library and facilitate the publication of high-priority and high-impact reviews. From the pilot, it was identified that most submissions to the Fast-Track service were not primarily for reasons of speed. With the demand of a centralised, collaborative service determined from the results of the pilot to cater the needs of the community, it was stablished that we could facilitate the publication of priority reviews by running an efficient, collaborative central editorial service that could take into consideration submissions based on a variety of factors.

Cochrane’s Central Editorial Service will:

• support the editorial process of the publication of high-priority, high-quality reviews
• support Cochrane Review Groups and Networks to deliver on their strategic plans
• offer flexibility to systematic review authors
• attract high-impact reviews that may otherwise not be published with Cochrane

We have comprehensive acceptance criteria for the Central Editorial Service. The key points are that a review may be eligible if it:

• focuses on an important topic that will influence policy or practice. For example, your review may be addressing a key knowledge gap or have been commissioned by a guideline developer or consumer group and
• is of high quality, and requires no major revisions prior to publication and
• has a protocol. This does not have to be published with Cochrane, as long as it complies with our policy on protocols .

From acceptance onto the Central Editorial Service to publication of the review, we aim for 12-19 weeks for a standard intervention review. This may be subject to variation depending on the extent of input from the Central Editorial Service and requirements of the guideline developer. Please read about our editorial process for further details.

• In accordance with Cochrane’s Content Strategy, we welcome reviews with more complex methodology e.g. prognosis or diagnostic test accuracy reviews, or reviews containing individual patient data. For such reviews the editorial process timescale may increase, and we would utilise expertise from Cochrane’s Methods Groups in order to assess these reviews appropriately and ensure high quality standards.
• The Central Editorial Service adheres to Cochrane’s editorial policies, including policies on peer review, rejection of reviews, plagiarism and the appeals policy and process .

If you think your review is a good fit of the Central Editorial Service, please contact the Central Editorial Service Managing Editor, Helen Wakeford, on editorial-service@cochrane.org to discuss your application further.