Keep the review and its version together
Cochrane AMA Citation with Review Numbers, Protocols, and Updates
Use real Cochrane records to check article numbers, protocol labels, and update dates before an imported reference reaches your paper.
A Cochrane AMA citation uses the review authors, article title, abbreviated journal name, publication year, issue, CD article number, and DOI. Keep any volume supplied by the record you are following. Look closely at the DOI ending. A reference to an older review can look perfectly complete while pointing readers to a different version from the one you used. The examples below compare published records and show which fields need to travel together.
Identify a review, protocol, or update
Open the publication record before formatting it. Cochrane publishes both completed reviews and protocols describing planned review methods. A protocol can support a discussion of what researchers intended to do. For findings from a completed evidence synthesis, cite the review you actually read. The Cochrane Handbook explains that a written protocol precedes a review and specifies its scope and methods.
Cochrane’s own reference guidance separates protocols, reviews, comments, and withdrawn reviews. Its published protocol example is Zonisamide monotherapy for epilepsy, by Ranganathan and Ramaratnam, from 2007, issue 4, article CD006789. The DOI is 10.1002/14651858.CD006789. The title alone does not reveal that this is a protocol. Check the record’s publication type.
Keep the publication type in your notes and make it clear in your discussion. Follow the course or target journal’s instructions for a bracketed protocol label in the finished reference. Cochrane’s displayed [Protocol] label belongs to its own reference style, so copying the entire publisher citation does not automatically produce AMA formatting.
Find the CD number and version DOI
The CD number identifies the article. It occupies the locator position where a journal reference might otherwise have page numbers. Preserve its letters and leading zeros. CD006207 should remain CD006207 when you transfer it into a citation form. A PDF’s first and last page numbers describe that file’s layout and should not replace the published article number.
Next, compare the DOIs. Two versions can share the same CD number while carrying different DOI suffixes. In the respiratory-virus review below, the 2020 record ends in .pub5 and the 2023 record ends in .pub6. Copy the complete DOI from the selected record. The suffix alone cannot tell you whether an item is a protocol or establish its publication date.
This comparison uses PubMed’s indexed citation metadata and update links. It illustrates reference identification only and makes no claim about the review’s clinical conclusions.
| Field | 2020 review record | 2023 update record |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Completed review | Updated completed review |
| Publication date | November 20, 2020 | January 30, 2023 |
| Issue | 11 | 1 |
| Article number | CD006207 | CD006207 |
| DOI | 10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub5 | 10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6 |
| PMID | 33215698 | 36715243 |
Match the citation to the review record
The University of Mary’s AMA 11 guide includes a Cochrane example with an issue, CD article number, and DOI. Its example omits a volume, giving the structure year;(issue):CDnumber. Use that pattern when your chosen record provides an issue without a separate volume. The abbreviated journal title is Cochrane Database Syst Rev, set in italics.
The two examples below follow that issue-based pattern. Some database exports display the 2023 record as 1(1), and the 2020 record as 11(11). If your required output retains those supplied volume fields, use 2023;1(1):CD006207 and 2020;11(11):CD006207 respectively. Avoid inventing a volume from the issue when none is supplied.
Author lists also change between versions. The first three authors of the 2020 record are Jefferson, Del Mar, and Dooley. The 2023 update starts with Jefferson, Dooley, and Ferroni. Both records have more than six authors, so these AMA examples give the first three followed by et al.
2020 review in AMA issue-based format
Jefferson T, Del Mar CB, Dooley L, et al. Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;(11):CD006207. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub5
Use this entry when discussing the 2020 version. PubMed links it to the 2023 update.
2023 update in AMA issue-based format
Jefferson T, Dooley L, Ferroni E, et al. Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023;(1):CD006207. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6
The year, issue, author list, and DOI belong to the same update record.
Check imported metadata before submitting
In AMA Cite, start with a DOI or PMID lookup, or use the Journal form for manual entry. Put the CD identifier in the pages field if entering the record yourself. That field supplies the locator after the colon. Review the preview to confirm that CD006207 remains intact and that the DOI includes its suffix.
After importing a Cochrane review AMA reference, check its version. The lookup may have returned an accurate record for an earlier publication. Check the publication record alongside the draft before using it in your manuscript.
- Compare the title and publication type with the source you read. Watch for a protocol or a separately published summary.
- Check the author order against that specific version, then verify the year, issue, and any supplied volume.
- Keep the CD article number and complete DOI together. Remove PDF page counts mistakenly imported as journal pagination.
- Open any update or withdrawal notice. If it changes your source choice, reread the relevant material before changing the citation.