Background: Cochrane systematic reviews are an ample source of suggestions and information for further health-care research. At present the section on 'Implications for researchá specifically comments on the need and nature of further research that would be most desirable.

Objective: To explore how Cochrane reviews can further help to make suggestions to assist researchers to plan and conduct useful clinical trials.

Methods: Two papers of Cochrane reviews are analyzed (Gonzólez U, Pinart M, Reveiz L, et al. Designing and reporting clinical trials on treatments for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Clin Infect Dis 2010;51:409-19; and Gonzalez U, Whitton M, Eleftheriadou V et al. Guidelines for designing and reporting clinical trials in vitiligo. Arch Dermatol - in press-). This is a new initiative for helping authors conduct high quality trials by elevating the importance of research gaps and providing specific research guidelines for new trials.

Results: The structure of this new type of article is described and recommendations on optimum designs for RCT in every specific area based on the evidence synthesis are made. The first part includes the known sources of bias from existing randomised controlled trials such as selection bias, blinding assessment, attrition bias, and the PICO framework. The second part provides specific recommendations for designing and reporting the thematic trials and it is structured according to the study question, the study design and reporting details.

Conclusions: Development of specific clinical research guidelines and recommendations based in Cochrane reviews could improve and inform future efforts for new thematic clinical trials and other initiatives as outcome research. This could be a major need in the production of the best evidence in all health areas as well as a unique type of work within the medical literature and the Cochrane Library.