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A descriptive analysis of child-relevant systematic reviews in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Simon Bow1, Jeffrey Klassen, Annabritt Chisholm

  • 1Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

BMC Pediatrics
|May 22, 2010
PubMed

Insights

This study analyzed child-relevant systematic reviews (SRs) in the Cochrane Database. Many reviews lack up-to-date information and child-specific data, highlighting gaps in evidence for pediatric care.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Research
  • Evidence Synthesis
  • Pediatric Health

Background:

  • Systematic reviews (SRs) are crucial for evidence-based decision-making.
  • A comprehensive overview of child-relevant SRs is lacking.
  • Understanding the scope of child-focused evidence is vital for identifying research gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe child-relevant SRs from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR).
  • To assess the extent and characteristics of available child-relevant evidence in SRs.
  • To identify potential gaps in the evidence base requiring new SRs.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic reviews were identified from the CDSR (Issue 2, 2009).
  • Relevance was assessed using pre-defined criteria.
  • Data extraction and univariate analyses were performed to describe SR characteristics.

Main Results:

  • 793 child-relevant SRs were included, with 38% last updated before 2007.
  • Most SRs focused on pharmacological interventions (59%) and included a median of 7 studies.
  • Only 48% of included studies exclusively focused on children, and publication bias was assessed in only 14%.

Conclusions:

  • The study characterized the methodological quality of child-relevant SRs in the CDSR.
  • Many SRs do not meet current Cochrane standards for being up-to-date.
  • Variations in conduct and reporting limit clinicians' access to child-specific data.
Abstract

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