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Methodological concerns and quality appraisal of contemporary systematic reviews and meta-analyses in pediatric

Luis H Braga1, Julia Pemberton, Jorge Demaria

  • 1Department of Surgery (Urology), McMaster Children's Hospital, Hamilton, Canada. braga@mcmaster.ca

The Journal of Urology
|May 24, 2011
PubMed

Insights

The quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in pediatric urology is often poor. Improving the scientific rigor of these reviews is crucial for evidence-based clinical practice.

Area of Science:

  • Urology
  • Medical Research Methodology

Background:

  • Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are vital for evidence-based medicine.
  • The quality of these reviews directly impacts their influence on clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in pediatric urology.
  • To identify areas for improvement in published pediatric urology research.

Main Methods:

  • Searched PubMed and Embase for systematic reviews/meta-analyses in top pediatric urology journals (2000-2009).
  • Evaluated scientific methodological quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool.
  • Two independent reviewers selected and reviewed articles.

Main Results:

  • 15 articles met inclusion criteria; 47% were published in 2009.
  • Few reviews described comprehensive search strategies (7%) or included non-English studies (20%).
  • Only 33% reported quality assessment and 33% assessed publication bias; 47% were rated as less than fair methodological quality by AMSTAR.

Conclusions:

  • Despite increased publication, nearly half of pediatric urology systematic reviews/meta-analyses lack adequate scientific quality.
  • There is a need to enhance the methodological rigor of these reviews to ensure their reliability in guiding clinical decisions.
Abstract

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