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Methodological and reporting quality in non-Cochrane systematic review updates could be improved: a comparative
Ya Gao1, Yitong Cai2, Kelu Yang2
1Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Updated systematic reviews (SRs) did not show improved methodological or reporting quality compared to original SRs. Further quality enhancements are needed for both updated and original systematic reviews.
Area of Science:
- Medical Research Methodology
- Evidence Synthesis
- Scientific Publishing Standards
Background:
- Systematic reviews (SRs) are crucial for evidence synthesis.
- Assessing the quality of SRs is essential for reliable research.
- Previous studies have not consistently evaluated the quality changes in updated SRs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the methodological and reporting quality of updated systematic reviews (SRs) against their original counterparts.
- To identify factors influencing quality changes between original and updated SRs.
Main Methods:
- Included 30 pairs of non-Cochrane updated and original SRs.
- Assessed methodological quality using Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2).
- Evaluated reporting quality with Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant differences in overall methodological quality were found between updated and original SRs.
- Updated SRs showed higher compliance on some items but no significant reporting quality improvements.
- Most SRs (96.7%) were of critical low methodological quality.
Conclusions:
- Updated systematic reviews do not demonstrate improved methodological or reporting quality over original versions.
- Both original and updated SRs have substantial room for quality improvement.
- Adherence to quality assessment tools like AMSTAR-2 and PRISMA needs enhancement.
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