A process for prioritising systematic reviews in tinnitus.

Area of Science:

• Evidence-based medicine
• Systematic review methodology
• Otolaryngology

Background:

• Systematic reviews are crucial for evidence-based healthcare decisions.
• Prioritizing research topics ensures efficient allocation of resources for new or updated reviews.
• Tinnitus research requires a structured approach to identify the most impactful areas for investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an innovative prioritization process for identifying topics for systematic reviews in tinnitus research.
• To establish clear criteria for selecting interventions for future systematic reviews.
• To streamline the identification of high-priority areas within tinnitus research.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage prioritization process was employed.
• Stage one involved a scoping review to assess the availability of randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence.
• Stage two used pre-defined primary and secondary criteria to rank interventions for systematic review.

Main Results:

• The process identified three high-priority interventions for systematic review: sound therapy (amplification devices/sound generators), betahistine, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
• Secondary priorities included Ginkgo biloba, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antiepileptics, and neuromodulation.
• The methodology was tested using subjective tinnitus and the Cochrane systematic review platform.

Conclusions:

• A robust process was successfully developed to identify priority areas for Cochrane systematic reviews on tinnitus interventions.
• The developed prioritization technique is adaptable and can be applied to other clinical conditions and systematic review types.
• This approach enhances the efficiency and impact of systematic review generation in medical research.