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Characterising umbrella reviews in paediatrics: A systematic analysis
1Institute of Clinical Medicine and Kuopio Pediatric Research Unit, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Insights
Practices in pediatric umbrella reviews vary. Improved adherence to guidelines for conducting and reporting these reviews, especially for critical appraisal, is necessary for better research synthesis.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Research
- Systematic Review Methodology
Background:
- Umbrella reviews synthesize evidence from multiple systematic reviews on a specific topic.
- Standardized reporting and methodological quality are crucial for reliable synthesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize current practices in conducting and reporting pediatric umbrella reviews.
- To identify areas for improvement in methodology and reporting.
Main Methods:
- A systematic search of the PubMed database was conducted for umbrella reviews on pediatric topics (0-18 years) published between January 2020 and June 2024.
- Included reviews were assessed for reporting standards, results summarization, and critical appraisal techniques.
Main Results:
- Ninety-nine umbrella reviews were included, focusing on interventions (49) or epidemiology (50).
- The median number of included reviews was 18; statistical synthesis was used in 32 reviews.
- Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) was the most common critical appraisal tool (n=56).
Conclusions:
- Pediatric umbrella reviews exhibit heterogeneous reporting and methodological characteristics.
- Enhanced adherence to established guidelines is recommended, particularly for critical appraisal methods.
- Improving consistency will strengthen the reliability and utility of pediatric umbrella reviews.
Aim:
To characterise typical practices in conducting and reporting umbrella reviews in paediatrics.
Methods:
PubMed database was searched for umbrella reviews focusing on children (0-18 years) published from 1 January 2020 to 15 June 2024, regardless of the speciality. The included studies were assessed for reporting practices, result summarisation and critical appraisal methods.
Results:
Ninety-nine eligible umbrella reviews were included, of which 49 focused on interventions and 50 focused on epidemiology. The median number of included reviews in the umbrella reviews was 18 (range = 3-302), and statistical synthesis was performed in 32 studies. The most frequently used tool for critical appraisal of the included reviews was the updated Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) tool (n = 56); the original AMSTAR-1 tool was used in seven reviews, and the Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews tool was used in 12 reviews. Evidence certainty was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework in 14 reviews and by the Ioannidis criteria in 18 reviews.
Conclusion:
Umbrella reviews have heterogeneous characteristics in terms of reporting practices. Greater adherence to guidelines on conducting and reporting umbrella reviews is needed, particularly for improving critical appraisal methods.
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