OBJECTIVE We examined how assessments of risk of bias of primary studies are carried out and incorporated into the statistical analysis and overall findings of a systematic review. DESIGN A cross-sectional review. SAMPLE We assessed 200 systematic reviews of randomised trials published between January and March 2012; Cochrane (n=100), non-Cochrane (Database of Reviews of Effects) (n=100). ...

A study conducted by Lai and colleagues, published this week in BMC Medicine, suggests that more guidance might be required for interpreting systematic review (SR) results. In the study by Lai and colleagues, positive (or favorable) results were influential in changing participants' prior beliefs about the interventions presented in the systematic review. Other studies have examined the relatio...

Reviewers play key roles in manuscript processing and publication. This article describes in detail how the reviewer serves their two key roles as a gatekeeper of making publication recommendations for the editorial board and a consultant providing constructive comments to authors to improve the quality of the manuscripts to be published.

*Department of Orthodontics, University of Athens, Greece and Private Practice, Athens, Greece, **Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, UK, ***Clinic of Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry, University of Zurich, Switzerland, ****Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Dental School/Medical Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerla...

BACKGROUND Stillbirth rate is an important indicator of access to and quality of antenatal and delivery care. Obtaining overall estimates across various regions of the world is not straightforward due to variation in definitions, data collection methods and reporting. METHODS We conducted a systematic review of a range of pregnancy-related conditions including stillbirths and performed meta-a...

Systematic reviews are essential in summarising evidence and providing an indication of its strength and direction. This is why they often inform clinical decision making. Although the quantity of reviews published is increasing, concerns about their quality may sometimes be questioned. This paper highlights the aspects of systematic review methodology that influence a review's overall quality....

All asylum seekers in Germany undergo upon-entry screening for tuberculosis TB, but comprehensive evidence on the yield is lacking. We compared the national estimates with the international literature in a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting the yield of TB, defined as the fraction of active TB cases detected among asylum seekers screened in Germany upon entry. We searched ...

In a previous article in this series we explained how the critical appraisal of research is an essential step in evidence-based health care because most published research is too poor in quality to be applied to clinical practice. Critical appraisal is made easier through the use of quality checklists that can help you to appraise research studies systematically and efficiently. The 3 basic app...

Reporting guidelines can be used to encourage standardised and comprehensive reporting of health research. In light of the global commitment to health equity, we have previously developed and published a reporting guideline for equity-focused systematic reviews (PRISMA-E 2012). The objectives of this study were to explore the utility of the equity extension items included in PRISMA-E 2012 from ...

Erratum Unfortunately, the original version of this article [1] published with an incorrect citation. The citation has now been updated to 4:94, which is the correct citation for the article. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience caused. which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Pu...