A systematic review of the quality of conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in paediatric surgery.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Our objective was to evaluate quality of conduct and reporting of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses in paediatric surgery. We also aimed to identify characteristics predictive of review quality.

Background

Systematic reviews summarise evidence by combining sources, but are potentially prone to bias. To counter this, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was published to aid in reporting. Similarly, the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) measurement tool was designed to appraise methodology. The paediatric surgical literature has seen an increasing number of reviews over the past decade, but quality has not been evaluated.

Methods

Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we performe

SUBMITTER: Cullis PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5383307 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature