Systematic Review

1-Definition

a- A __________________often written by a panel that provides a comprehensive review of all relevant _______________on a particular clinical or health-related topic/question.

Source: https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu/tutor

• puzzle - searches

• question - stuides

• document - studies

b- The systematic review is created ___________reviewing and combining all the information from both published and unpublished studies (focusing on clinical trials of similar treatments) and then summarizing the_______________.

• after - findings

• before - findings

• after - questions

2- Mark Advantages

• Very time-consuming

• Less costly to review prior studies than to create a new study

• Considered an evidence-based resource

• Results can be generalized and extrapolated into the general population more broadly than individual studies

3- Fictitious Example

Does the regular wearing of ultraviolet-blocking sunscreen prevent melanoma? An exhaustive _________________________ was conducted, resulting in 54 studies on sunscreen and melanoma. Each study was then _____________________ to determine whether the study focused specifically on ultraviolet-blocking sunscreen and melanoma prevention; 30 of the 54 studies were retained. The thirty studies were _________________ and showed a strong positive relationship between daily wearing of sunscreen and a reduced diagnosis of melanoma.

• new study - evaluated - reviewed

• literature search - evaluated - reviewed

• literature search - finished - published

4- Real-life Example

Acupuncture for hypertension.

Yang, J., Chen, J., Yang, M., Yu, S., Ying, L., Liu, G., ... Liang, F. (2018). The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11(11), CD008821.

This systematic review analyzed ________________________________to determine whether acupuncture is a safe and effective way to lower blood pressure in adults with primary hypertension. Due to the ________________________________in these studies and lack of blinding, it is not possible to link any short-term decrease in blood pressure to the use of acupuncture. __________________________is needed to determine if there is an effect due to acupuncture that lasts at least seven days.

• one randomized controlled trial - high quality of evidence - additional research

• twenty-two randomized controlled trials - high quality of evidence - additional research

• twenty-two randomized controlled trials - low quality of evidence - additional research