Step number | Description | Case study A: neurological sequelae of neonatal sepsis | Case study B: influenza vaccination during pregnancy | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Challenges | Solutions | Challenges | Solutions | ||
1 | Locate existing systematic reviews | Need to restrict search results to SRs | Use of search filters | Relevant SRs can be part of overarching SRs | Widening of the search strategy to more unspecific topics (e.g., “healthy adults”) |
2 | Assess relevance of the existing reviews | Non-retrievable references in relevant SR | Reporting of this finding in the new SR | PICO alone not sufficient to assess relevance | Construction of additional spreadsheets comparing characteristics of SRs and included individual studies |
3 | Assess quality of existing reviews | Value of AMSTAR summary score not known | AMSTAR summary score of 7/11 reported and judged as “acceptable” | Value of AMSTAR summary score not known | AMSTAR summary scores of 9/11–11/11 reported and judged as “appropriate” |
4 | Determine appropriate use and incorporate existing reviews | Numbers and risk of bias not reported in SR | New data extraction from individual studies and risk of bias assessment | Different risk of bias tools used in the relevant SRs | New risk of bias assessment with a defined tool |
5 | Report methods and results from using existing reviews | Aggregated data and quantitative synthesis from SR not appropriate | Summary of data from the individual studies and conduct of new meta-analysis | Heterogeneity of study characteristics and results | Narrative data summary, results of individual studies in tables, no meta-analysis |