Rapid review strategies | |
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1. Perform the rapid NMA in a well-established field and for an efficacy or effectiveness question. | |
2. Use an a priori, non-iterative approach. Define a clear and narrow question using the PICO format. Do not adjust the conceptual framework nor the search terms during the review process. | |
3. If appropriate, limit the context, for instance to primary healthcare or a specific geographic area. | |
4. Narrow the search criteria through consultation with experts. | |
5. Assemble a team with experience in conducting systematic reviews. The team, as a minimum, should consist of a clinician, a methodologist with expertise in systematic reviews, and a librarian. Team members must have enough time allotted when beginning the review process. | |
6. Search for systematic reviews and overviews of reviews first. | |
7. Apply date restriction through consultation with experts and use a strict cutoff date for article retrieval. For overviews of reviews, restrict the search period to the last few years. | |
8. Apply English as a language restriction. | |
9. As a minimum, search in MEDLINE, Embase, Central and CDSR. | |
10. Do not search for grey literature. | |
11. Include only readily accessible published literature. Exclude studies lacking an electronically available abstract or full-text article. | |
12. Do not search in non-electronic sources. | |
13. Consult with experts about missed articles. | |
14. Hand-search reference lists in the included papers. | |
15. Report all methods used including the search strategy, according to PRISMA. | |
16. Include two reviewers at all stages, or alternatively use a second screener to check unclear or excluded citations. | |
17. Report strategies used to deal with discordance between reviewers. | |
18. For systematic reviews and overviews of reviews, assess the methodological quality of the reviews using AMSTAR to determine whether to include the studies in the review or not. | |
19. If high-quality systematic reviews exist, then limit the search for primary studies to those published after the most recent systematic review. | |
20. Only include RCTs that have been appraised in an included systematic review, or that have been quality-assessed in the McMaster Knowledge Refinery or a similar process. | |
21. Map the studies and interventions. Use a minimum data extraction sheet, extract data from the individual studies, and perform an expedite network meta-analysis. |