Table 2 Summary of the number of papers reporting on each category, reported pre-defined items/sub-items, and gaps of guidance evidence
| Â | Conducting LSRs | Reporting LSRsa | Publishing LSRs | Appraising LSRsb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
N of papers reporting on a category | 17 of 21 | 6 of 21 | 15 of 21 | 2 of 21 |
N of pre-defined items/sub-items reported on | 19 of 21 sub-items | 13 of the 27 PRISMA items | 14 of 14 sub-items | 4 of 18 (16 AMSTAR two tool questions & 2 additional items) |
Pre-defined items/sub-items reported by at least half of identified papers | LSR rationale, Screening tools | Registration & protocol | Publication type, publication frequency, update publication trigger and time point for transitioning out of the living mode | Use of appropriate risk of bias assessment technique and funding of included studies reported |
Pre-defined items/sub-items reported by less than half of identified papers | Changing of inclusion criteria, search (frequency, database and who), data extraction (frequency, who and how), quality and bias assessment (frequency and how), data synthesis with meta-analysis if applicable (frequency, who and how), frequency of the certainty of evidence assessment, authorship changes, ongoing method support and funding | PRISMA items on reporting: title (1), abstract (2), rationale (3), objective (4), eligibility criteria (5), information sources (6), search strategy (7), selection process (8), bias assessment (11), synthesis methods (13), study selection (16) and competing interests (26) | Type of information in an update, publication of review status, new citation & added to PubMed, publication of an update, specific time point of publication, when starting living mode publication, publication of between updates information, transition out of living mode trigger, peer review updates, publish authorship changes, publish PRISMA flow diagram | Assessment of protocol and review differences, use of comprehensive search strategy, and appropriate methods for meta-analysis |
Identified gaps of guidance evidence | Who carries out bias assessment & certainty of evidence assessment | PRISMA items on reporting: data collection process (9), data items (10), effect measure (12), reporting bias assessment (14), certainty assessment (15), reporting of results, including study characteristics (17), presenting risk of bias in studies (18), results of individual studies (19), results of synthesis (20), reporting bias (21) and certainty of evidence (22), discussion (23a, 23bc and 23d) and reporting support and funding (25) the availability of data and material (27) | None | Eligibility criteria, explain study selection, assessments in duplicate, list of studies, funding, heterogeneity, RoB impact, preprints |