Articles

Does routine surveillance imaging after completing treatment for childhood solid tumours cause more harm than good? A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

This systemic review aims to synthesise the current literature surrounding off-therapy surveillance imaging in children and young people with extra-cranial solid tumours, with a view to establishing if routine...

Authors: Jessica E. Morgan, Melissa Harden and Robert S. Phillips

Association between subthreshold depression and self-care behaviour in people with type 2 diabetes: a protocol for systematic review of observational studies

Depression is a common comorbidity in type 2 diabetes. Studies have consistently shown that major depression is associated with decreased diabetic self-care behaviour. People with subthreshold depression exper...

Authors: Monika Shrestha, Amal Al-Ghareeb, Fatimah Alenazi and Richard Gray

Steps toward more complete reporting of systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Diagnostic Test Accuracy (PRISMA-DTA)

Reporting standards in biomedical research have been shown to be suboptimal. The publication of the PRISMA statement has improved the completeness of reporting of systematic reviews, but several issues specifi...

Authors: Trevor A. McGrath, David Moher and Matthew D. F. McInnes

Influence of health interventions on quality of life in seriously ill children at the end of life: a systematic review protocol

Seriously ill children suffer from numerous symptoms at the end of their lives, including pain, anxiety, and restricted communication. There are currently no comprehensive overviews of which health interventio...

Authors: Veerle E. Piette, Joachim Cohen, Luc Deliens, Nele Pauwels, Jutte van der Werff ten Bosch and Kim Beernaert

Physically aggressive behaviors in older people living with cognitive disorders: a systematic scoping review protocol

Physically aggressive behaviors are very common among older people living with cognitive impairment. These behaviors may have significant consequences for family and formal caregivers, as well as for the other...

Authors: Anne Bourbonnais, Marie-Hélène Goulet, Philippe Landreville, Edith Ellefsen, Caroline Larue, Marie-Hélène Lalonde and Paul L. Gendreau

Toward systematic review automation: a practical guide to using machine learning tools in research synthesis

Technologies and methods to speed up the production of systematic reviews by reducing the manual labour involved have recently emerged. Automation has been proposed or used to expedite most steps of the system...

Authors: Iain J. Marshall and Byron C. Wallace

Mapping evidence on tuberculosis active case finding policies, strategies, and interventions for tuberculosis key populations: a systematic scoping review protocol

Early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) have been shown to reduce the impact of TB illness particularly, among TB key populations such as people living with HIV/AIDS, prisoners, refugees, migrants, ...

Authors: Desmond Kuupiel, Vitalis Bawontuo and Tivani P. Mashamba-Thompson

Sexual dysfunction and related factors in pregnancy and postpartum: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Sexual dysfunction refers to a chain of psychiatric, individual, and couple’s experiences that manifests itself as a dysfunction in sexual desire, sexual arousal, orgasm, and pain during intercourse. The aim o...

Authors: Mojdeh Banaei, Maryam Azizi, Azam Moridi, Sareh Dashti, Asiyeh Pormehr Yabandeh and Nasibeh Roozbeh

Measuring awareness in people with dementia: protocol for a scoping review

People with dementia (PwD) vary in the degree of awareness they show about their situation, both generally concerning the diagnosis and more specifically around certain aspects or objects of awareness such as ...

Authors: Catherine M. Alexander, Anthony Martyr, Sharon A. Savage and Linda Clare

Evidence of perpetration of intimate partner violence among HIV-positive couples: a systematic scoping review protocol

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and intimate partner violence (IPV) remain highly sensitive areas that have issues to do with stigmatization in many African countries. Despite the fact that there ...

Authors: Felix Apiribu, Busisiwe Purity Ncama and Elizabeth Joseph-Shehu

Informal carers’ experience and outcomes of assistive technology use in dementia care in the community: a systematic review protocol

Dementia is one of the greatest health and care priorities globally. Caring for persons with dementia is a challenge and often leads to negative psychological, physiological and financial consequences for info...

Authors: Vimal Sriram, Crispin Jenkinson and Michele Peters

Assessing trauma care health systems in low- and middle-income countries, a protocol for a systematic literature review and narrative synthesis

Trauma represents a major global health problem projected to increase in importance over the next decade. The majority of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where survival rates are lower...

Authors: John Whitaker, Max Denning, Nollaig O’Donohoe, Dan Poenaru, Elena Guadagno, Andy Leather and Justine Davies

Correction to: Information needs in people with diabetes mellitus: a systematic review

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors opted to revise Table 1. Below is the updated version of the table.

Authors: Lisa Biernatzki, Silke Kuske, Jutta Genz, Michaela Ritschel, Astrid Stephan, Christina Bächle, Sigrid Droste, Sandra Grobosch, Nicole Ernstmann, Nadja Chernyak and Andrea Icks

Educational outcomes of children in contact with social care in England: a systematic review

In England, the state intervenes in the lives of children through Children’s Social Care (CSC) services with the aim of supporting and maintaining their welfare. It is known from government cross-sectional dat...

Authors: Matthew A. Jay and Louise Mc Grath-Lone

Effect of mobile text message reminders on routine childhood vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The World Health Organization estimates that 29% of under-five mortality could be prevented with existing vaccines. However, non-consistent attendance for immunization appointments remains a global challenge t...

Authors: Zeleke Abebaw Mekonnen, Kassahun Alemu Gelaye, Martin C. Were, Kassahun Dessie Gashu and Binyam Chakilu Tilahun

Effects of walking speed on gait biomechanics in healthy participants: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Understanding the effects of gait speed on biomechanical variables is fundamental for a proper evaluation of alterations in gait, since pathological individuals tend to walk slower than healthy controls. There...

Authors: Claudiane Arakaki Fukuchi, Reginaldo Kisho Fukuchi and Marcos Duarte

Health economic evaluation in orthotics and prosthetics: a systematic review protocol

Health economic evaluations are essential to support health care policy and investment decisions. To date, health economic evaluations in orthotics and prosthetics have focused on discrete components of an ort...

Authors: Leigh Clarke, Michael Dillon and Alan Shiell

Introducing RAPTOR: RevMan Parsing Tool for Reviewers

Much effort is made to ensure Cochrane reviews are based on reliably extracted data. There is a commitment to wide access to these data—for novel processing and/or reuse—but delivering this access is problematic.

Authors: Lena Schmidt, Farhad Shokraneh, Kirsten Steinhausen and Clive E. Adams

Effectiveness and acceptability of methods of communicating the results of clinical research to lay and professional audiences: protocol for a systematic review

Phase III randomised controlled trials aim not just to increase the sum of human knowledge, but also to improve treatment, care or prevention for future patients through changing policy and practice. To achiev...

Authors: Annabelle South, Julia Bailey, Mahesh K. B. Parmar and Claire L. Vale

Protocol on a systematic review of qualitative studies on asthma treatment challenges experienced in Sub-Saharan Africa

Asthma is a major worldwide public health problem affecting an estimated 334 million people with over 300,000 deaths annually. Twenty-two million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) are lost annually due to...

Authors: Pisirai Ndarukwa, Moses John Chimbari and Elopy N. Sibanda

Palliative care interventions in intensive care unit patients – a systematic review protocol

Even though data suggest that palliative care (PC) improves patient quality of life, caregiver burden, cost, and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, integration of PC in the ICU is far from being univers...

Authors: Victoria Metaxa, Despina Anagnostou, Savvas Vlachos, Nishkantha Arulkumaran, Ingeborg van Dusseldorp, Sherihane Bensemmane, Rebecca Aslakson, Judy E. Davidson, Rik Gerritsen, Christiane Hartog and Randall Curtis

Accurate GFR in obesity—protocol for a systematic review

Obesity is increasing globally. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is strongly associated with obesity. Kidney function is commonly estimated with equations using creatinine (such as CKD-EPI equation) which is a pro...

Authors: Sriram Sriperumbuduri, Robert Dent, Janine Malcolm, Swapnil Hiremath, Ran Klein, Christine A. White, Pierre Antoine Brown and Ayub Akbari

Antibiotic treatment for ocular toxoplasmosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis: study protocol

Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) is the most common cause of posterior uveitis, leading to visual impairment in a high proportion of patients. Antibiotics and corticosteroids lower the risk of permanent visual impair...

Authors: John E. Feliciano-Alfonso, Andrés Vargas-Villanueva, María Alejandra Marín, Laura Triviño, Natalia Carvajal, Manuela Moreno, Tatiana Luna, Clara Lopez de Mesa, Juliana Muñoz-Ortiz and Alejandra de-la-Torre

Usability and acceptability of four systematic review automation software packages: a mixed method design

New software packages help to improve the efficiency of conducting a systematic review through automation of key steps in the systematic review. The aim of this study was to gather qualitative data on the usab...

Authors: Gina Cleo, Anna Mae Scott, Farhana Islam, Blair Julien and Elaine Beller

Control group changes in objectively measured physical activity in primary care: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

There is some evidence that simply measuring physical activity alone can increase self-reported physical activity behaviour. Objective measures of physical activity in intervention studies have increased subst...

Authors: Nicole Freene, Rachel Davey and Steven M. McPhail

A question of trust: can we build an evidence base to gain trust in systematic review automation technologies?

Although many aspects of systematic reviews use computational tools, systematic reviewers have been reluctant to adopt machine learning tools.

Authors: Annette M. O’Connor, Guy Tsafnat, James Thomas, Paul Glasziou, Stephen B. Gilbert and Brian Hutton

Exercise therapy in the treatment of tendinopathies of the lower limbs: a protocol of a systematic review

Tendinopathies are specific degenerative conditions of the tendon characterized by pain and disability. The most common tendinopathies of the lower limbs are patellar, Achilles, gluteal, and proximal tendinopa...

Authors: Yuri Rafael dos Santos Franco, Gisela Cristiane Miyamoto, Katherinne Ferro Moura Franco, Rodrigo Ribeiro de Oliveira and Cristina Maria Nunes Cabral

Prevalence and comorbidity of autism spectrum disorder in Spain: study protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder characterised by impaired social interaction and communication, and restrictive and repetitive behaviour. Previous systematic reviews have tra...

Authors: Ferrán Catalá-López, Manuel Ridao, Isabel Hurtado, Amparo Núñez-Beltrán, Ricard Gènova-Maleras, Adolfo Alonso-Arroyo, Aurelio Tobías, Rafael Aleixandre-Benavent, Miguel A. Catalá and Rafael Tabarés-Seisdedos

Acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain: protocol of a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be effective in treating chronic pain. Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of ACT, uncertainties remain regarding which subgroups in the chronic pain popul...

Authors: Jiaxi Lin, Whitney Scott, Lewis Carpenter, Sam Norton, Matthias Domhardt, Harald Baumeister and Lance M. McCracken

Immunotherapy with check-point inhibitors (CPI) in adult malignancies: a protocol for the systematic review of the quality of economic analyses

Immuno-oncology, and in particular, check-point inhibitors (CPIs), have led to a paradigm shift in the field of cancer care. The cost of new drug development is high, and many novel agents in oncology are sign...

Authors: Ying Wang, Pierre Camateros, Denise Smith, David Dawe and Peter Ellis

Naloxone interventions in opioid overdoses: a systematic review protocol

North America is in the midst of an unabated opioid overdose epidemic due to the increasing non-medical use of fentanyl and ultra-potent opioids. Naloxone is an effective antidote to opioid toxicity, yet its o...

Authors: Lindsay Victoria Shaw, Jessica Moe, Roy Purssell, Jane A. Buxton, Jesse Godwin, Mary M. Doyle-Waters, Penelope M. A. Brasher, Jeffrey P. Hau, Jason Curran and Corinne M. Hohl

Protocol for a systematic review of randomized trials of knee arthroplasty decision aids and shared decision-making approaches

Shared decision-making is an approach to making treatment-based decisions that rely on the patient encounter and clear discussions between the patient and the healthcare provider. Patients with arthritis of th...

Authors: Daniel L. Riddle, Trisha Sando, Talicia Tarver, James Slover, Robert A. Perera, Rafael Sierra, Juan P. Brito and Victor M. Montori

Development of a program theory for clinical pathways in hospitals: protocol for a realist review

Despite the increased utilization of clinical pathways (CPWs) as a strategy to improve patient and system outcomes in hospitals, there remain ongoing challenges with their conceptualization, implementation, an...

Authors: Adegboyega K. Lawal, Gary Groot, Donna Goodridge, Shannon Scott and Leigh Kinsman

Telemedicine infectious diseases consultations and clinical outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Telemedicine use is increasing in many specialties, but its impact on clinical outcomes in infectious diseases has not been systematically studied and reviewed. The proposed systematic review will evaluate the...

Authors: Jason P. Burnham, Stephanie A. Fritz, Lauren H. Yaeger and Graham A. Colditz

Living alone and positive mental health: a systematic review

Living alone has become more common in today’s societies. Despite the high number of the population living alone, research directed towards the mental wellbeing issues related to living alone has been limited....

Authors: Nina Tamminen, Tarja Kettunen, Tuija Martelin, Jaakko Reinikainen and Pia Solin

Protocol for a scoping review of age-related health conditions among geriatric populations in sub-Saharan Africa

Authors: Keshena Naidoo and Jacqueline van Wyk

Efficacy of commercially available biological agents for the topical treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: a systematic review

Cervical cancer is a major public health issue in the world, especially in developing countries. It can be prevented through vaccination against HPV (primary prevention) and through screening and treatment of ...

Authors: Alex Baleka Mutombo, Cindy Simoens, Rahma Tozin, Johannes Bogers, Jean-Pierre Van Geertruyden and Yves Jacquemyn

Predictors of 1-year mortality in adult lung transplant recipients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Upon surviving the first year post-lung transplantation, recipients can expect a median survival of 8 years. Within the first year, graft failure and multi-organ failure (possibly secondary to graft failure) a...

Authors: Farid Foroutan, Gordon Guyatt, Erik Friesen, Luis Enrique Colunga Lozano, Aman Sidhu and Maureen Meade

Effectiveness of whey protein supplements on the serum levels of amino acid, creatinine kinase and myoglobin of athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Consuming whey protein supplements, along with physiotherapy and psychotherapy, have been recognised in sports performance. Whey protein supplements (WPS) is one of the commonly used supplements as ergogenic a...

Authors: Fui-Ching Lam, Tahir Mehmood Khan, Hani Faidah, Abdul Haseeb and Amer Hayat Khan

Study-based registers reduce waste in systematic reviewing: discussion and case report

Maintained study-based registers (SBRs) have, at their core, study records linked to, potentially, multiple other records such as references, data sets, standard texts and full-text reports. Such registers can...

Authors: Farhad Shokraneh and Clive E. Adams

Individual participant data (IPD)-level meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials among dark-skinned populations to estimate the dietary requirement for vitamin D

Estimation of the dietary requirements for vitamin D is crucial from a public health perspective in providing a framework for the prevention of vitamin D deficiency. It has been shown that pooling individual p...

Authors: Kevin D. Cashman and Christian Ritz

Epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for psychosocial problems in patients and families affected by non-intellectually impairing craniofacial malformation conditions: a systematic review protocol of qualitative data

Physical attractiveness or unattractiveness wields a tremendous impact on the social and psychological components of life. Many individuals with facial deformities are treated more negatively than normal indiv...

Authors: Mikaela I. Poling and Craig R. Dufresne

Mesenchymal stem cells for sensorineural hearing loss: protocol for a systematic review of preclinical studies

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the most common form of hearing impairment and is characterized by a loss of receptor hair cells and/or spiral ganglion neurons. Regenerative stem cell therapy could potent...

Authors: Kevin T. Chorath, Matthew J. Willis, Nicolas Morton-Gonzaba, Walter J. Humann and Alvaro Moreira

Does stage of illness influence recovery-focused outcomes after psychological treatment in bipolar disorder? A systematic review protocol

There is great interest in the possibility that ‘stage of illness’ moderates treatment outcomes in bipolar disorder (BD). Much remains unknown about the construct of stage of illness, but there is evidence tha...

Authors: Hailey Tremain, Kathryn Fletcher, Jan Scott, Carla McEnery, Michael Berk and Greg Murray

Psychological interventions for people with psychotic experiences: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Many people who have common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, also have some psychotic experiences. These experiences are associated with higher clinical complexity, poor treatment response, an...

Authors: Emma Soneson, Debra Russo, Clare Knight, Louise Lafortune, Margaret Heslin, Jan Stochl, Alex Georgiadis, Julieta Galante, Robbie Duschinsky, Nick Grey, Leticia Gonzalez-Blanco, Juliet Couche, Michelle Griffiths, Hannah Murray, Nesta Reeve, Joanne Hodgekins…

Experiential learning for primary healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol

Improving the quality of primary healthcare services is one of the global health priorities. Literature shows that the incompetency of healthcare providers has the potential to negatively affect the quality of...

Authors: Nkosinothando Chamane, Desmond Kuupiel and Tivani Phosa Mashamba-Thompson

Epidemiology of respiratory viral infections in people with acute respiratory tract infections in Africa: the VARIAFRICA systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Better characterisation of the epidemiological data on respiratory viral infections among people with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) can help to implement efficient strategies to curb the burden of A...

Authors: Sebastien Kenmoe, Jean Joel Bigna, Abdou Fatawou Modiyinji, Fredy Brice N. Simo and Richard Njouom

Decision aids that facilitate elements of shared decision making in chronic illnesses: a systematic review

Shared decision making (SDM) is a patient-centered approach in which clinicians and patients work together to find and choose the best course of action for each patient’s particular situation. Six SDM key elem...

Authors: Thomas H. Wieringa, Rene Rodriguez-Gutierrez, Gabriela Spencer-Bonilla, Maartje de Wit, Oscar J. Ponce, Manuel F. Sanchez-Herrera, Nataly R. Espinoza, Yaara Zisman-Ilani, Marleen Kunneman, Linda J. Schoonmade, Victor M. Montori and Frank J. Snoek

Epidemiology of hepatitis E virus infection in animals in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the major causes of acute hepatitis in humans worldwide with a case-fatality rate of 1–4% in the general population that might reach 30% in pregnant women. In the past decade ...

Authors: Abdou Fatawou Modiyinji, Jean Joel Bigna, Fredy Brice N. Simo, Moise Nola, Marie S. Ndangang, Sebastien Kenmoe and Richard Njouom

Anticonvulsants for behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia: protocol for a systematic review

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are present in a majority of patients with dementia contributing to increased morbidity, health care costs, and caregiver burden. While there are no Uni...

Authors: Sophiya Benjamin, John W. Williams Jr, Cecilia Cotton, Jennifer Tung, Howard An, Stephanie Sanger and Joanne Man-Wai Ho