Maylynn Ding1, Leah Soderberg2, Jae Hung Jung3, Philipp Dahm4. 1. McMaster University, School of Medicine, Hamilton, ON, Canada. 2. Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Urology Section, Minneapolis, MN; University of Minnesota, Department of Urology, Minneapolis, MN. 3. Yonsei University, Wonju College of Medicine, Department of Urology, Wonju, South Korea. 4. Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Urology Section, Minneapolis, MN; University of Minnesota, Department of Urology, Minneapolis, MN. Electronic address: pdahm@umn.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) published in the urological literature. METHODS: PubMed was systematically searched for SRs related to questions of prevention and therapy published in 5 major urology journals (January, 2016 to December, 2018). Two reviewers followed a written a priori protocol to independently screen references in Rayyan and abstract data using a piloted form based on the 16 domains of AMSTAR-2. We performed preplanned statistical hypothesis testing by journal of publication in SPSS version 24.0. RESULTS: Our search identified 260 relevant references, 144 of which ultimately met inclusion criteria. The largest contributors by journal of publication were European Urology (53; 36.8%) followed by Urology (36; 25.0%), and BJU International (24; 16.6%). The most common clinical topics were oncology (64; 44.4%) and voiding dysfunction (32; 22.2%) followed by stones/endourology (14; 9.7%). Just over one-third (52; 36.2%) of reviews had a registered protocol. Nearly all studies (139; 96.5%) searched at least 2 databases. Less than one-third (46; 31.9%) also searched trial registries and one-fifth (30; 20.8%) consulted experts for additional trials. Few studies (14; 10.4%) provided a list of potentially relevant but excluded studies. Only 6 (4.2%) studies met all AMSTAR-2 critical domains as a prerequisite for high-quality reviews. CONCLUSION: A large number of SRs are published in the urological literature each year, yet their quality is suboptimal. There is a need for educating authors, peer reviewers, and editors alike on established standards for high-quality SRs to ensure improvement in the future. Published by Elsevier Inc.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) published in the urological literature. METHODS: PubMed was systematically searched for SRs related to questions of prevention and therapy published in 5 major urology journals (January, 2016 to December, 2018). Two reviewers followed a written a priori protocol to independently screen references in Rayyan and abstract data using a piloted form based on the 16 domains of AMSTAR-2. We performed preplanned statistical hypothesis testing by journal of publication in SPSS version 24.0. RESULTS: Our search identified 260 relevant references, 144 of which ultimately met inclusion criteria. The largest contributors by journal of publication were European Urology (53; 36.8%) followed by Urology (36; 25.0%), and BJU International (24; 16.6%). The most common clinical topics were oncology (64; 44.4%) and voiding dysfunction (32; 22.2%) followed by stones/endourology (14; 9.7%). Just over one-third (52; 36.2%) of reviews had a registered protocol. Nearly all studies (139; 96.5%) searched at least 2 databases. Less than one-third (46; 31.9%) also searched trial registries and one-fifth (30; 20.8%) consulted experts for additional trials. Few studies (14; 10.4%) provided a list of potentially relevant but excluded studies. Only 6 (4.2%) studies met all AMSTAR-2 critical domains as a prerequisite for high-quality reviews. CONCLUSION: A large number of SRs are published in the urological literature each year, yet their quality is suboptimal. There is a need for educating authors, peer reviewers, and editors alike on established standards for high-quality SRs to ensure improvement in the future. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Authors: Luísa Prada; Ana Prada; Miguel Marques Antunes; Ricardo M Fernandes; João Costa; Joaquim J Ferreira; Daniel Caldeira Journal: BMC Med Res Methodol Date: 2022-04-10 Impact factor: 4.615