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Original Article| Volume 154, P1-7, February 2023

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Most systematic reviews that used the term “update” in title/abstract were not an updated version

  • Author Footnotes
    1 These two authors contributed equally (shared first authorship).
    Renata Runjic
    Footnotes
    1 These two authors contributed equally (shared first authorship).
    Affiliations
    University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia
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  • Author Footnotes
    1 These two authors contributed equally (shared first authorship).
    Antonia Jelicic Kadic
    Footnotes
    1 These two authors contributed equally (shared first authorship).
    Affiliations
    Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia
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  • Edita Runjic
    Affiliations
    Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia
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  • Krunoslava Gudelj
    Affiliations
    Health center of Split-Dalmatia County, Split, Croatia
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  • Jakov Milić
    Affiliations
    Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
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  • Rafael Leite Pacheco
    Affiliations
    Núcleo de Avaliação de Tecnologias em Saúde, Hospital Sírio-Libanês (NATS-HSL), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Department of Medicine, Centro Universitário São Camilo (CUSC), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Núcleo de Ensino e Pesquisa e Saúde Baseada em Evidências e Avaliação de Tecnologias em Saúde (NEP-SBEATS), Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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  • Tanja Rombey
    Affiliations
    Department of Health Care Management, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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  • Dawid Pieper
    Affiliations
    Institute for Health Services and Health System Research (IVGF), Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg (FGW), Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Rüdersdorf, Germany

    Center for Health Services Research, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane (ZVF-BB), Rüdersdorf, Germany
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  • Livia Puljak
    Correspondence
    Corresponding author: Center for Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Care, Catholic University of Croatia, Ilica 242, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Tel.: +385 (0) 1 370 66 00; fax: +385 (0) 1 370 66 01.
    Affiliations
    Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Care, Catholic University of Croatia, Ilica 242, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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  • Author Footnotes
    1 These two authors contributed equally (shared first authorship).
Published:November 24, 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.11.014

      Abstract

      Objectives

      To analyze whether articles labelled as systematic reviews or meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) in the title and used terms “updated” or “update” in the title or abstract are indeed a report of an updated version of a previously existing SR/MA.

      Study Design and Setting

      We searched PubMed for SRs/MAs, using descriptors updated/update in the title/abstract published in 2018–2019. We analyzed how the articles used the term “update”/“updated” and whether the previous version of SR was referenced. We surveyed authors who indicated that the SR was an updated version, but there was no reference to the original SR.

      Results

      Among 1,118 included articles, most (N = 716; 64%) used the term “update” only to denote that an SR includes recent data. Among 47 authors eligible for survey, 15 replied (32%). Six authors (40%) stated that their article was an updated version and gave reference to the previous version, while 9 authors (60%) stated that their SR was not an updated version of a previous SR.

      Conclusion

      Most SRs that used the term “update” in title/abstract were not an updated version of an SR. Authors should use the descriptor “update”/“updated” in their title/abstract only to refer to a new version of an SR to avoid ambiguity.

      Keywords

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