Development and validation of a database filter for study size: preliminary results

Researchers performing systematic reviews often express the desire to limit the search results to a certain study size. The aim of our study was to develop a filter in embase.com and Ovid to retrieve references above a specified threshold of study size. The filter that was developed consists mainly of truncated numbers in proximity with words such as patients, cases, adults, females and phrases like "n=".  Preliminary results showed that the sensitivity of the filter, as evaluated on existing systematic reviews, was at least 94%. The burden of screening for systematic reviews can be greatly reduced with the study size filter

Serving Evidence Syntheses: Improving literature retrieval in systematic reviews

A new method allows medical information specialists to perform literature research for systematic reviews in a shorter time with better results

Reference checking for systematic reviews using Endnote

In searches for systematic reviews, it is recommended that authors review references from the reference lists of retrieved relevant reviews for possible additional, relevant references. This process can be time consuming, since there often is overlap between the reference lists and the lists contain references that were already retrieved in the initial searches. The author proposes a method in which EndNote is used in combination with the Scopus or Web of Science databases to semi-automatically download these references into an existing EndNote library

Clinical outcomes of rifampicin combination therapy in implant-associated infections due to staphylococci and streptococci:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: Adjunctive rifampicin for implant-associated infections is controversial. This study investigated the clinical outcomes of rifampicin combination therapy compared with monotherapy in treating prosthetic joint infection (PJI) or prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) due to staphylococci and streptococci. Methods: A systematic search was performed from inception to 13 June 2022 in Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane and Web of Science to investigate the clinical outcomes of rifampicin combination therapy compared with monotherapy in treating staphylococcal and streptococcal PJI or PVE. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: Fourteen studies were included. A moderate quality of evidence was found in favour of rifampicin in patients with staphylococcal PJI who underwent a debridement, antibiotics and implant retention (DAIR) procedure [odds ratio = 2.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.93–3.23]. Including the two RCTs only, adding rifampicin to the antibiotic regimen after DAIR was also in favour of rifampicin, but this was not statistically significant (risk ratio = 1.27, 95% CI 0.79–2.04; n = 126). Pooling data for patients with staphylococcal PJI who underwent a two-stage procedure showed that adding rifampicin was not associated with therapeutic success. Limited evidence was found for the use of rifampicin for PVE caused by staphylococci. Conclusions: Adding rifampicin in the treatment of staphylococcal PJI treated by DAIR clearly increased the likelihood for therapeutic success. The clinical benefit of adjunctive rifampicin in the treatment of other staphylococci and streptococci implant-associated infections is still unclear.</p

Updating search strategies for systematic reviews using endnote

A new method is described to update search strategies in multiple databases without the use of date limits. By deduplication of the most recent EndNote library with the EndNote library created at the time of the earlier search only recently added references or older references now retrieved by a changed search strategy remain

Prevalence and radiological definitions of acetabular dysplasia after the age of 2 years:a systematic review

Acetabular dysplasia is one of the most common causes of early hip osteoarthritis and hip replacement surgery. Recent literature suggests that acetabular dysplasia does not always originate at infancy, but can also develop later during childhood. This systematic review aims to appraise the literature on prevalence numbers of acetabular dysplasia in children after the age of 2 years. A systematic search was performed in several scientific databases. Publications were considered eligible for inclusion if they presented prevalence numbers on acetabular dysplasia in a general population of healthy children aged 2–18 years with description of the radiological examination. Quality assessment was done using the Newcastle-Ottawa score. Acetabular dysplasia was defined mild when: the center-edge angle of Wiberg (CEA-W) measured 15–20°, the CEA-W ranged between -1 to -2SD for age, or based on the acetabular index using thresholds from the Tönnis table. Severe dysplasia was defined by a CEA-W &lt; 15°, &lt;-2SD for age, or acetabular index according to Tönnis. Of the 1837 screened articles, four were included for review. Depending on radiological measurement, age and reference values used, prevalence numbers for mild acetabular dysplasia vary from 13.4 to 25.6% and for severe acetabular dysplasia from 2.2 to 10.9%. Limited literature is available on prevalence of acetabular dysplasia in children after the age of 2 years. Prevalence numbers suggest that acetabular dysplasia is not only a condition in infants but also highly prevalent later in childhood

Evaluation of a new method for librarian-mediated literature searches for systematic reviews

Objective: To evaluate and validate the time of completion and results of a new method of searching for systematic reviews, the exhaustive search method (ESM), using a pragmatic comparison. Methods: Single-line search strategies were prepared in a text document. Term completeness was ensured with a novel optimization technique. Macros in MS Word converted the syntaxes between databases and interfaces almost automatically. We compared search characteristics, such as number of search terms and databases, and outcomes, such as number of included and retrieved references and precision, from ESM searches and other Dutch academic hospitals identified by searching PubMed for systematic reviews published between 2014 and 2016. We compared time to perform the ESM with a secondary comparator of recorded search times from published literature and contact with authors to acquire unpublished data. Results: We identified 73 published Erasmus MC systematic reviews and 258 published by other Dutch academic hospitals meeting our criteria. We pooled search time data from 204 other systematic reviews. The ESM searches differed by using 2 times more databases, retrieving 44% more references, including 20% more studies in the final systematic review, but the time needed for the search was 8% of that of the control group. Similarities between methods include precision and the number of search terms. Conclusions: The evaluated similarities and differences suggest that the ESM is a highly efficient way to locate more references meeting the specified selection criteria in systematic reviews than traditional search methods. Further prospective research is required