Systematic review searches must be systematic, comprehensive, and transparent: a critique of Perman et al

Ref ID 291
First Author D. Greyson
Journal BMC PUBLIC HEALTH
Year Of Publishing 2019
URL https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6362565/pdf/12889_2018_Article_6275.pdf
Keywords • Vaccination
• Error
• Searching
Problem(s) • Insufficient literature searches
• Errors in study inclusion or omission of relevant studies
Article Type Editorial
Article Subtype Discussion piece
First Author Country Canada
Aim Correspondence outlining an analysis of reported deficits of one published systematic review of school-based vaccination programmes in 2017, which the authors assert leads to unreliable conclusions.
Level of Investigation Descriptive
Summary of Findings Analysis of reported deficits of one published systematic review of school-based vaccination programmes in 2017 finds limitations in the search terms, the number and type of databases, and the screening methods used. Using a revised Ovid MEDLINE search strategy, the authors identified an additional 1016 records in that source alone, and highlighted relevant literature on the organization and delivery of school-based immunization program that was omitted as a result.
Number of systematic reviews included 1
Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed 1