Systematic Reviews to Support Evidence-Based Medicine

Khalid S. Khan is Beatriz Galindo Distinguished Investigator at the University of Granada, Spain and has been Sims Black Fellow of the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Spinoza Professor at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Fellow of the Pakistani College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.Javier Zamora is Head of the Clinical Biostatistics Unit at Ramon y Cajal University Hospital and the Director of the Clinical Epidemiology at the Ramon y Cajal Biomedical Research Institute (IRYCIS), Madrid Spain and is Professor of Biostatistics in Maternal and Perinatal Health at the University of Birmingham, UK.

• Preface. About the authors. Acknowledgements. Additional contributors. Abbreviations. Introduction. Steps of a systematic review. Step 1: Framing questions for a review. Step 2: Identifying relevant literature. Step 3: Assessing the quality of the literature. Step 4: Summarizing the evidence. Step 5: Interpreting the findings. Case studies. Case study 1: Review of systematic reviews. Case study 2: Reviewing the safety of a public health intervention. Case study 3: Reviewing the effectiveness of therapy. Case study 4: Reviewing the accuracy of a test. Case study 5: Reviewing qualitative evidence to evaluate patient experience. Case study 6: Reviewing the effects of educational interventions. Case study 7: To use or not to use a therapy? Incorporating evidence on harmful outcomes. Case study 8: Review of clinical practice guidelines. Case study 9: Systematic reviews to assess a prognostic factor. Case study 10: Publishing systematic reviews: Tips and tricks for convincing journal editors and peer reviewers. Glossary. Suggested reading. Index.