Perspective on Systematic Medical Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses

PURPOSE: This study sought to identify factors contributing to the inadequacies of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) published in the ophthalmology literature. DESIGN: Perspective. METHODS: Review and synthesis of selective literature, with interpretation and perspective. RESULTS: Although recommendations for the design, conduct, assessment of quality, and risk of bias of systematic reviews have been widely available, some recent publications illustrate a serious potential failing in this domain: inclusion of refuted science, lack of citation of post-publication correspondence and failure to use >= 1 alternative search strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Examples of inadequacies of peer review in medical literature and perpetuation of erroneous science by unfiltered inclusion in subsequent systematic reviews have been identified, and the problem can be traced to authors, peer reviewers, and editors of journals. This perspective identifies and analyzes several possible causes of the problem and recommends some specific corrective actions to improve the quality and accuracy of such reviews. ((C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)