Systematic Review of the Literature: Best Practices

Supriya Gupta; Prabhakar Rajiah; Erik H Middlebrooks; Dhiraj Baruah; Brett W Carter; Kirsteen R Burton; Arindam Rano Chatterjee; Matthew M Miller

doi:10.1016/j.acra.2018.04.025

Systematic Review of the Literature: Best Practices

Acad Radiol. 2018 Nov;25(11):1481-1490. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2018.04.025. Epub 2018 Jul 31.

Authors

Supriya Gupta¹, Prabhakar Rajiah², Erik H Middlebrooks³, Dhiraj Baruah⁴, Brett W Carter⁵, Kirsteen R Burton⁶, Arindam Rano Chatterjee⁷, Matthew M Miller⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology and Imaging, Rush University Medical Center, 3833, 1653 W Congress Pkwy, Chicago, IL 60612. Electronic address: riya10.in@gmail.com.
² Cardiothoracic Imaging, Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX, USA.
³ Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32224.
⁴ Chief, Cardiothoracic and Emergency Radiology, Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
⁵ Department of Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd. Unit 1478, Houston, TX, 77030.
⁶ Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, 263 McCaul Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 1W7.
⁷ Department of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 96 Jonathan Lucas St. MSC 323, Charleston, SC 29425.
⁸ Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Virginia Medical Center, 1215 Lee St., Charlottesville, VA 22903.

PMID: 30442379
DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2018.04.025

Abstract

Reviews of published scientific literature are a valuable resource that can underline best practices in medicine and clarify clinical controversies. Among the various types of reviews, the systematic review of the literature is ranked as the most rigorous since it is a high-level summary of existing evidence focused on answering a precise question. Systematic reviews employ a pre-defined protocol to identify relevant and trustworthy literature. Such reviews can accomplish several critical goals that are not easily achievable with typical empirical studies by allowing identification and discussion of best evidence, contradictory findings, and gaps in the literature. The Association of University Radiologists Radiology Research Alliance Systematic Review Task Force convened to explore the methodology and practical considerations involved in performing a systematic review. This article provides a detailed and practical guide for performing a systematic review and discusses its applications in radiology.

Keywords: effective systematic review; radiology review; research methodology; systematic review.

MeSH terms

Humans
Radiology*
Systematic Reviews as Topic*