Abstract
Purpose
To see if the authors of review articles in anaesthesia journals are making use of systematic methods in their preparation.
Methods
Twenty-five review articles published in 1995 in four major anaesthesia journals were analysed and compared with standard guidelines for the appraisal of reviews.
Results
Of the 25 articles, only 14 stated a clear purpose. Only two revealed the search strategy used to identify articles for the review. None of the reviews featured any type of quality assessment of the primary studies included, or stated what criteria, if any, were used to determine what material was included or excluded. Useful areas for future research were highlighted in only seven reviews.
Conclusion
There is little evidence that reviews currently accepted for publication m anaesthesia journals have been prepared systematically.
Résumé
Objectif
Vérifier si les auteurs de revues générales publiées dans les journaux d’anesthésie systématisaient la préparation de leurs articles.
Méthodes
Vingt-cinq revues générales publiées dans quatre journaux d’anesthésie importants ont été analysées et comparées aux directives standards pour ce genre de travail.
Résultats
De ces 25 articles, seulement 14 énonçaient un objectif précis. Seulement deux révélaient la stratégie de recherche utilisée pour la sélection des articles utilisés. Aucune des revues n’évaluait la qualité des articles originaux utilisés, nine mentionnait les critères d’inclusion ou d’exclusion du matériel utilisé Sept des revues seulement suggéraient des sujets valables pour une recherche ulténeure.
Conclusion
Il est loin d’être évident que les revues générales acceptées pour publications dans les journaux d’anesthésie ent été préparés de façon systématique.
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Smith, A.F. An analysis of review articles published in four anaesthesia journals. Can J Anaesth 44, 405–409 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03014462
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03014462