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Systematic reviews in emergency medicine: Part I. Background and general principles for locating and critically appraising reviews

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Peter J. Zed ,
Brian H. Rowe ,
Peter S. Loewen  and
Riyad B. Abu-Laban
Peter J. Zed
Affiliation:
Clinical Service Unit Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Brian H. Rowe
Affiliation:
Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, and Capital Health Authority, Edmonton, Alta.
Peter S. Loewen
Affiliation:
Clinical Service Unit Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Riyad B. Abu-Laban
Affiliation:
Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Department of Emergency Medicine and Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC

Abstract

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Reviews of the medical literature have always been an important resource for physicians. Increasingly, qualitative and quantitative “systematic reviews” have replaced the traditional “narrative review” as a means of capturing and summarizing current evidence on a topic or, when possible, answering a specific clinical question. This paper is part one of a two-part series designed to provide emergency physicians with the background necessary to locate, critically evaluate and interpret systematic reviews. The paper provides a brief background on systematic reviews and general principles on locating and critically appraising them. To facilitate readability, examples from the emergency medicine literature have been included for illustrative purposes and technical details have been kept to a minimum. The references, however, are comprehensive and provide a resource for readers seeking further information.

Keywords

systematic reviewsemergency medicineevidence-based medicine
Type
Methodology: the Science of EM • Méthodologie: Science de la MU
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 5 , Issue 5 , September 2003 , pp. 331 - 335
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2003

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