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. 2019 May;40(5):426-431.
doi: 10.15537/smj.2019.5.23690.

Quality assessment of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in Saudi journals from 1997 to 2017

Zuhair S Natto  1 , Doaa S AlGhamdi
Affiliations

Quality assessment of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in Saudi journals from 1997 to 2017

Zuhair S Natto et al. Saudi Med J. 2019 May.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the quality of the meta-analyses (MAs) and systematic reviews (SRs) in Saudi journals indexed in PubMed using 2 scales: A MeaSurement tool to assess systematic reviews (AMSTAR) and the overview quality assessment questionnaire (OQAQ).

Methods: This study focused on SRs/MAs published in 8 Saudi journals. We investigated, screened and extracted the data, which included recording the main topic of each SRs/MAs and the date of publication. Furthermore, we assessed the quality of each included SRs/MAs using the AMSTAR and the OQAQ. The reviews concluded in January 2018. Results: The search uncovered 201 unique articles; of these, the researchers screened 110 full texts and included 103 in this review. Most of the included studies were published in Saudi Medical Journal (50 articles, 48.5%), followed by Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology (21 articles, 20.4%), and Annals of Saudi Medicine (16 articles, 15.5%) . The main topics in these published articles were gastroenterology (20 articles, 19.5%), followed by oncology (14 articles, 13.7%), and pharmacology (9 articles, 8.7%). The AMSTAR and the OQAQ scales showed that most SRs/MAs were of medium quality.

Conclusion: Quality of SRs and MAs published in Saudi journals was distributed in all categories (low, medium, and high) and it can be improved using critical evaluation by authors, journal editors, and readers. PROSPERO REG. NO. CRD: 42018102210.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram used in this review.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of systematic reviews and meta-analyses satisfying the standards of each of the A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews items.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Proportion of systematic reviews and meta-analyses satisfying the criteria of each of the overview quality assessment questionnaire questions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Numbers of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in Saudi journals categorized by methodological quality using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR)and overview quality assessment questionnaires (OQAQ).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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