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. 2015 Mar;54(2):153-62.

The use of systematic reviews and reporting guidelines to advance the implementation of the 3Rs

Marc T Avey  1 , Nicole Fenwick  2 , Gilly Griffin  3
Affiliations

The use of systematic reviews and reporting guidelines to advance the implementation of the 3Rs

Marc T Avey et al. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

In 1959, Russell and Burch published The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique, which included concrete advice on factors that they considered would govern progress in the implementation of these principles (enunciated as the 3Rs [Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement in animal-based studies]). One challenge to the implementation of the 3Rs was identified as information retrieval. Here, we further explore this challenge-the need for 'research on research'-and the role that systematic reviews and reporting guidelines can play in implementation of the 3Rs. First, we examine the 2-fold nature of the challenge of information retrieval: 1) the identification of relevant publications spread throughout a large population of nonrelevant publications and 2) the incomplete reporting of relevant details within those publications. Second, we evaluate how systematic reviews and reporting guidelines can be used generally to address this challenge. Third, we assess the explicit reporting of the 3Rs in a cohort of preclinical animal systematic reviews. Our results show that Reduction methods are the most commonly reported by authors of systematic reviews but that, in general, reporting on how findings relate to the 3Rs is limited at best. Although systematic reviews are excellent tools for resolving the challenge of information retrieval, their utility for making progress in implementation of the 3Rs may be limited unless authors improve their reporting of these principles.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Total citations in PubMed and total animal citations in PubMed by Year 1907 – 2012. The total number of references indexed PubMed by year for the years 1907 to 2012 (noncumulative). Blue bars represent the total number of references in PubMed in a given year. The red shading overlying the blue bars represents the total number of animal-related references indexed in PubMed in a given year. A search of all indexed material in PubMed was conducted on 12 December 2013 by using the search string (“1900/01/01”[PDAT]: “2012/12/31”[PDAT]). The ‘results by year file’ (.csv) was downloaded from Pubmed, and the values for the total number of citations by year were entered into an Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) file. For each year from 1907 to 2012, a search was conducted (for example, (“1959/01/01”[PDAT]: “1959/12/31”[PDAT])), and a validated search filter for animal-related research was applied and the number entered into an Excel file. The quoted material is from reference 118.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Data extraction checklist to evaluate reporting of 3Rs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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