ABSTRACT
Objective: To suggest possible approaches to combatting the impact of the COVID-19 infodemic in-order to prevent research waste in future health emergencies and in everyday research and practice. Study Design and Setting: Systematic review. The Epistemonikos database was searched in June 2021 for systematic reviews on the effectiveness of convalescent plasma for COVID-19. Two reviewers independently screened the retrieved references with disagreements resolved by discussion. Data extraction was completed by one reviewer with a proportion checked by a second. We used AMSTAR-2 to assess the quality of conduct and reporting of included reviews. Results: 51 systematic reviews are included with 193 individual studies included within the systematic reviews. There was considerable duplication of effort: multiple reviews were conducted at the same time with inconsistencies in the evidence included. The reviews were of low methodological quality, poorly reported and did not adhere to PRISMA guidance. Conclusion: Researchers need to conduct, appraise, interpret and disseminate systematic reviews better. All in the research community (researchers, peer-reviewers, journal editors, funders, decision makers, clinicians, journalists and the public) need to work together to facilitate the conduct of robust systematic reviews that are published and communicated in a timely manner, reducing research duplication and waste, increasing transparency and accessibility of all systematic reviews.
Fuente: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
