Objective:
To perform an overview of literature search strategies in systematic
reviews (SRs) published in periodontology and implant dentistry....
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Objective:
To perform an overview of literature search strategies in systematic
reviews (SRs) published in periodontology and implant dentistry.
Materials and Methods:Two electronic databases (PubMed and Cochrane Data-
base of SRs) were searched, independently and in duplicate, for SRs with meta-
analyses on interventions, with the last search performed on 11 November 2012.
Manual searches of the reference lists of included SRs and 10 specialty dental jour-
nals were conducted. Methodological issues of the search strategies of included
SRs were assessed with Cochrane collaboration guidelines and AMSTAR recom-
mendations. The search strategies employed in Cochrane and paper-based SRs
were compared.
Results:A total of 146 SRs with meta-analyses were included, including 19
Cochrane and 127 paper-based SRs. Some issues, such as “the use of keywords,”
were reported in most of the SRs (86%). Other issues, such as “search of grey
literature” and “language restriction,” were not fully reported (34% and 50%
respectively). The quality of search strategy reporting in Cochrane SRs was better
than that of paper-based SRs for seven of the eight criteria assessed.
Conclusion:There is room for improving the quality of reporting of search strate-
gies in SRs in periodontology and implant dentistry, particularly in SRs published
