{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in neurosurgery Part II: a guide to designing the protocol.
{Author}: Lee KS;Prevedello DM;
{Journal}: Neurosurg Rev
{Volume}: 47
{Issue}: 1
{Year}: 2024 Jul 26
{Factor}: 2.8
{DOI}: 10.1007/s10143-024-02555-1
{Abstract}: Despite clearly established guidelines, recent audits have found the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) within neurosurgery to be relatively lackluster in methodological rigor and compliance. Protocols of SRMAs allow for planning and documentation of review methods, guard against arbitrary decision-making during the review process, and enable readers to assess for the presence of selective reporting. To aid transparency, authors should provide sufficient detail in their protocol so that the readers could reproduce the study themselves. Development of our guideline drew heavily from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) initiative. The objective of this article is not to enumerate every detail of this checklist, but to provide guidance to authors preparing their protocol, with examples, for a systematic review in neurosurgery. Particularly, we emphasize on the PICO framework - population (P), interventions (I), comparators (C), outcomes (O) - which is central to constructing a clinical question, defining the scope of the systematic review, defining and prioritizing the primary outcome, to specifying the eligibility criteria, designing the search strategy, and identifying potential sources of heterogeneity. We encourage our readers to make use of this guideline alongside the PRISMA-P 2015 statement, when drafting and appraising systematic review protocols.