• Nosaiba Al-Ryalat, Omar Al-Rashdan, Bayan Alaaraj, Ahmad A Toubasi, Hadil Alsghaireen, Abeer Yaseen, Ahmad Mesmar, and Saif Aldeen AlRyalat.
• Department of Radiology, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2022 Jun 1; 191 (3): 1047-1051.

BackgroundMeta-analysis of high-quality primary articles represents the top-quality evidence in medical literature. In this project, our aim was to assess the number and quality of COVID-related meta-analysis published since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThe search included the period from January 1, 2020, when the beginning of primary articles on COVID-19, till October 31, 2020. We screened a total of 793 studies. We excluded non-meta-analytic non-COVID-19-related studies. We obtained different characteristics, and we determined the quality of reporting using the AMSTAR tool, an 11-items tool that assesses the content validity and methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 538 studies were included in our assessment. The first meta-analysis included was published in March, while the last one was on the 31st of October. Upon comparing the mean AMSTAR score for meta-analysis published during each month, we found a significant difference (p < 0.001, F = 4.139), where the mean score almost steadily increased since March.ConclusionThe urge to publish during the COVID-19 period or any other surge in publishing should not be at the expense of quality.© 2021. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

8 keywords...

hide…