Der Chirurg; Zeitschrift für alle Gebiete der operativen Medizen
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The identification of all available and relevant study reports is mandatory for a comprehensive assessment of randomised (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials (CCTs) in systematic reviews. Incomplete compilation of health care journals in electronic databases and incorrect indexing of the studies impair the result of a systematic literature search. An additional search in medical journals that are not listed in electronic databases can obtain higher search precision. ⋯ The gap between the number of hand search results and the number of Medline indexed RCTs and CCTs is also reflected in other special medical fields. To ensure completeness of the literature compilation, the hand searching project should be continued.