Narrative review

Alaedini, A. and Green, P. H. (2005). Narrative review Celiac disease Understanding a complex autoimmune disorder. Ann. Intern. Med. 142, 289-298. 

When possible, meta-analyses were computed to summarize the overall effects from controlled clinical trials. These summarized data are used to compute an effect size and to calculate the probability that a given drug is different from placebo and equivalent to or more effective than standard drug treatments. The goal is to estimate the extent of clinical improvement with a specific treatment as an aid to therapeutic decision-making. In one sense, a meta-analysis can be seen as a quantitative literature review using a more explicit and structured approach. Thus, it can complement a narrative review and often accompanies a literature summary (6). 

We believe the file drawer issue is less of a problem in meta-analysis than in the narrative review, which often lists only those publications that support a particular conclusion. Too often, narrative reviewers emphasize the results of other positive reviews. Thus, the reference list gives a false impression of more studies than were actually done, because duplicate publications and review articles are quoted as if they were independent studies. Other problems include ... 

Narrative review Most studies have found no link with oral contraceptives no reason for serious concern possibly slightly higher frequency in industrialized countries (113)... 

Narrative review No increased risk from past use of oral contraceptives in women aged over 45 years weak link in younger women with long-term use (122)... 

Many studies have examined the effects of sleep deprivation on performance (e.g., Refs. 4-10). Narrative reviews of these and many other sleep deprivation studies have concluded that sleep deprivation negatively affects performance but that the extent of the decrement depends on the type of performance task, the length of the task, and the rate at which the task must be completed (11-14). Furthermore, two meta-analytic reviews examining the effect of sleep deprivation on performance resulted in similar conclusions (15,16). 

I I Jeremias A, Gibson CM, Narrative review alternative causes for elevated cardiac troponin levels when acute coronary syndromes are excluded, Ann Intern Med 2005 142 786-791. 

The number of clinical communications published per year has increased to staggering proportions. Matthews (2006) noted that there are currently on the order of20,000 biomedical journals that publish on the order of two million articles a year. This makes it extremely difficult for a clinician who would like to research a particular topic to locate all of the relevant articles. Accordingly, two kinds of review papers can be very helpful. The first is narrative reviews. These collate, compare, discuss, and summarize the current state of knowledge (Matthews, 2006). Narrative reviews are descriptive in nature. The second kind of review incorporates meta-analysis. These reviews are quantitative in nature. 

Brunt EM. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Semin Liver Dis 2004 24 3-20. Marchesini G, Bugianesi E, Forlani G, et al. Nonalcoholic fatty liver, steatohepatitis, and the metabolic syndrome. Hepatology 2003 37 917-923. Wanless IR, Lentz JS. Eatty liver hepatitis (steatohepatitis) and obesity an autopsy study with analysis of risk factors. Hepatology 1990 12 1106-1110. Zimmerman HJ. Hepatotoxicity. The adverse effects of drugs and other chemicals in the liver, 2nd edn. Philadelphia Lippincott Williams Wilkins, 1999. Mason P. Cystic fibrosis - the disease. Hosptal Pharmacist 2005 12 201-207. Tolman KG, Eonseca V, Tan MH, et al. Narrative review hepatobiliary disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Ann Intern Med 2004 141 946-956. 

Two narrative reviews of amisulpride have been published (4,5). The authors emphasized that amisulpride in low dosages (below 300 mg/day) causes a similar incidence of adverse effects to placebo nevertheless, at higher dosages (400-1200 mg/day), the overall incidence of adverse events in those taking amisulpride was similar to that in patients taking haloperidol, flupenthixol, or risperidone. The most commonly reported adverse events associated with higher dosages of amisulpride were extrapyramidal... 

Systematic reviews are recent additions to the medical literature. In contrast to traditional narrative reviews, these reviews aim to answer a precisely defined clinical question and to do so in a way that is transparent and designed to minimize bias. Some of the defining features of systematic reviews are (1) a clear definition of the clinical question to be addressed, (2) an extensive and explicit strategy to find ail studies (published or unpublished) that may be eligible for inclusion in the review, (3) criteria by which studies are included and excluded, (4) a mechanism to assess the quahty of each study and, in some cases, (5) synthesis of results by use of statistical techniques of meta-analysis. By contrast, traditional reviews are subjective, are rarely well focused on a clinical question, lack explicit criteria for selection of studies to be reviewed, do not indicate criteria to assess the quality of included studies, and rarely can use meta-analysis. 

The explosion of research and the vastness of the medical literature are such that no one can read, much less digest, all relevant work. The massive amount of new technology, the poor quality of narrative reviews, and the necessity to provide an accurate digest for practicing clinicians constitute the background to the call for a more systematic review of literature. 

Clarke IT (2007) Narrative review Fabry disease. Ann Intern Med 146 425 33... 

Swigris JJ, Berry GJ, Raffin TA, et al. Lymphoid interstitial pneumonia. A narrative review. Chest. 2002 122 2150-1064. 

Calabrese LH, Dodick DW, Schwedt TJ, Singhal AB Narrative review reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndromes. Ann Intern Med 2007 146 pp. 34-44. 

Lameire N, Van Biesen W, Hoste E, Vanholder R. (2008) The prevention of acute kidney injury an in-depth narrative review Part 1 volume resuscitation and avoidance of drug- and nephrotoxin-indueedAKI. NDTP/m. l(6) 392-402. 

Henrotin, Y., Lambert, C., Couchourel, D., Ripoll, C., and ChioteUi, E. 2011. Nutraceuticals Do they represent a new era in the management of osteoarthritis — A narrative review from the lessons taken with five products. Osteoarthr. Cartilage 19 1-21. 

Zaffagnini S, Grass A, Serra M, Marcacci M (2015) Return to sport after ACL reconstruction how, when and why A narrative review of current evidence. Joints 8 25-30... 

Systematic reviews In a narrative review of teriparatide in the treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis there were higher frequencies of nausea (RR=2.3), abdominal cramps (RR=3.2), and hypercalcemia (RR=9.7) [62 ]. 

The method of narrative reviewing has inherent limitations the method of selection is often subjective, and the evaluation of the merits of each study is not separated from the bias of the reviewer. One response to this dilemma is the quantitative integrative review, or meta-analysis (Light and Pillemer, 1984 Rosenthal and Rosnow, 1984 Glass et al, 1981). In meta-analysis each study is treated as a subject in a study of studies, and the combined, integrated effects of the agent under question are evaluated. While this method does not completely insulate the study from bias in selection or interpretation, the criteria for selection (which should be determined a priori) can be made explicit and inclusive. 

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