Abstract
The rising number of medical publications makes it difficult to keep up-to-date on
scientific knowledge. In recent years, reviews in the form of narrative or systematic
publications and meta-analyses have increased. These can only be interpreted and evaluated
if the reader understands the techniques used. This review article describes the differences
between narrative and systematic reviews, together with the characteristics of meta-analysis,
and discusses their interpretation. The concept of systematic reviews and meta-analysis
includes a systematic literature search and summary, together with an appraisal of
the quality of the publications. Systematic reviews are often considered to be original
studies due to their structure and ability to reduce bias.
Key words
funnel plot - systematic - narrative - meta-analysis - forest plot