Development of a reporting guideline for systematic reviews of animal experiments in the field of traditional Chinese medicine

• Published in: Journal of evidence-based medicine 2022-06, Vol.15 (2), p.152-167
• Main Authors: Zhao, Bing, Hu, Kaiyan, Zeng, Xiantao, Kwong, J.S.W, Li, Bo, Chen, Hao, Tian, Guoxiang, Xiong, Jun, Li, Zhaoxia, Niu, Junqiang, Jiao, Mingyue, Yang, Jinwei, Ding, Fengxing, Liu, Chen, Du, Liang, Zhang, Junhua, Ma, Bin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: animal experiments; Animal research; Chinese medicine; Documentation; Evidence-based medicine; Experiments; Laboratory animals; Medical research; reporting guideline; systematic reviews; traditional Chinese medicine
• ISSN: 1756-5391; 1756-5383; 1756-5391
• DOI: 10.1111/jebm.12480

Objective In recent years, there are several systematic reviews published on animal experiments of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analysis) guidelines provide a guarantee for significantly improving the reporting quality of systematic reviews (SRs) and meta‐analysis (MAs) to a certain extent; however, there are still certain defects found in the quality of SRs/MAs of animal experiments of TCM. It has been found that especially, the descriptions of the rationale and animal characteristics of TCM interventions are inadequate. As a result, we have developed a novel reporting guideline for SRs/MAs of animal experimental in the field of TCM (PRISMA‐ATCM) to overcome these problems. Methods PRISMA‐ATCM reporting guidelines were formed by analyzing both the status and quality of published SRs/MAs of animal experiments and consulting experts in the related fields, and then by Delphi consultation, consensus meeting and revision. Results Among the 27 items on the PRISMA checklist, Title (1), Structured summary (2), Rationale (3), Objectives (4), Protocol and registration (5), Eligibility criteria (6), Data items (11), Planned methods of analysis (14), Study characteristics (18), Summary of evidence (24), Limitations (25), and Funding (27) have been extensively revised and expanded, to specifically include the details about TCM intervention and animal characteristics. In addition, illustrative examples and explanations have been provided for each item. Conclusion PRISMA‐ATCM could markedly improve the quality SRs/MAs of animal experiments in the field of TCM.