Systematic reviews to support evidence-based psychiatry: what about schizophrenia?
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether systematic reviews (SRs), the gold standard for scientific research, can offer valuable support in evidence-based psychiatry in the treatment of schizophrenia.


METHODS
We used three database services (Ovid, PubMed and Cochrane) to identify SRs related to schizophrenia, found 163 reviews and grouped them by topic. We then evaluated each study's conclusions and divided them into three groups based on results (ranging from certain to null conclusions).


RESULTS
SRs of pharmacological treatments represented 59% of the studies sampled, only 23% of which had reached certain conclusions. Other clinical topics were less frequently represented and had achieved lower degrees of certainty.


CONCLUSIONS
Only 40 SRs (22 studies investigating pharmacological treatment) provided clear-cut answers to clinical questions examined. Results therefore showed that SRs provide a certain but rather limited contribution to scientific evidence in the field of schizophrenia.
Morlino
Massimo
M
Department of Neuroscience, University Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Calento
Antonio
A
Pannone
Gennaro
G
Ventrella
Gianluca
G
Schiavone
Vittorio
V
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents