title: Updating comparative effectiveness reviews: current efforts in AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the current knowledge and efforts on updating systematic reviews (SRs) as applied to comparative effectiveness reviews (CERs).
  
  
  METHODS
  This article outlines considerations for updating CERs by including a definition of the updating process, describing issues around assessing whether to update, and providing general guidelines for the update process. Key points to consider include (1) identifying when to update CERs, (2) how to update CERs, and (3) how to present, report, and interpret updated results in CERs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Currently, there is little information about what proportion of SRs needs updating. Similarly, there is no consensus on when to initiate updating and how best to carry it out.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CERs need to be regularly updated as new evidence is produced. Lack of attention to updating may lead to outdated and sometimes misleading conclusions that compromise health care and policy decisions. The article outlines several specific goals for future research, one of them being the development of efficient guideline for updating CERs applicable across evidence-based practice centers.
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa Evidence-Based Practice Center, Clinical Epidemiology Methods Centre, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 8L6. atsertsvadze@ohri.ca
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsertsvadze
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maglione
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Chantelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Garritty
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lux
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bass
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Balshem
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moher
mesh_terms: D001319:Authorship; D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000379:methods; D006078:Government Programs; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality