Methods for Living Evidence Synthesis: a Systematic Review Protocol

Background: Living evidence (LE) refers to the methodological process that permits new research findings to be continually incorporated to evidence synthesis as they become available. This approach is of great value in the resolution of relevant and rapidly changing clinical questions. To date, the methods to carry out this type of synthesis are not completely defined, and great variability is observed in the approaches used by different groups of authors. Objective: To identify and summarise the current methods used for living evidence synthesis. Methods: We will conduct a systematic literature review of systematic reviews, overviews, and network metanalyses that have used “living evidence synthesis” as part of their methods. The search will be conducted in Medline (via PubMed) and the Epistemonikos database. Two reviewers will independently screen each article for eligibility, extract data, and assess the methodological quality standards of the study accordingly. This protocol is being registered in Prospero.