The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was recently updated. An editorial published in Sytematic Reviews discusses the improper use of these guidelines.

The authors emphasize the fact that PRISMA must be seen as a set of evidence-based recommendations that encourage authors to describe and report their systematic review process in a complete and transparent manner. Although the objective seems clear, cited examples show it is still frequent to see studies that consider PRISMA as a methodological guideline or a tool to assess the quality of the review, therefore using the statement incorrectly.

Full article in Open Access:

Sarkis-Onofre, R., Catalá-López, F., Aromataris, E. et al. How to properly use the PRISMA Statement. Syst Rev 10, 117 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01671-z

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