The PRISMA guidelines consist of a 27-item checklist and a four-phase flow diagram:
Title: The title should indicate that the article is a systematic review, meta-analysis, or both.
Abstract: A structured abstract should summarize the background, objectives, methods, results, and conclusions of the review.
Introduction: This section should provide a clear rationale for the review and its objectives.
Methods: Detailed descriptions of the eligibility criteria, information sources, search strategy, and data extraction process should be provided.
Results: The results section should include a flow diagram showing the number of studies screened, assessed for eligibility, and included in the review, as well as a summary of the findings.
Discussion: This section should interpret the results in the context of the existing evidence and discuss the implications for practice and future research.
Funding: Any sources of funding for the review should be disclosed.
