Science knowledge is growing exponentially. Doctors and policy makers are inundated with amounts of information, needing systematic reviews to efficiently integrate existing information and provide data for rational decision-making. To improve the medical decision making in a better conditions, systematic reviews, including meta-analyses, establish whether scientific findings efficiently are consistent and can be generalized across populations or a patient in particular way. This paper aims to update the concepts of these kind of studies, emphasizing their methodological principles to be used in the clinical practice.
systematic reviews; meta-analyses; medical decision making; concepts
