Methodological guidance for incorporating equity when informing rapid-policy and guideline development.

Objectives: We provide guidance for considering equity in rapid reviews through examples of published COVID-19 rapid reviews.

Study Design And Setting: This guidance was developed based on a series of methodological meetings, review of internationally renowned guidance such as the Cochrane Handbook and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for equity-focused systematic reviews (PRISMA-Equity) guideline. We identified Exemplar rapid reviews by searching COVID-19 databases and requesting examples from our team.

Role and utility of COVID-19 laboratory testing in low-income and middle-income countries: protocol for rapid evidence synthesis.

Introduction: Accurate and affordable laboratory testing is key to timely diagnosis and appropriate management of patients with COVID-19. New laboratory test protocols are released into the market under emergency use authorisation with limited evidence on diagnostic test accuracy. As such, robust evidence on the diagnostic accuracy and the costs of available tests is urgently needed to inform policy and practice especially in resource-limited settings.