Supplementing systematic review findings with healthcare system data: pilot projects from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center program.

Objectives: The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, through the Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program, aims to provide health system decision makers with the highest-quality evidence to inform clinical decisions. However, limitations in the literature may lead to inconclusive findings in EPC systematic reviews (SRs). The EPC Program conducted pilot projects to understand the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of utilizing health system data to augment SR findings to support confidence in healthcare decision-making based on real-world experiences.

Major Update 2: Antibody Response and Risk for Reinfection After SARS-CoV-2 Infection-Final Update of a Living, Rapid Review.

Background: The durability of the antibody response after SARS-CoV-2 infection and the role of antibodies in protection against reinfection are unclear.

Purpose: To synthesize evidence on the SARS-CoV-2 antibody response and reinfection risk with a focus on gaps identified in our prior reports.

Data Sources: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL, World Health Organization Research Database, and reference lists from 16 December 2021 through 8 July 2022, with surveillance through 22 August 2022.

Risk for Reinfection After SARS-CoV-2: A Living, Rapid Review for American College of Physicians Practice Points on the Role of the Antibody Response in Conferring Immunity Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Background: The strength and duration of immunity from infection with SARS-CoV-2 are important for public health planning and clinical practice.

Purpose: To synthesize evidence on protection against reinfection after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Data Sources: MEDLINE (Ovid), the World Health Organization global literature database, ClinicalTrials.

A prospective comparison of evidence synthesis search strategies developed with and without text-mining tools.

Objective: We compared the process of developing searches with and without using text-mining tools (TMTs) for evidence synthesis products.

Study Design: This descriptive comparative analysis included seven systematic reviews, classified as simple or complex. Two librarians created MEDLINE strategies for each review, using either usual practice (UP) or TMTs.

Improving the utility of evidence synthesis for decision makers in the face of insufficient evidence.

Objective: To identify and suggest strategies to make insufficient evidence ratings in systematic reviews more actionable.

Study Design And Setting: A workgroup comprising members from the Evidence-Based Practice (EPC) Program of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality convened throughout 2020. We conducted iterative discussions considering information from three data sources: a literature review for relevant publications and frameworks, a review of a convenience sample of past systematic reviews conducted by the EPCs, and an audit of methods used in past EPC technical briefs.

Making Narrative Statements to Describe Treatment Effects.

Accurately describing treatment effects using plain language and narrative statements is a critical step in communicating research findings to end users. However, the process of developing these narratives has not been historically guided by a specific framework. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center Program developed guidance for narrative summaries of treatment effects that identifies five constructs.

Retention Strategies for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Adults: A Rapid Evidence Review.

Objectives: Although medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) save lives, treatment retention remains challenging. Identification of interventions to improve MOUD retention is of interest to policymakers and researchers. On behalf of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, we conducted a rapid evidence review on interventions to improve MOUD retention.

NxGen evidence: Redesigning the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Effective Health Care website to promote engagement, interactivity, and usability of systematic reviews.

Evidence-based decision-making is predicated on the ability of users to find and comprehend results from systematic review. Evidence producers have an obligation to support evidence users in this process. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) program-a producer of rigorous and comprehensive systematic reviews for two decades-has set a gold standard for reliability in health evidence reviews in the United States.

Isolation and characterization of iron chelators from turmeric (Curcuma longa): selective metal binding by curcuminoids.

Iron overload disorders may be treated by chelation therapy. This study describes a novel method for isolating iron chelators from complex mixtures including plant extracts. We demonstrate the one-step isolation of curcuminoids from turmeric, the medicinal food spice derived from Curcuma longa.