A taxonomy of rapid reviews links report types and methods to specific decision-making contexts.

Objectives: Describe characteristics of rapid reviews and examine the impact of methodological variations on their reliability and validity.

Study Design And Setting: We conducted a literature review and interviews with organizations that produce rapid reviews or related products to identify methods, guidance, empiric evidence, and current practices.

Results: We identified 36 rapid products from 20 organizations (production time, 5 minutes to 8 months).

Priority setting for health technology assessment at CADTH.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe a current practical approach of priority setting of health technology assessment (HTA) research that involves multi-criteria decision analysis and a deliberative process.

Methods: Criteria related to HTA prioritization were identified and grouped through a systematic review and consultation with a selection committee. Criteria were scored through a pair-wise comparison approach.

Reprocessing and reuse of single-use medical devices: a national survey of Canadian acute-care hospitals.

A national survey investigated the current practices of reprocessing and reusing single-use medical devices in Canadian acute-care hospitals. Our response rate was 72% (413 responses), and 28% of hospitals reprocess single-use devices. The results showed that Canadian hospital practices have not changed much in the past decade.

Priority setting for health technology assessments: a systematic review of current practical approaches.

Objectives: This study sought to identify and compare various practical and current approaches of health technology assessment (HTA) priority setting.

Methods: A literature search was performed across PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and Cochrane. Given an earlier review conducted by European agencies (EUR-ASSESS project), the search was limited to literature indexed from 1996 onward.

Clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of newborn screening for medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency using tandem mass spectrometry.

Objective: To determine the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of newborn screening for MCADD using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) compared with clinical diagnosis within the Canadian context.

Design And Methods: A systematic review of the clinical and economic literature was performed. For primary economic analysis, a decision-tree model was built based on the available information, the impact of newborn screening on the health care and the relevant Canadian data.

Exercise-based rehabilitation for patients with coronary heart disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: To review the effectiveness of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation in patients with coronary heart disease.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was undertaken. Databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to March 2003.

Clinical review of radiofrequency catheter ablation for cardiac arrhythmias.

Clinical tachycardias are a major cause of morbidity with detrimental effects on quality of life, physical activity and health care costs. Catheter ablation delivered by radiofrequency energy (RFA) has gradually expanded as a therapeutic modality for cure or palliation and is being adapted to address the most difficult to treat tachycardias. The purpose of this paper is to inform decision makers about the current evidence base of RFA through a comprehensive literature review.

Scleral support surgery for pathologic myopia.

Pathologic myopia is the seventh leading cause of blindness in the US and two percent of Americans have the disease; Canadian statistics are not available. Pathologic myopia involves elongation of the eyeball and scleral support surgery aims to control the progression of this elongation. The most commonly used technique involves placing a strip of sclera from a donor eye around the eyeball to prevent further stretching.