TY - JOUR T1 - Is a one-size-fits-all ‘12-month rule’ appropriate when it comes to the last search date in systematic reviews? JF - BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine JO - BMJ EBM DO - 10.1136/bmjebm-2022-112060 SP - bmjebm-2022-112060 AU - Gillian Stokes AU - Katy Sutcliffe AU - James Thomas Y1 - 2022/12/09 UR - http://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2022/12/15/bmjebm-2022-112060.abstract N2 - Searches conducted a year or more before submission of a systematic review (SR) paper can result in journal editors or peer-reviewers rejecting it. Their concerns are that findings from SRs with ‘out-of-date’ searches might provide decision-makers with misleading evidence.1 Although recent technological advances have helped to speed up some review processes,2 other methodological advances have increased the work required such that reviews often require longer than 12 months to produce useful and rigorous findings. This puts many SRs at risk of rejection by journal editors.We argue that a blanket 12-month cut-off point for searches is not appropriate, that it may hinder the dissemination of important research, and may have a knock-on impact on reviewers’ willingness to undertake the most ambitious reviews. We also argue that not all SRs are equally at risk of being ‘out of date’ at 12 months; while intervention effectiveness reviews in fast-moving areas may become outdated well before 12 months,3 others, such as qualitative evidence syntheses, are unlikely to have their findings substantially changed by the inclusion of new evidence. We focus on recent developments in SR designs, methods and technologies, to reflect on whether existing journal publishing guidelines are at odds with current SR approaches designed to improve review quality and usefulness.SRs are a recognised research approach for identifying, synthesising and analysing published evidence on topics of interest.4 Their aim is to provide a comprehensive, unbiased and trustworthy assessment of available evidence to support decision-makers in adopting policies that ‘do more good than harm’.5 Indeed, policy makers, researchers, practitioners and public stakeholders from within and outside of healthcare, place increased emphasis on the importance of conducting SRs.4 Although the rationale for conducting SRs remains the same, the process of systematic reviewing has changed significantly in recent years. … ER -