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PRISMA 2020 flow templates

Systematic Review — the Reference Flow

The one to copy. A review that searched databases, registers and citation lists, removed duplicates and automation-excluded records, screened and retrieved, excluded at eligibility with three named reasons, and distinguishes the reports it included from the studies those reports describe. All four stages balance to the digit, the funnel descends, and every one of the eight checks says what it covered. Reports clean.

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Template previewPRISMA 2020 flow
Remote monitoring in heart failure — systematic review3,006 records identified · 3 exclusion reasonsIdentificationScreeningEligibilityIncludedRecords identified from:n = 3,006Databases: 2,840 · Registers: 120 · Other methods: 46Records removed before screeningn = 814Duplicates removed: 610Excluded by automation: 180Removed for other reasons: 24Records screened (title / abstract)n = 2,192Records excluded by reviewern = 1,740Reports sought for retrievaln = 452Reports not retrievedn = 31Reports assessed for eligibilityn = 421Reports excluded:n = 305No remote-monitoring arm: n = 148Wrong outcome measure: n = 96Conference abstract only: n = 61Studies included in reviewn = 98Reports of included studies: 116Every record is accounted for: all 4 stages of the flow balance.INFO116 reports describe 98 studies: 18 reports are a further paper about a study already counted.OKAll 13 stated counts are whole numbers of records.OKIdentification balances: 2,840 + 120 + 46 − 610 − 180 − 24 = 2,192 `title_screened`.OKScreening balances: 2,192 − 1,740 = 452 `abstracts_sought`.OKRetrieval balances: 452 − 31 = 421 `fulltext_assessed` (`other_sought` and `other_unavailable` are not stated and read as zero).OKEligibility balances: 421 − 305 = 116 `reports_included`.OKThe funnel descends: all 4 stage-to-stage comparisons hold — no count is larger than the one before it.OKAll 3 exclusion reasons are named and distinct, accounting for 305 reports.

Make it your own.

title "Remote monitoring in heart failure — systematic review"

# Identification — where the records came from.
db_records 2840
register_records 120
other_records 46

# Identification — what left before anyone read a title.
duplicates 610
excluded_auto 180
excluded_other 24

# Screening.
title_screened 2192
title_excluded 1740

# Retrieval.
abstracts_sought 452
abstracts_unavailable 31

# Eligibility.
fulltext_assessed 421
exclude_reason "No remote-monitoring arm" 148
exclude_reason "Wrong outcome measure" 96
exclude_reason "Conference abstract only" 61

# Included. 116 reports describe 98 distinct studies.
reports_included 116
studies_included 98