ArticleBMC medical research methodology2025
How long does it take to complete and publish a systematic review of animal studies?
Article in BMC medical research methodology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- We need less animal research, better animal research, and animal research done for the right reasons.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Use and reporting of systematic review methodology in EFSA scientific opinions on animal health and welfare.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionConducting a rigorous systematic review of animal studies requires a priori registration of a study protocol. However, it remains unknown how many of these registered studies culminate in publication and how long it takes to complete such a systematic review. Thus, this study had two objectives: (1) to assess the proportion of registered protocols that result in publication, and (2) to determine the time required to complete and publish systematic reviews of animal studies after protocol registration.
methodsAll available systematic reviews protocols of animal study were manually downloaded from PROSPERO, the international registry of systematic review protocols. Start and completion date as well as topical and demographic data were extracted, complemented by a web-scraping approach. Assessment of publication status was achieved through a systematic literature search.
resultsFrom a total of 1,771 protocols, 406 were excluded due to recent start dates. This left 1,365 protocols eligible for the final analysis. Among these, 694 (51%) resulted in a published systematic review. Median time to complete and publish a systematic review was 11.5 months (range: 0.13-44.9 months) and 16.2 months (range: 1.0-49.7 months), respectively. This time was 69% more until submission than anticipated by the authors (6.8 months [range: 0.9-48.0]).
conclusionOnly half of registered protocols resulted in publication, suggesting possible publication bias. Authors can expect to complete and publish an animal systematic review within approximately one year.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.