ESICM Systematic Review Group: Clinical Evidence in Intensive Care

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The Systematic Review Group (SRG) is a new division within the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) aimed at promoting evidence-based medicine in critical care. The SRG focuses on enhancing the role of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in clinical practice, facilitating access to evidence for healthcare professionals. Given that a clinician would need to read 17-20 original articles daily to stay current, the importance of systematic reviews in consolidating evidence and informing guidelines has grown. The ESICM Clinical Evidence in Intensive Care handbook was created to address this need, featuring 60 systematic reviews relevant to critical care, primarily published since 2009. These reviews are deemed high quality, with the understanding that they typically remain accurate for about two years, necessitating updates at least biannually. Each review includes a summary that outlines its context, main findings, authors' conclusions, limitations, and advantages. Additionally, the methodological quality of the reviews is assessed using the AMSTAR tool. Most reviews feature a forest plot of key outcomes and expert commentaries that evaluate the data's validity, its implications for routine practice, and future research directions. Relevant supplementary information, such as details on completed trials, is also provided.