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In general segmentation, review studies are divided into two groups: narrative reviews and systematic reviews. The research methods for narrative and systematic reviews are completely different. Narrative review articles can be written based on the interests of the researcher, which is one of the weaknesses of this style of review, while systematic review articles have an organized structure and are more reliable. Narrative reviews cover diverse topics such as epidemiological findings, concepts and hypotheses of certain psychiatric diseases, current understandings of specific diseases, psychopharmacology, and treatment guidelines. This reflects the fact that systematic reviews have been rapidly and increasingly replacing traditional narrative (explicit) reviews as the standard platform for providing and updating currently available research findings as confident evidence. Most journals have changed their policy regarding the acceptance of review papers, giving priority to systematic reviews as regular review articles and excluding narrative reviews to provide the best evidence for all basic and clinical questions and further hypotheses. The major advantage of systematic reviews is that they are based on the findings of comprehensive and systematic literature searches across all available resources, minimizing selection bias and avoiding subjective selection.

This document is a commentary on a meta-analysis that examined the effect of a gluten-free diet on the progression of autoimmune thyroiditis in patients without symptoms or histology of celiac disease. The authors of the commentary raised concerns about the quality of the systematic review conducted in the meta-analysis. They pointed out issues such as the lack of a rigorous and well-defined process for selecting and analyzing data, the use of inappropriate assessment tools, and the absence of important information in the review. The authors concluded that the research lacks robustness and methodological flaws need to be addressed. [Extracted from the article]

Dear Editor, In relation to the letter expressing concerns about some important points of the article entitled “The usefulness of the genetic panel in the classification and refinement of diagnostic accuracy of Mexican patients with Marfan syndrome and other connective tissue disorders”, we would like to comment on the following. Read more in the PDF.

We read with interest the article by Gupta et al about 18 patients with occupational nerve injuries caused by metallic foreign bodies while operating lathes. Two patients were found to have more than one nerve injury and one patient had an associated vascular injury. The most commonly injured nerve was the median nerve. The most common site for nerve injury was the forearm. Combined lesions most commonly affected the ulnar and median nerves. It was concluded that the costs of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries are significant because they occur particularly frequent in young, previously healthy and economically active people. The study is impressive, but some points require further discussion.

Dr Adnan al-Bursh was head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip. Some have anecdotally called him the best orthopaedic surgeon in the land. When hostilities knocked the front door of al-Shifa hospital, instead of heading south as ‘requested’ by the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF), he went north to continue serving his people until his arrest in December 2023. On 19 April 2024, news reached the world that Dr al-Bursh died in prison, likely from torture

I read the article “Scientometrics and academia” by Dr. Zerem and colleagues. My perspective on citation metrics and scientometrics is more cautious. Therefore, in this article, I present my viewpoint on this subject. Read more in the PDF.

We read with great interest the study by Hadizie et al in the February 2022 issue entitled “The Incidence of Fracture-Related Infection in Open Tibia Fracture with Different Time Interval of Initial Debridement”. In their paper, they presented the relationship between fracture-related infection in open fracture of the tibia with time intervals of initial debridement. With limited studies in Malaysia investigating the correlation between the timing of initial debridement and the incidence of infection in open fracture of tibia, this study potentially shed more light on the optimal timing of initial debridement.

We would like to share ideas on the publication “Adhesive Capsulitis Secondary to COVID-19 Vaccination - A Case Series.” The purpose of this study is to examine the pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, management, and outcomes of shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) following COVID-19 vaccination. Seven individuals with adhesive capsulitis who reported within four weeks of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in the afflicted arm were retrospectively identified by the researchers. The study offers details on the patients' first symptoms, physical symptoms, length of time since immunisation, treatment plans, and clinical and functional results. All patients' pain levels and range of motion improved with non-surgical care, including physiotherapy and hydrodilatation.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

This letter to the editor with reference to Mahalakshmi et al. (2023) provides two additional views. In a tech-savvy world study in this field is of importance yet there is a huge gap. Such study should also consider screen time engagement of hospitalized patients given their predisposed physical condition in addition to student survey. Genetic analysis should also be included along with the questionnaire and counselling-based surveys. Thus, considering the known study pipeline and focusing on the two afore-mentioned aspects such research should be considered as a "High Priority" area., Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interest., (© 2024 Biomedical Informatics.)