How to conduct a successful and widely respected systematic review? FICEBO may not be famous for systematic reviews, but some of our more senior researchers have already had a chance to be involved in the process. For these opportunities, we are most grateful to Prof. Rachelle Buchbinder and her Melbourne-located team, who have nurtured us through the sometimes murky waters of carrying out a robust systematic review.
Let us take you on FICEBO memory lane regarding systematic reviews: It all began in 2015, when Teemu Karjalainen began his post doc tenure at the Cabrini Institute and Monash University in Melbourne under Rachelle’s supervision. Rachelle kindly gave Teemu two Cochrane reviews to work on, projects focused on evaluating the benefit of surgery for rotator cuff disease and subacromial pain. These Cochrane reviews sparked a notable echo in the orthopedic community, as they have been cited more than a hundred times and have made their way into several clinical guidelines.
The authors of the review on surgery for subacromial pain teamed up with other leading MSK researchers around the world, a collaboration that resulted in another systematic review published in the BJSM in 2020. These two reviews formed the foundation for a Rapid Recommendation in the BMJ – one of the most fulfilling feats in the recent FICEBO past.
Our senior FICEBO members (Clare Ardern, Teemu Karjalainen, Tuomas Lähdeoja, and Jarkko Jokihaara), who had the pleasure of taking part in this journey, have told us that the process of learning new things – under the wings of the very best in the world – in a wonderfully supportive and collaborative atmosphere, has left an eternal mark on them.
We (undersigned) presume that our senior FICEBO members must have done at least a decent job, as we were invited to participate in a new Cochrane review. Fellow Norwegian neighbor and colleague, Lars Christian Haugli Bråten, another of Rachelle’s post docs at the Cabrini Institute and Monash University in Melbourne, invited us to assess the harms and benefits of pharmacologic treatment of osteoporosis in men. The protocol for the planned review has just been published last week and with this, three additional FICEBO members became members of the Cochrane community. All this would be impossible without the strong and warm relations with the Down-Under, for which we are incredibly grateful. The work now continues with the actual systematic review and meta-analysis. Stay tuned!