PRISMA 2020 Compliance Checker

Audit systematic review and meta-analysis manuscripts against the PRISMA 2020 (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 27-item checklist.

Workflow

• Read the full manuscript

• Confirm the study is a systematic review and/or meta-analysis

• Walk through each item below, including all sub-items

• For each item, assign: Reported / Partial / Missing / N/A

• Quote the relevant manuscript text as evidence

• Output a compliance summary + actionable fixes for Missing/Partial items

• Check for PRISMA flow diagram (strongly recommended)

PRISMA 2020 Checklist (27 Items)

Title and Abstract

Topic Requirement

1 Title Identify the report as a systematic review

2 Abstract Structured summary: background, objectives, data sources, eligibility criteria, participants/interventions, appraisal/synthesis methods, results, limitations, conclusions, registration number

Introduction

Topic Requirement

3 Rationale Describe rationale in context of existing knowledge

4 Objectives Explicit statement of objectives or questions the review addresses

Methods

Topic Requirement

5 Eligibility criteria Inclusion/exclusion criteria and how studies were grouped for syntheses

6 Information sources All databases, registers, websites, organisations, reference lists searched; date of last search for each

7 Search strategy Full search strategies for all databases, including filters and limits

8 Selection process Methods to decide inclusion: number of reviewers per record, independence, automation tools

9 Data collection process Methods to collect data: number of reviewers, independence, processes for confirming with investigators, automation tools

10a Data items — outcomes List and define all outcomes sought; whether all compatible results per domain were sought

10b Data items — other variables List all other variables sought (participant/intervention characteristics, funding); assumptions about missing/unclear data

11 Risk of bias assessment Methods to assess risk of bias: tool(s) used, number of reviewers, independence, automation

12 Effect measures Effect measure(s) for each outcome (risk ratio, mean difference, etc.)

13a Synthesis — eligibility Processes to decide which studies eligible for each synthesis

13b Synthesis — data preparation Methods to prepare data for synthesis (handling missing statistics, conversions)

13c Synthesis — display Methods to tabulate or visually display results

13d Synthesis — statistical methods Methods to synthesise results with rationale; if meta-analysis: model(s), heterogeneity methods, software

13e Synthesis — heterogeneity Methods to explore causes of heterogeneity (subgroup analysis, meta-regression)

13f Synthesis — sensitivity Sensitivity analyses to assess robustness

14 Reporting bias assessment Methods to assess risk of bias from missing results (reporting biases)

15 Certainty assessment Methods to assess certainty in the body of evidence (e.g., GRADE)

Results

Topic Requirement

16a Study selection Results of search and selection, ideally with a PRISMA flow diagram

16b Study selection Cite excluded studies that appeared to meet criteria; explain why excluded

17 Study characteristics Cite each included study and present its characteristics

18 Risk of bias in studies Present risk of bias assessments for each study

19 Individual study results For all outcomes: summary statistics per group, effect estimate with precision (CI), structured tables or forest plots

20a Synthesis results Briefly summarise characteristics and risk of bias among contributing studies

20b Synthesis results All statistical syntheses: summary estimates with CI, heterogeneity measures, direction of effect

20c Synthesis results Investigations of heterogeneity causes

20d Synthesis results Sensitivity analysis results

21 Reporting biases Risk of bias from missing results for each synthesis

22 Certainty of evidence Certainty assessments for each outcome

Discussion

Topic Requirement

23a Discussion General interpretation in context of other evidence

23b Discussion Limitations of the evidence

23c Discussion Limitations of the review processes

23d Discussion Implications for practice, policy, and future research

Other Information

Topic Requirement

24a Registration Registration name and number, or state not registered

24b Protocol Where protocol can be accessed, or state not prepared

24c Protocol amendments Describe and explain amendments to registration or protocol

25 Support Financial/non-financial support; role of funders/sponsors

26 Competing interests Declare competing interests of review authors

27 Data/code availability Report availability of: data collection forms, extracted data, analytic code, other materials

Critical PRISMA Elements

These are the items journals most commonly reject manuscripts for missing:

Must-Have Why

Flow diagram (16a) Most journals will not review without one

Full search strategy (7) Reproducibility requirement; include as appendix if long

PROSPERO registration (24a) Increasingly mandatory; register before data extraction

Risk of bias table (18) Required for credibility; use RoB 2 or NOS as appropriate

GRADE or certainty (15, 22) Expected by top-tier journals

Common PRISMA Gaps

Frequently Missing Fix

Item 7 (Full search strategy) Append complete search strings for each database

Item 8 (Selection process detail) State number of reviewers, kappa/agreement, screening tool

Item 13d (Heterogeneity methods) Specify I-squared thresholds, random/fixed-effects model choice

Item 14 (Reporting bias) Add funnel plot + Egger's test or trim-and-fill

Item 16b (Excluded studies) List near-misses with exclusion reasons

Item 24a (Registration) Register on PROSPERO; if post-hoc, disclose it

Output Format

PRISMA 2020 Compliance Report Manuscript: [filename]

Summary: X/27 Reported | Y Partial | Z Missing | W N/A

CRITICAL MISSING (journal will likely reject): [Item #] [Topic] — [What's needed]

OTHER MISSING: [Item #] [Topic] — [What's needed]

PARTIAL ITEMS: [Item #] [Topic] — [What's present] → [What's missing]

Flow diagram: [Present / Missing] Registration: [Registered (ID) / Not registered / Not stated]

Related Skills

• /manuscript — Overall manuscript writing and anti-pattern scanning

• /meta-manuscript-assembly — Assemble tables, figures, references for meta-analyses