prisma-check

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

1. Read the full manuscript
2. Confirm the study is a systematic review and/or meta-analysis
3. Walk through each item below, including all sub-items
4. For each item, assign: Reported / Partial / Missing / N/A
5. Quote the relevant manuscript text as evidence
6. Output a compliance summary + actionable fixes for Missing/Partial items
7. 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