A new publication in The BMJ presents INSPECT-SR, an international consensus-based tool developed to help systematic reviewers assess the trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials before including them in evidence syntheses. The publication includes Andreas Lundh, Associate Professor at our centre, as a co-author.

INSPECT-SR was developed in response to growing concerns that problematic studies may distort systematic reviews and clinical guidelines. The tool provides reviewers with 21 structured checks across four domains, helping them identify studies with serious concerns about the reliability of their data or findings.

INSPECT-SR has already been endorsed for use in Cochrane Reviews and is intended to become part of routine systematic review practice. The authors recommend that INSPECT-SR should be used before risk-of-bias assessment and data extraction, to avoid wasting time assessing the risk of bias of, and extracting data from, problematic trials.

Link: https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100611