Table 3. Pointers for identifying fraudulent/erroneous systematic reviews.

1. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on observational data, especially genetic polymorphisms, should be looked at more carefully

2. Reviews on healthcare outcomes are not registered at PROSPERO

3. No PRISMA diagram and a broad literature search

4. Literature search and data extraction are not done independently by at least two reviewers

5. Lack of assessment of heterogeneity of primary studies

6. No risk of bias or assessment of study quality performed

7. A similar reviews is published recently (with 2 years), unless a major change in therapeutics or new evidence have emerged

8. Undeclared commercial editing and writing support/brokering

PROSPERO = International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, PRISMA = Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.