Systematic review of observational studies.

TLDR: To update knowledge of stroke morbidity and early case-fatality and to review secular trends in stroke incidence and case fatality, all population-based studies with comprehensive case ascertainment were included.

Abstract: Review Question and Eligibility The first step in conducting a systematic review is to define the review question and to outline the eligibility criteria for including studies. For descriptive studies, the review question will state the types of participants included, such as age, gender, disease, diagnostic criteria and setting. Feigin et al. [4] proposed to update knowledge of stroke morbidity and early case-fatality and to review secular trends in stroke incidence and case fatality. All population-based studies with comprehensive case ascertainment were included. Most of the criteria related to those of ‘ideal’ stroke incidence studies [5] , but the authors also needed to calculate specific rates. This necessitated a decision to include only those studies that published the appropriate raw numbers to calculate these figures. Adding to the rigour of the analysis by increasing the number of studies that could be used, Feigin et al. [4] obtained some of these missing data from the authors of the original articles.