Methods for a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis in evaluating selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for premature ejaculation

The aim of this study was to evaluate a rapid systematic review method in which randomised controlled trial (RCT) data was extracted from existing reviews and subsequent RCTs. The method enabled: identification of RCTs not included by existing reviews; cross-checking RCT data for consistency where there was more than one review; double data extraction due to time saved by extracting data from existing reviews; correction of data synthesis errors in existing reviews; and pooling data across all RCTs to produce contemporary effect estimates. When subsequently compared to extracting data directly from all RCT original publications, the findings and conclusions concurred.