Search methods for identification of studies
We searched five databases (Medline, CINAHL, Africa-Wide Information,
Scopus, and Web of Science) for relevant journal articles.
The primary search strategy, developed with the help of a medical
librarian, was based on a combination of free text and index term
searches for searching Medline through EBSCOhost. Terms identifying SSA
were derived from a recommendation by the University of North Carolina
Libraries10, and terms to identify ADRs were derived
from a recommendation by the Cochrane Collaboration11and from terms used in a previous systematic review12.
In addition to an “SSA concept” and an “ADR concept”, we included
two more search concepts, relating to the “seriousness” and the
“prevalence” of ADRs. Search strategies for all databases are included
in the supplement.
Database searches were most recently conducted on 02 March 2021. Results
were uploaded to an electronic deduplication and screening tool.
Database searches for journal articles were supplemented by
hand-searches conducted by one reviewer (JPM), including reference lists
and lists of excluded studies of 30 previous review articles on various
medicine safety topics1-6,12-35, reference lists of
articles included in the current review, abstract books of the 2002 to
2020 annual meetings of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance
and the International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology, and theses and
dissertations via five databases, detailed in the supplement.
Potentially relevant reports were added to the electronic deduplication
and screening tool.