Importance of systematic reviews and meta-analysis in the digital information age.

The digital information age has resulted in an overwhelming avalanche of scientific in-formation in all areas, causing specialists in the health area to face a significant challenge to select and synthesize the most important and relevant information in their fields. Systematic reviews have positioned themselves as one of the main tools for searching, collecting, and synthesizing data from scientific publications, making it easier for health personnel to stay up-to-date and make health decisions based on the best scientific evidence available to date. Several guides have been developed seeking to establish guidelines and unify the way to carry out systematic reviews and meta-analyses to improve the quality of their presentation. How-ever, this type of scientific publication is not exempt from limitations and disadvantages. The PRISMA statement constitutes an excellent guide for accomplishing scientific reviews and meta-analyses since it details each aspect to be considered in preparing this type of scientific publication. Since its appearance, this statement continues to experience modifications to update it and adapt it according to the new scientific evidence available.