Evidence-appraisal glossary
Living Systematic Review
A living systematic review is a systematic review kept continually up to date, with new studies incorporated on a frequent schedule rather than in a single fixed snapshot. It suits fast-moving fields where the evidence changes quickly.
Also called: living review, continuously updated review.
A conventional review captures the literature at one moment and drifts out of date as new trials appear. A living review commits to ongoing surveillance and rapid updating, so its conclusions track the current evidence. The tradeoff is that repeatedly re-analyzing accumulating data raises the chance of a false positive from multiple looks, much like interim analyses in a trial, so credible living reviews plan their updating and their statistical thresholds in advance.
This is a plain-language methodology definition for reading research. It is general education, not medical advice.