Minimally Invasive Treatments for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Symptom Relief Versus Sexual-Function Network Meta-analysis

Compare Aquablation, Rezūm, prostatic urethral lift, iTind, prostatic artery embolization and TURP by integrating symptom improvement, urinary flow, retreatment, erectile function and ejaculatory preservation. Primary analyses will follow a prespecified protocol. The exact review question will be locked after a final duplication check in PubMed and PROSPERO immediately before project initiation.

This project is designed to produce decision-relevant evidence for clinical practice, health-system planning or research. Participation combines applied training, verifiable scientific work and contribution to a publication-quality manuscript.

Systematic review following PRISMA 2020 with reproducible searching, duplicate screening/extraction, risk-of-bias assessment and meta-analysis when data permit.

Biomedical bibliographic databases and full-text studies defined by protocol, using a reproducible and auditable search strategy.

The six participants will form the core review team. Their primary responsibility is rigorous evidence identification and curation. • Conduct independent title and abstract screening. • Conduct full-text screening and document exclusion reasons. • Extract or chart study characteristics, population definitions, exposures/interventions, comparators and outcomes using the standardized form. • Complete duplicate extraction/charting and resolve discrepancies through the project workflow. • Complete risk-of-bias or critical-appraisal assessments when required by the protocol. • Verify numerical data, outcome definitions and citations against source publications. • Contribute to evidence tables, interpretation, discussion, manuscript drafting and peer-review responses. Participants are not expected to perform the final statistical programming. Quantitative processing and reproducible analysis will be conducted by microscopIA data scientists.

microscopIA is designed so participants can progress at their own pace within project deadlines. Work is primarily asynchronous and there is no fixed weekly schedule. An average commitment of 5–7 hours per week is anticipated and can be distributed flexibly. Mandatory meetings are kept to the minimum necessary. Under a self-governance model, each team may choose to meet more often when that improves coordination. The key expectation is to complete agreed tasks and deadlines to a high standard. The model is designed to remain compatible with medical school, rotations, clinical duties, call schedules and other professional responsibilities.

PRISMA Paired screening Data extraction Risk of bias Meta-analysis interpretation

Before independent work begins, microscopIA will provide project-specific onboarding covering the final review question, protocol, databases, screening rules, extraction dictionary, conflict resolution, the selected risk-of-bias or critical-appraisal tool, PRISMA/PRISMA-ScR requirements, GRADE when appropriate, and authorship/accountability standards. A senior clinician or subject-matter expert appointed by microscopIA will provide clinical adjudication. microscopIA data scientists will conduct reproducible quantitative analyses for meta-analysis projects.

Expected outputs include: • Protocol and eligibility framework, with PROSPERO registration when eligible. • PRISMA 2020 flow diagram and complete screening audit trail. • Standardized evidence table and analytical dataset. • Risk-of-bias assessment and GRADE certainty summary when appropriate. • Random-effects meta-analysis with prespecified sensitivity, subgroup and heterogeneity analyses when data permit. • Publication-quality statistical tables and figures prepared with microscopIA data-science support. • Scientific manuscript intended for submission to a PubMed-indexed journal. • Preprint whenever appropriate and scientific poster when an appropriate conference opportunity is available.

Manuscript intended for submission to a PubMed-indexed journal; preprint whenever appropriate.

Only active microscopIA members. Applicants of any nationality are eligible.

Medical students, junior doctors and early-career professionals interested in Urology, Surgery, Men's Health, with attention to detail, independence and the ability to deliver high-quality work in a flexible environment.

Verifiable completion certificate from a structured course in systematic review, meta-analysis, scoping review or evidence synthesis.

microscopIA will cover approved publication fees and the salary costs of the data scientists assigned to the project. Participants will not be charged approved article-processing fees. microscopIA data scientists will clean and process the extracted analytical dataset, conduct the prespecified quantitative synthesis when applicable, and generate reproducible statistical tables and figures.

The project is designed to produce a substantive research record and a manuscript intended for submission to a PubMed-indexed journal. Authorship is contribution-based and follows ICMJE criteria: substantial contribution to the work, drafting or critical revision, final approval, and accountability. A preprint will be prepared whenever appropriate. Poster presentation opportunities may be assigned based on project performance and conference fit. Certificates, reference letters and other academic documents remain subject to the applicable microscopIA Membership and Project Terms.

Each participant may declare a maximum of two institutional affiliations. Format: Department, Organization (Hospital, University, Company), City, Country.

Jorge Racedo at microscopIA; Senior Expert Clinician appointed by microscopIA. Senior clinician or subject-matter expert allocated by microscopIA.