Protocol for a future systematic review on pediatric limb arteriovenous malformations

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Frontiers in Medicine Published May 8, 2026 Medically reviewed May 8, 2026 DOI ↗ By Dr. Sofia Müller, MD · Lifespan & Whole-Person Care

Key Takeaway

Consider this protocol as a plan for future evidence synthesis on pediatric limb arteriovenous malformations.

This document is a protocol for a planned systematic review on peripheral arteriovenous malformations of the limbs in children. The scope is to synthesize evidence on interventions, with a primary outcome of short-term symptom improvement rate within 3 months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes include adverse event incidence and quality of life.

The authors plan to address gaps noted in prior literature, including non-standardized criteria, small-sample uncontrolled studies, and inconsistent efficacy evaluation. No pooled effect sizes or trial-level data are available, as this is a protocol and no data have been collected yet.

Key limitations acknowledged by the authors are the non-standardized criteria, small-sample uncontrolled studies, and inconsistent efficacy evaluation in the existing literature. The review's practice relevance is not reported.

The protocol does not specify a study population sample size, intervention details, or comparator groups. Safety data are not reported, as no trials have been conducted. The authors note that the review will not fabricate trial-level detail, such as sample sizes or effect sizes.

Study Details

Study typeMeta analysis

EvidenceLevel 1

PublishedMay 2026

View Original Abstract ↓

BackgroundPeripheral arteriovenous malformations (pAVMs) of the limbs are common in children, with distinct clinical features and high intervention difficulty. Existing research on its interventions is controversial due to non-standardized criteria, small-sample uncontrolled studies and inconsistent efficacy evaluation, leaving clinicians without high-quality evidence-based guidance.Methods and analysisThis study will conduct a PROSPERO-registered systematic review, searching PubMed, Embase and other databases for relevant clinical studies. Two researchers will independently screen literature, extract data and assess evidence quality via GRADE. RevMan 5.4 will be used for qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis, with subgroup and sensitivity analyses to explore heterogeneity. Primary outcome is short-term symptom improvement rate within 3 months post-intervention; secondary outcomes include adverse event incidence and quality of life.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required because this study is a secondary analysis of existing data. We will disseminate the findings through peer-reviewed publications.Clinical Trial RegistrationPROSPERO (CRD420261326988).