Critically appraised topics (CATs) are very brief reviews which summarize current best evidence on an intervention or diagnosis.
The main limitation of CATs is their brief scope, which makes them more prone to selection bias than a systematic review or a rapid review. But they have an important role to play in supporting evidence based practice – identifying gaps in the knowledge, quickly scoping the literature and informing policy.
CATs have been used since the 1990s, mainly in the fields of veterinary science, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dermatology, urology, radiology, nursing, business management and education.
Like a systematic review, a certain methodology should be followed. Even though CATs are quick, compared to other reviews, they should still follow these steps:
* this list based on info from the libguide "Systematic and Systematic-like Reviews", Charles Sturt University, https://libguides.csu.edu.au/systematicreviews/cats
Because CATs are so brief, they are an ideal form of publication for students, and several universities have adopted them as core project within their Masters and Doctorate of Occupational Therapy programs: