Dear colleagues,

The International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology (IAO) is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, audiology, and speech therapy. The IAO Scientific Merit Journal Prize is awarded every year, and,[1] in 2019, it has awarded the three best systematic and/or literature reviews published in the journal in the year 2018,[2] [3] [4] seeking to highlight articles that form the foundations and concepts of universal knowledge. We believe this serves to identify, evaluate, and interpret all available and relevant studies on a specific thematic issue. The objective is to review the state of the art, confront the existing evidence on a given subject, and thus lead to new lines of research. The 2019 manuscript awards nominees were selected among those who had their articles published in issues 1-4 of volume 22, based on novelty, impact, data quality, and number of online downloads by the journal readers.

When we evaluate a certain subject, we are faced with contradictory results. One way to try to clarify controversies is to rely only on quality studies on the subject. Based on this principle, we have the systematic review of the literature. It is a type of research focused on a well-defined issue, which aims to identify, select, evaluate and synthesize the evidence available. Systematic reviews with meta-analyses are used globally by the medical community, and they enable us to ensure that we have as precise a summary as possible of all the trials that have been conducted on a particular medical science topic. Systematic reviews should be comprehensive and not biased in their essence. The criteria adopted are disclosed so that other researchers can repeat the procedure. Systematic reviews are considered the best level of evidence for decision making. To explicitly follow the scientific method and present a new result, the systematic review is classified as an original contribution in most clinical research journals.[5]

With this effort, we wish to honor and show our appreciation of the awarded authors, encouraging new talents in international otorhinolaryngological research with a commitment to stimulate education and technological development through research and training.

The studies that stood out were the following:

Da Ré AF, Gurgel LG, Buffon G, MouraWER, Marques Vidor DCG, Maahs MAP. Tobacco Influence on Taste and Smell: Systematic Review of the Literature. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2018 Jan;22(1):81-87. doi: 10.1055/s-0036-1597921.

Rodrigues DL, Ledesma ALL, de Oliveira CAP, Bahamad Júnior F. Physical Therapy for Posterior and Horizontal Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: Long-term Effect and Recurrence: A Systematic Review. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2018 Oct;22(4):455-459. doi: 10.10 55/s-0037-1604345.

Gabriel LB, Vernier LS, Ferreira MIDDC, Silveira AL, Machado MS. Parameters for Applying the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentialwith Speech Stimulus: Systematic Review. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2018 Oct;22 (4):460-468. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1605598.


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Conflict of Interests
The authors have none to declare.

References
1 Jotz GP, Bittencourt AG. Award-Winning Research- IAO 2018. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2018; 22 (04) 335 . Doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1673376
2 Da Ré AF, Gurgel LG, Buffon G, Moura WER, Marques Vidor DCG, Maahs MAP. Tobacco Influence on Taste and Smell: Systematic Review of the Literature. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2018; 22 (01) 81-87 . Doi: 10.1055/s-0036-1597921
3 Rodrigues DL, Ledesma ALL, de Oliveira CAP, Bahamad Júnior F. Physical Therapy for Posterior and Horizontal Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: Long-term Effect and Recurrence: A Systematic Review. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2018; 22 (04) 455-459 . Doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1604345
4 Gabriel LB, Vernier LS, Ferreira MIDDC, Silveira AL, Machado MS. Parameters for Applying the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential with Speech Stimulus: Systematic Review. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2018; 22 (04) 460-468 . Doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1605598
5 Meerpohl JJ, Herrle F, Reinders S, Antes G, von Elm E. Scientific value of systematic reviews: survey of editors of core clinical journals. PLoS One 2012; 7 (05) e35732 . Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035732

Address for correspondence
Prof. Geraldo Pereira Jotz, MD, PhD
Departamento de Ciências Morfológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Avenida Paulo Gama 110-Farroupilha, Porto Alegre, RS, 90040-060
Brazil
Email: iaorl@iaorl.org