What Is a PRISMA Flow Diagram?
The PRISMA flow diagram is a visual roadmap of your systematic review's search strategy. It maps out how records move from initial database search to the final included studies.
What the Diagram Is For
Journal editors and peer reviewers need transparency. They must know exactly where studies were lost and why. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement standardizes this tracking.
1. Identify
Total records fetched from database queries.
2. Screen
Abstracts evaluated and duplicates removed.
3. Assess
Full-text PDFs reviewed for eligibility criteria.
4. Include
Final studies selected for data extraction.
PRISMA 2020 Flow Diagram Example
Below is an example of a standard PRISMA 2020 flow diagram. It tracks records through the screening pipeline.
- • Wrong outcome: 83
- • Wrong design: 32
- • No control: 17
Prerequisite Counts for Your Diagram
To build your PRISMA diagram, you must track these numbers during screening. Do not rely on guesswork at the end of your review.
Identification Counts
Database result totals, register counts, and any reference citations retrieved via citation chasing (snowballing).
Deduplication Count
The total count of duplicates removed before abstract screening begins, including those merged automatically.
Abstract Exclusions
The total number of titles and abstracts evaluated, and how many did not meet eligibility criteria.
Full-Text Exclusions with Reasons
The count of full-text papers read but rejected. You must provide specific counts per rejection reason (e.g., wrong cohort, incorrect intervention).
Common Reporting Mistakes
Build One Instantly
If you already have your numbers, use Lumina's free online PRISMA generator to build a publication-ready SVG/PNG diagram.
Open Free PRISMA Tool