Table 3.
Downs and Black checklist for quality assessment of included studies.
| Ueda et al. | Du et al. | Juan et al. | Guo et al. | Chen et al. | Wanni et al. | Grefkes et al. | Gottlieb et al. | Tosun et al. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting | |||||||||
| Q1–Hypothesis/aim/objective clearly described | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q2–Main outcomes in Introduction or Methods | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q3–Patient characteristics clearly described | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q4–Interventions of interest clearly described | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q5–Principal confounders clearly described | UTD−0 | UTD −0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 |
| Q6–Main findings clearly described | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q7–Estimates of random variability for main outcomes | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q8–All adverse events of intervention reported | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 |
| Q9–Characteristics of patients lost to follow-up | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q10–Probability values reported for main outcomes | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| External validity | |||||||||
| Q11–Subjects asked to participate were representative of source population | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 |
| Q12–Subjects prepared to participate were representative of source population | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 |
| Q13–Staff/places/facilities study treatment was representative of source population | UTD−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Internal validity—bias and confounding | |||||||||
| Q14–Study participants blinded to treatment | NO−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | NO−0 | NO−0 | NO−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | NO−0 |
| Q15–Blinded outcome assessment | No−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | NO−0 | UTD−0 | NO−0 | NO−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q16–Any data dredging clearly described | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q17–Analyses adjust for differing lengths of follow-up | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q18–Appropriate statistical tests performed | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q19–Compliance with interventions was reliable | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q20–Outcome measures were reliable and valid | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q21–All participants recruited from the same source population | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q22–All participants recruited over the same time period | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | Yes−1 | UTD−0 | UTD−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q23–Participants randomized to treatment(s) | No−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | No−0 | Yes−1 | No−0 | No−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q24–Allocation of treatment concealed from investigators and participants | No−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | No−0 | Yes−1 | No−0 | No−0 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Q25–Adequate adjustment for confounding | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 | No−0 |
| Q26–Losses to follow-up taken into account | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| Power | |||||||||
| Q27–Power analysis to detect treatment effect at significance level of 0.05 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 | Yes−1 |
| TOTAL | 16 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 22 | 21 |
| Classification | Fiar | Good | Good | Fair | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Yes−1; No−0; Unable to determine UTD−0.