Table 3.
Comparisons where the drug treatment was superior to the surgical treatment
| Surgical arm | Drug arm | Disease | Outcome | Treatment effect (95% CI) | GRADE assessment |
| Surgical excision | Imiquimod | BCC | Observer‐rated good/excellent cosmetic outcome | RR=0.59 (0.47 to 0.74) | Low |
| Surgical excision | MAL-PDT | BCC | Observer‐rated good/excellent cosmetic outcome | RR=0.85 (0.79 to 0.92)* | Moderate |
| Surgical excision | MAL-PDT | BCC | Patient‐rated good/excellent cosmetic outcome | RR=0.53 (0.44 to 0.65)* | Moderate |
| Oesophagectomy | Chemoradiotherapy and/or radiotherapy | Oesophageal cancer | Serious adverse event (3 months) | RR=1.73 (1.11 to 2.67)* | Very low |
| Short-term health-related QOL | MD=0.93 (0.24 to 1.62) | Very low | |||
| Laparoscopic fundoplication | Protein pump inhibitors | GERD | Serious adverse events | RR=1.46 (1.01 to 2.11) | Very low |
| Pancreatic resection | Chemoradiotherapy | Pancreatic cancer | Overall mortality (5 years) | HR=2.63 (1.72 to 4)* | Very low |
| Laparoscopic ovarian drilling | Medical ovulation induction | Infertility due to PCOS | Live birth | OR=0.71 (0.54 to 0.92) | Low |
| Suction aspiration | Vaginal or oral misoprostol | Abortion | Surgical evacuation | RR=20 (9.1 to 50) | Very low |
| Laser surgery | Intravitreal anti-VEGF | Pathological myopia | Change in best-corrected visual acuity | MD=0.22 (0.01 to 0.43)* | Low |
| Amniotic membrane transplantation and medication | Lubrication, Antibiotics and Pressure lowering medication | Acute ocular burns | Visual acuity at final follow-up | MD=−0.83 (-1.32 to −0.34) | Very low |
| Decompressive surgery with or without fusion | Epidural steroid injection | Lumbar spinal stenosis | Oswestry Disability Index 6 weeks | MD=5.7 (0.57 to 10.83) | Low |
| Pain intensity (VAS) 6 weeks | MD=2.4 (1.92 to 2.88) | Low | |||
| Tonsillectomy or adrenotonsillectomy | Watchful waiting with or without analgesics and antibiotics | Tonsillitis | Episodes of moderately or severely sore throat (children) | MD=0.62 (0.22 to 1.03)* | Low |
| Carotid endarterectomy and Aspirin 325 mg daily | Aspirin 325 mg daily | Asymptomatic carotid stenosis | Perioperative stroke or death, or stroke of any territory or type during follow-up | RR=6.49 (2.53 to 16.61) |
*Our reanalysis using a random effects meta-analysis model shows that the 95% CI includes the null (results are inconclusive).
BCC, basal cell carcinoma of the skin; GERD, Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; GRADE, grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluations; MD, mean difference; PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome; QOL, quality of life; RR, risk ratio; VAS, visual analogue scale.