Table 3.

The use of systematic reviews in trial design

Area of use	Number of applications (%)
	(n=37)
Justification of treatment comparisons	6 (16.2)
Choice of frequency/dose	2 (5.4)
Selection or definition of outcome	7 (18.9)
Recruitment and consent	2 (5.4)
Estimating the difference to detect or margin of equivalence	6 (16.2)
Estimating the control group event rate	3 (8.1)
Inform standard deviation	1 (2.7)
Duration of follow up	8 (21.6)
Withdrawal rate	1 (2.7)
Adverse events	9 (24.3)