Table 4. Body of Evidence Examined According to Study Design.
| Study Design | Number of Eligible Studies | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Question 2 | Question 3 | |||
| RCT studies | |||||
| Systematic review of RCTs | - | 4 | - | ||
| Large RCT (N > 100) | - | - | - | ||
| Small RCT (N < 100) | - | - | 3 | ||
| Observational studies | |||||
| Systematic review of non-RCTs with contemporaneous controls | 7 | - | - | ||
| Non-RCT with non-contemporaneous controls | - | - | - | ||
| Systematic review of non-RCTs with historical controls | - | - | - | ||
| Non-RCT with historical controls | - | - | - | ||
| Longitudinal cohort study | 11 | ||||
| Database, registry, or cross-sectional study | - | - | - | ||
| Case series | - | - | - | ||
| Retrospective review, modelling | - | - | - | ||
| Studies presented at an international conference | - | - | - | ||
| Expert opinion | - | - | - | ||
| Total | 18 | 4 | 3 | ||
Abbreviation: RCT, randomized controlled trial.