Table 2:
Results of the updated literature search, reference screening and reference classification
| Characteristic | Guidelines topic and year of publication | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major depression in adults, 200815 | Obesity in childhood and adolescence, 200918 | Prostate cancer treatment, 200816 | Secondary prevention of stroke, 200917 | ||
| References found during updated exhaustive literature search, no. | 11 243 | 9 763 | 3 343 | 14 787 | 39 136 |
| First reference screening from all recommendations, no. (%) | |||||
| Duplicate | 3 846 (34.2) | 2 445 (25.0) | 286 (8.6) | 1 582 (10.7) | 8 159 (20.8) |
| Excluded | 6 976 (62.0) | 6 981 (71.5) | 2 901 (86.8) | 12 940 (87.5) | 29 798 (76.1) |
| Included (pertinent references) | 260 (2.3) | 334 (3.4) | 102 (3.1) | 255 (1.7) | 951 (2.4) |
| New* | 161 (1.4) | 3 (0.0) | 54 (1.6) | 10 (0.1) | 228 (0.6) |
| Second reference screening from sample recommendations, no. (%) | n = 192 | n = 292 | n = 106 | n = 78 | n = 668 |
| Pertinent references | 73 (38.0) | 93 (31.8) | 22 (20.8) | 12 (15.4) | 200 (29.9) |
| Relevant references† | 106 (55.2) | 167 (57.2) | 73 (68.9) | 53 (67.9) | 399 (59.7) |
| Key references‡ | 13 (6.8) | 32 (11.0) | 11 (10.4) | 13 (16.7) | 69 (10.3) |
| Key references, type of study, no. (%) | n = 13 | n = 32 | n = 11 | n = 13 | n = 69 |
| Randomized controlled trial | 8 (61.5) | 23 (71.9) | 9 (81.8) | 4 (30.8) | 44 (63.8) |
| Systematic review | 5 (38.5) | 9 (28.1) | 2 (18.2) | 9 (69.2) | 25 (36.2) |
| Key references, recommendation change, no. (%)§ | |||||
| Population | 1 (7.7) | 4 (12.5) | – | 1 (7.7) | 6 (8.7) |
| Intervention | 12 (92.3) | 5 (15.6) | 2 (18.2) | 7 (53.8) | 26 (37.7) |
| Comparison | – | 2 (6.3) | 2 (18.2) | 1 (7.7) | 5 (7.2) |
| Outcome | 9 (69.2) | 2 (6.3) | 3 (27.3) | – | 14 (20.3) |
| Quality of the evidence | 11 (84.6) | 25 (78.1) | 5 (45.5) | 5 (38.5) | 46 (66.7)¶ |
| Direction of the recommendation | 9 (69.2) | – | – | – | 9 (13.0) |
| Strength of the recommendation | 11 (84.6) | 14 (43.8) | 7 (63.6) | 6 (46.2) | 38 (55.1) |
*
References that may be related to new recommendations.
†
All relevant references were also pertinent.
‡
All key references were also pertinent and relevant.
§
One reference may change more than one issue.
¶
Fourteen key references changed the quality of evidence.