Table 3.
Level of evidence and mean level of evidence based on journal type (i.e. high impact factor clinical journals vs. low impact factor general pediatric journals)
| Journal | General clinic journals | Pediatric-specific journals | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | |
| Level of evidence | ||||||
| I | 34 | (50.0)* | 170 | (23.1)* | 204 | (25.4) |
| II | 11 | (16.2) | 164 | (22.3) | 175 | (21.8) |
| III | 11 | (16.2) | 82 | (11.1) | 93 | (11.6) |
| IV | 12 | (17.6)* | 320 | (43.5)* | 332 | (41.3) |
| Ratio LOE I-II:III-IV | 1.96 | 0.83 | 0.89 | |||
| Mean LOE | 2.01† | 2.75† | 2.69 | |||
*p < 0.05, †p < 0.01.
LOE – Level of Evidence.
Mean LOE – closer to 1 indicates RCT level and closer to 5 indicates expert opinion level.