Table 1. Study characteristics.
| First author | Year of publication | Study sizea | Risk of bias analysis— evidence of | Risk of bias | Medical specialty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randomisation | >1 indep rater | |||||
| Al-Benna | 2009 | 113 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Surgery |
| Awrey | 2010 | 900 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Surgery |
| Buchan | 2003 | 200 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ophthalmology |
| Bujize | 2011 | 2011 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Orthopedics |
| Davids | 2010 | 200 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Orthopedics |
| De Lacey | 1985 | 300 | 1 | 1 | 1 | General medicine, mixed specialties |
| Eichorn | 1987 | 150 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Public health |
| Evans | 1990 | 137 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Surgery, gynecology |
| Fenton | 2000 | 153 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Otorhinolaryngology |
| George | 1994 | 239 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Dermatology |
| Goldberg | 1993 | 145 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Emergency medicine |
| Gosling | 2004 | 320 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Manual therapy |
| Gupta | 2005 | 176 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Pediatrics |
| Hansen | 1994 | 95 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Radiology |
| Hobma | 1992 | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | General medicine |
| Lawson | 1999 | 147 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Psychiatry |
| Lee | 1999 | 200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Dermatology |
| Lowry | 1985 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | General medicine |
| Lukic | 2004 | 199 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Anatomy |
| Luo | 2013 | 249 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Orthopedics |
| Mertens | 2011 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 1 | General medicine |
| Neihouse | 1989 | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Pharmacology |
| Pieters | 2001 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Psychiatry |
| Puttermann | 1992 | 120 | 1 | 0 | 0 | General medicine |
| Reddy | 2008 | 255 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Surgery |
| Schulmeister | 1998 | 180 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Nursing |
| Singh | 2009 | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Dermatology |
| Warren | 1997 | 382 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Infectious diseases |
Notes.
Risk of bias
- 0
- high
- 1
- low
a
Number of references/quotations as used for main analysis (quotation error rates as presented in the paper and using unrestricted reference based quotation error data as default if more than one approach was reported).