Table 3.

Critical appraisal of studies with the highest level of evidence from each medical field

		Medical sector	Neoplasms	Oral and Maxillofacial	Oral and Maxillofacial	Oral and Maxillofacial	Oral and Maxillofacial	Oral and Maxillofacial	Oral and Maxillofacial	Oral and Maxillofacial	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal	Musculoskeletal
+	Yes
-	No
?	Unable to determine
x	Not applicable
		Date	2014	2015	1999	2013	2014	2015	2010	2014	2013	2015	2012	2015	2012	2016	2013	2016	2016	2011	2016	2016	2011
		First author	de Farias	Ahrberg	D’Urso	Al-Ahmad	Ayoub	Goh	Van de Velde	Vercruyssen	Chareancholvanich	Chen	Du	Gan	Hendel	Maini	Merc	Shuang	Stephens	Wu	Yang	You	Zhang
1. Clear hypothesis/aim/objective		Reporting	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
2. Clear outcome measures			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
3. Patient characteristics described			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	+	-	+	+	-	+	-	-	-	-
4. Interventions clearly described			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
5. Distributions of confounders described			+	+	+	x	-	-	-	-	-	+	+	+	-	-	+	+	-	-	-	+	+
6. Findings clearly described			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
7. Estimates given of random variability			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
8. Adverse events reported			+	-	-	-	-	-	+	+	+	+	-	+	+	+	+	+	-	+	+	+	-
9. Patients lost to follow-up described			x	x	x	+	x	+	+	+	+	+	+	x	-	x	x	+	+	+	x	+	+
10. Probability values reported			+	+	-	+	-	+	+	-	+	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
11. Recruitment pool represents population		External validity	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	+	?	+	?	?	+	?	+	?
12. Participants represent population			?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	+	?	+	?	?	+	?	+	?
13. Staff/places/facilities match standard treatment			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	?	+	+	+	+
14. Participants blinded to intervention		Internal validity - bias	+	+	-	+	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	-	-	-
15. Those measuring outcomes blinded			+	+	-	+	-	+	+	+	+	-	-	+	+	-	-	-	+	-	-	-	-
16. Data dredging reported			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
17. Adjusted for different lengths of follow-up			x	x	x	+	x	+	+	+	-	+	-	x	?	x	x	?	+	-	x	-	-
18. Appropriate statistical tests			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
19. Reliable compliance with intervention			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
20. Accurate/reliable outcome measures			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
21. Groups recruited from same population		Internal validity - confounding	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
22. Groups recruited over same timeframe			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
23. Subjects randomised into intervention			+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
24. Randomised intervention concealed			+	+	?	+	?	?	?	?	?	+	?	?	-	?	?	+	+	?	?	?	?
25. Adjustment for confounding			?	+	-	+	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	-	-	+	+
26. Losses to follow-up accounted for			x	x	x	+	x	+	+	+	+	+	+	x	?	x	x	+	+	+	x	+	+
27. Sufficient power		Power	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+