Box 1.

: Assessment format—the assessors were asked to choose one option for each review and give details as appropriate

• A I encountered no problems in the review. I would be proud to show this review as an example of a Cochrane review
• B I encountered minor problems in the review—namely, the following: . . .
• C I encountered major problems in the review, and I think it deserves a comment and criticism along the lines of . . .
• D The review might be OK, but I need clarification on . . .
• E Any other unstructured comments