Table 1.
Quality assessment of articles.
| Hypothesis/aim/objective clearly described? | Main outcomes clearly described in the Introduction/Methods? | Characteristics of patients clearly described? | Interventions of interest clearly described? | Distribution of principal confounders in each group of subjects to be compared clearly described? | Main findings of the study clearly described? | Does the study provide estimates of random variability in the data for main outcomes? | Have all important adverse events that may be a consequence of intervention been reported? | Have the characteristics of patients lost to follow-up been described? | Have actual probability values been reported for main outcomes except where probability is <0.001? | Were the subjects asked to participate in the study representative of the entire population from which they were recruited? | Were those subjects who were prepared to participate representative of the entire population from which they were recruited? | Were the staff, places, and facilities where the patients were treated, representative of the treatment the majority of patients receive? | Was an attempted made to blind study subjects to the intervention they received? | Was an attempt made to blind those measuring the main outcomes of the intervention? | If any results of were based on “data dragging,” was it made clear? | In trials/cohort studies, do the analyses adjust for different lengths of follow-up, or in case–control studies, is the time period between intervention and outcome the same for cases and controls? | Were the statistical tests used to assess main outcomes appropriate? | Was compliance with the intervention(s) reliable? | Were the main outcome measures used accurate (valid and reliable)? | Were the patients in different intervention groups (trials and cohort studies) or were the cases and controls (case–control studies) recruited from the same population? | Were study subjects in different intervention groups (trials and cohort studies) or were the cases and controls (case–control studies) recruited over the same period of time? | Were study subjects randomized to intervention groups? | Was the randomized intervention assignment concealed from both patients/staff until recruitment was complete and irrevocable? | Was the adequate adjustment for confounding in the analyses from which the main findings were drawn? | Were losses of patients to follow-up taken into account? | Did the study have sufficient power to detect clinically important effect wherePvalue for difference being due to chance is <5%? | Total score (31) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (20) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | 4 | 23 |
| (10) | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | 5 | 25 |
| (39) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | 3 | 20 |
| (37) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | 5 | 23 |
| (33) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | 5 | 21 |
| (38) | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | 5 | 20 |
| (34) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | 5 | 22 |
| (9) | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | 5 | 19 |
| (35) | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | 5 | 20 |
| (36) | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | 5 | 20 |
| (19) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | 3 | 21 |
| (11) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | 5 | 28 |
| (40) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | 5 | 21 |