Table 1.
Summary characteristics of 97 included systematic reviews
| Characteristic | N of SRs |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| 1995–2000 | 4 |
| 2001–2005 | 10 |
| 2005–2010 | 27 |
| 2011–2015 | 56 |
| Number of authors | |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2–5 | 72 |
| 6–10 | 23 |
| > 10 | 1 |
| Language of the studies included in SRs | |
| Any language | 49 |
| English | 30 |
| English plus other | 18 |
| Not reported | 6 |
| Language of SRs | |
| English | 91 |
| Chinese | 2 |
| French | 1 |
| German | 1 |
| Spanish | 1 |
| Portuguese and English | 1 |
| Number of RCTs included | |
| 0–1 | 8 |
| 2–10 | 37 |
| 11–20 | 30 |
| 21–30 | 14 |
| 31–40 | 4 |
| 41–100 | 3 |
| > 100 | 1 |
| Number of databases searched | |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2–3 | 27 |
| 4–5 | 38 |
| > 6 | 31 |
| Neuropathic pain type | |
| Peripheral | 86 |
| Central | 2 |
| Peripheral and central | 9 |
| Total number of patients | |
| 0 | 7 |
| 1–1000 | 28 |
| 1001–2000 | 28 |
| 2001–4000 | 14 |
| > 4001 | 12 |
| Unclear | 8 |
| Meta-analysis | |
| Yes | 65 |
| No | 25 |
| Not applicable (empty review) | 7 |
| Update of previous SR | |
| Yes | 10 |
| No | 87 |
| Number of updates | |
| 1 | 7 |
| 2–3 | 2 |
| > 4 | 1 |
| Funding source | |
| Not reported | 35 |
| No external funding | 13 |
| Government | 12 |
| Foundation | 12 |
| None | 11 |
| Industry | 8 |
| Multiple | 6 |
SR systematic review, RCT randomized controlled trial