Table 3.
Categories of additional non-standard RoB domains in Cochrane systematic reviews
| Additional category | N of Cochrane reviews |
|---|---|
| Group similarity at baseline (selection bias) | 11 |
| Baseline data | 5 |
| Baseline outcome measures (similar) | 3 |
| Groups balanced at baseline/ balance in baseline characteristics | 2 |
| Baseline characteristics of participants | 1 |
| Baseline comparability of treatment and control groups | 1 |
| Baseline measures | 1 |
| Similarity of baseline characteristicsa | 1 |
| Treatment/control groups comparative at entry | 1 |
| Major imbalance in important baseline confounders | 1 |
| Comparability of groups on different prognostic characteristicsa | 1 |
| Size | 8 |
| Size of the study | 5 |
| Small sample size bias | 4 |
| Sample sizea | 2 |
| Sufficient sample sizea | 1 |
| Power calculationa | 1 |
| Timing of outcome assessment (similar)a | 10 |
| Adequate follow-up | 2 |
| Study duration | 2 |
| Early stopping | 1 |
| Groups received comparable treatment | 2 |
| Care program identical/ identical care | 2 |
| Treatment fidelitya | 1 |
| Free of systematic differences in care?a | 1 |
| Consistency in intervention delivery | 1 |
| Equality of treatment | 1 |
| Protocol deviation balanced | 1 |
| Groups received same intervention | 1 |
| Compliance/adherence assessed (acceptable) | 7 |
| Compliance with recommendation reliable? | 1 |
| Compliance acceptablea | 1 |
| Source of funding/ sponsorship | 4 |
| For profit fundinga | 1 |
| Fundinga | 1 |
| Vested interest bias | 1 |
| Conflict of interest | 1 |
| Co-intervention avoided or similara | 5 |
| Co-interventions | 2 |
| Groups received same co- interventions | 1 |
| Intention to treat | 5 |
| Incorrect analysis | 1 |
| Results based on data dredging? | 1 |
| Analyses adjust for different lengths of follow-up workers? | 1 |
| Appropriate statistical tests use? | 1 |
| Adequate adjustment for confounding in the analyses? | 1 |
| Contamination/ protection against contamination | 3 |
| Validity of outcome measures | 1 |
| Reliability of outcome measures | 1 |
| Outcome measures used valid and reliable? | 1 |
| Free from performance bias | 1 |
| Performance bias as «differential expertise» bias | 1 |
| Performance bias as comparability in the experience of care providers | 1 |
| Adequate patient description | 1 |
| Recruitment of participants from the same population? | 1 |
| Recruitment of participants over the same study period? | 1 |
| Washout/ carry-over effect in cross-over study designs | 2 |
| Overall assessment of bias risk | 1 |
| Summary of risk of bias for Consumption outcome | 1 |
| Researcher allegiancea | 1 |
| Therapist allegiancea | 1 |
| CHBG (Cochrane hepato-biliary group) combined assessment (mortality)a | 1 |
| CHBG combined assessment (hepatic encephalopathy)a | 1 |
| Comparability with individually randomized trials | 1 |
| Detection bias (biochemical validation of smoking outcomes) | 1 |
| Ethical approval | 1 |
| Explicit inclusion/exclusion criteria | 1 |
| Free of dietary differences other than fat?a | 1 |
| Loss of clusters | 1 |
| Methods for selecting cases to adjudicate | 1 |
| Outcome description | 1 |
| Publication format | 1 |
| Recruitment bias | 1 |
adomains found in 9 Cochrane reviews that had both ‘other bias’ domain and additional non-standard domain(s) for other bias in RoB tables