Summary of findings for the main comparison. Ear drops (any active treatment) compared with no treatment for ear wax.
| Ear drops (any active treatment) compared with no treatment for ear wax | ||||||
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Patient or population: adults and children with ear wax requiring removal Settings: primary care Intervention: any active treatment ear drops Comparison: no treatment | ||||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | |||||
| No treatment | Any active treatment | |||||
| Proportion of patients (or ears) with complete clearance of ear wax | 5 per 100 | 22 per 100 | RR 4.09, 95% CI 1.00 to 16.80 | 73 participants; 117 ears (1 study) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Low1,2 | — |
| Adverse effects: discomfort, irritation or pain | This study reported "excellent" patient acceptability of ear drops, reporting no adverse effects of discomfort, irritation or pain in either group. | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Low1,2 | — | |||
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; RR: risk ratio | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect; Moderate quality: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different; Low quality: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited; the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect; Very low quality: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. | ||||||
1Downgraded by one level for imprecision (one study with a large confidence interval).
2Downgraded by one level due to study limitations (unclear risk of bias).