TABLE 2.
Methodological features applied across the included NMAs1
| NMA methodology | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | |||||||||||
| First author (reference) | Risk of bias2 | Network plot | Similarity/ transitivity | Contribution matrix | SUCRA or P score | Other ranking | Inconsistency testing4 | Subgroup or sensitivity analyses | Funnel plot5 | Certainty of the evidence | PRISMA NMA checklist cited |
| Schwingshackl (30) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y (CINeMA) | Y |
| Pan (31) | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
| Schwingshackl (32) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y (CINeMA) | Y |
| Liang (33) | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Schwingshackl (34) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y (CINeMA) | Y |
| Zou (35) | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Y |
| Schwingshackl (36) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y (CINeMA) | Y |
| Gutiérrez-Castrellón (37) | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | Y |
| Muñoz Fernández (38) | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
| Ha (39) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y (GRADE) | Y |
| Yu (40) | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y (GRADE) | N |
| Song (41) | N3 | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N |
| Sekercioglu (52) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y (GRADE) | Y |
| Iftikhar (42) | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y |
| Sekercioglu (43) | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y (GRADE) | N |
| Lehert (44) | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | NA |
| Song (45) | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | NA |
| Stevens (46) | N3 | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | NA |
| Mazaki (47) | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | NA |
| Schwingshackl (48) | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | NA |
| Carter (49) | N3 | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | NA |
| Dunkley (50) | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | NA | N | NA |
| Wiebe (51) | N3 | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | NA | N | NA |
| % Y | 78% | 87% | 35% | 26% | 87% | 74% | 57% | 57% | 35% | 67% | |
1NA, not applicable (methodology not yet published); CINeMA, Confidence In Network Meta-Analysis; GRADE, Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation for NMA; N, no; NMA, network meta-analysis; PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (54); SUCRA, surface under the cumulative ranking curves; Y, yes.
2Risk of bias assessed by the tool of the Cochrane collaboration (55).
3Study quality assessed with Jadad scale (53).
4Inconsistency: loop-specific approach (56), side-splitting approach (57), design-by-treatment approach (58).
5Application of the comparison-adjusted funnel plot (59).