Table 3.
Characteristics of included RCTs
| No. of trials (n = 88) | |
|---|---|
| No. of centres | 88 (100) |
| Single‐centre | 44 (50) |
| Nature of intervention | |
| Surgical versus surgical | 68 (77) |
| Surgical versus non‐surgical | 20 (23) |
| Type of RCT | |
| Initial | 70 (80) |
| Follow‐up | 18 (20) |
| Follow‐up period (months) | |
| < 1 | 7 (8) |
| 1–5 | 14 (16) |
| 6–12 | 32 (36) |
| > 12 | 34 (39) |
| Missing | 1 (1) |
| Total no. of outcomes | |
| 1–3 | 15 (17) |
| 4–6 | 49 (56) |
| 7–9 | 15 (17) |
| 10–12 | 8 (9) |
| 13 | 1 (1) |
| Measurement outcomes | |
| Primary harm | 54 (61) |
| Primary benefit | 39 (44) |
| Secondary harm | 70 (80) |
| Secondary benefit | 37 (42) |
| Statistician or epidemiologist involvement | |
| Involvement acknowledged | 48 (55) |
| Funding | |
| No funding reported | 17 (19) |
| Possible impact of funding on results | 58 (66) |
| Unrestricted grant stated | 13 (15) |
| Mentioned adherence to CONSORT statement | 5 (6) |
Values in parentheses are percentages.