Table 1.
Quality ratings of included studies according to NIH Quality Assessment Tool for case series studies.
| Study | Q 1 | Q 2 | Q 3 | Q 4 | Q 5 | Q 6 | Q 7 | Q 8 | Q 9 | Reviewer 1 | Reviewer 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhong | Yes | No | CD | Yes | CD | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Liu | Yes | Yes | NA | NA | Yes | Yes | No | NA | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Huang | Yes | Yes | CD | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | NA | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Qin | Yes | Yes | CD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NA | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Morand | Yes | Yes | NA | NA | No | Yes | No | NA | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Lagana | Yes | Yes | CD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | NA | No | Fair | Fair |
| Kates | Yes | Yes | NA | NA | Yes | Yes | Yes | NA | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Hammami | Yes | Yes | NA | NA | Yes | Yes | No | NA | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Fernández-Ruiz | Yes | No | NA | NA | No | Yes | No | NA | Yes | Fair | Fair |
| Donato | Yes | NO | CD | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Fair | Fair |
NIH – National Institutes of Health: NR – not reported: CD – cannot determine; NA – not applicable. The NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Case Series Studies poses nine questions: 1=Was the study question or objective clearly stated?, 2=Was the study population clearly and fully described, including a case definition?, 3=Were the cases consecutive?, 4=Were the subjects comparable?, 5=Was the intervention clearly described?, 6=Were the outcome measures clearly defined, valid, reliable, and implemented consistently across all study participants?, 7=Was the length of follow-up adequate?, 8=Were the statistical methods well-described?, 9=Were the results well-described?