Table 5.

Methodological Appraisal of the Selected Studies According to the Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies (MINORS) Assessment Tool^a

Item	Zablocki et al.2	Wilmes et al.32	Lai et al.40	Lee et al.36	Borsos et al.38	Kuroda et al.11
1. A clear stated aim	2	2	2	2	2	1
2. Inclusion of consecutive patients	1	1	1	2	1	0
3. Prospective collection of data	2	2	2	2	2	1
4. Endpoints appropriate to the aim of the study	2	2	2	2	2	2
5. Unbiased assessment of the study endpoint	2	1	2	1	1	0
6. Follow-up period appropriate to the aim of the study	2	2	2	2	2	2
7. Loss to follow up less than 5%	1	1	1	2	1	0
8. Prospective calculation of the study size	1	0	1	0	0	0
9. An adequate control group	2	2	2	2	2	2
10. Contemporary groups	1	2	1	2	1	2
11. Baseline equivalence of groups	2	2	1	1	2	1
12. Adequate statistical analyses	2	2	2	2	2	2
Total	20	19	19	20	18	13

^aThe items are scored 0 (not reported), 1 (reported but inadequate), or 2 (reported and adequate), with the global ideal score being 16 for noncomparative studies and 24 for comparative studies.14