| Study |
Bias due to confounding |
Bias in selection of participants into the study |
Bias in classification of interventions |
Bias due to deviations from the intended intervention |
Bias due to missing data |
Bias in measurement of outcomes |
Bias in selection of the reported result |
Overall risk of bias |
| Han 2017 |
Serious |
No information |
Serious |
No information |
Low |
No information |
Low |
Serious |
| Rationale for judgement |
Missing information on most confounders ‐ unclear if comparable between study groups
|
No information provided ‐ cannot determine from article.
|
Very few details provided on intervention groups and how group assignment took place: “divided into two groups on the basis of whether plasma exchange was performed after admission”.
|
Unable to assess ‐ no details provided in study text
|
Data reported on hospital length of stay for each participant in supplementary table. |
Information about outcome assessors and whether they were blinded was not provided.
|
Individual patient data and outcomes provided in supplementary material. |
We assessed the study as at serious risk of bias in at least one domain, but not at critical risk of bias in any domain.
|
|
Jagadeesan 2013
|
Serious |
Low |
Moderate |
No information |
Low |
Serious |
Moderate |
Serious
|
| Rationale for judgement |
Missing information on some confounders ‐ unclear if comparable between study groups |
Consecutively diagnosed patients during the study period were included in the study. |
Little information provided on how intervention assignment took place, other than alternate allocation. |
Unable to assess ‐ no details provided in text |
Data were available for all participants. |
Concerns due to non‐blinding: evaluations and outcome measurement could have been influenced by knowledge of treatment allocation |
No prespecified analysis plan was reported as finalised before unblinded data were available for analysis. |
We assessed the study as at serious risk of bias in at least one domain, but not at critical risk of bias in any domain. |
