Criteria | Yes | No | Other (CD,NR,NA) |
---|---|---|---|
1. Was the study described as randomized, a randomized trial, a randomized clinical trial, or an RCT? | |||
2. Was the method of randomization adequate (i.e. use of randomly generated assignment)? | |||
3. Was the treatment allocation concealed (so that assignments could not be predicted)? | |||
4. Were study participants and providers blinded to treatment group assignment? | |||
5. Were the people assessing the outcomes blinded to the participants' group assignments? | |||
6. Were the groups similar at baseline on important characteristics that could affect outcomes (e.g. demographics, risk factors, co-morbid conditions)? | |||
7. Was the overall drop-out rate from the study at endpoint 20% or lower of the number allocated to treatment? | |||
8. Was the differential drop-out rate (between treatment groups) at endpoint 15 percentage points or lower? | |||
9. Was there high adherence to the intervention protocols for each treatment group? | |||
10. Were other interventions avoided or similar in the groups (e.g. similar background treatments)? | |||
11. Were outcomes assessed using valid and reliable measures, implemented consistently across all study participants? | |||
12. Did the authors report that the sample size was sufficiently large to be able to detect a difference in the main outcome between groups with at least 80% power? | |||
13. Were outcomes reported or subgroups analysed prespecified (i.e. identified before analyses were conducted)? | |||
14. Were all randomized participants analysed in the group to which they were originally assigned, i.e. did they use an intention-to-treat analysis? |
Guidance for each question available at https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/study-quality-assessment-tools.
CD: cannot determine; NA: not applicable; NR: not reported.