Table 2.
Evaluation of quality of evidence for our included studies according to the guidelines of Robinson et al. [25]. (“2A: weak recommendation; limited quality; patient-oriented evidence. B: Systematic review/meta-analysis of lower quality cohort studies with inconsistent results that may vary depending on circumstances or patients or societal values; retrospective cohort studies; case–control study. C: consensus guidelines; usual practice; expert opinion; case series; other alternatives may be equally reasonable [25].”)
| Authors (study names) | Publication Year | Grade of Recommendation | Quality of Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhou et al. [15] (Zhou, 2011) | 2011 | 2A | B |
| Yoon et al. [16] (Yoon, 2016) | 2016 | 2A | B |
| Liu et al. [17] (Liu, 2019) | 2019 | 2A | B |
| Korourian et al. [18] (Korourian, 2017a) | 2017 | 2A | B |
| Lin et al. [19] (Lin, 2007) | 2007 | 2A | C |
| Chang et al. [20] (Chang, 2016) | 2016 | 2A | B |
| Korourian et al. [21] (Korourian, 2017b) | 2017 | 2A | B |
| Liu et al. [22] (Liu, 2004) | 2004 | 2A | B |
| Xu et al. [23] (Xu, 2019) | 2019 | 2A | C |
| Huang et al. [24] (Huang, 2015) | 2015 | 2A | C |