Table 1.
Quality assessment scale.
| Criterion | Sub-Criteria (Score) |
|---|---|
| Risk of bias | 1. Randomisation: Non-randomised (0), Not mentioned (0) or Randomised (2) |
|
2. Type of study: Single cohort (0), Cross-over (1) or Parallel (2) 3. Controlled study: No control group (0), Positive control (1*) or Placebo (1*) 4. Blinding procedure: Non-blinded (0), Single-blinded (1) or Double-blinded (2) | |
| Methodological quality |
5. Inclusion criteria: None (0), Other (1*), Experimental induction of OA in healthy animals (2), Owner-reported lameness (2*), Veterinary orthopaedic examination (2*), Inclusion grid (2*) or X-rays (2*) 6. Non-inclusion criteria: None (0), Weaning period too short (1*), Adequate weaning period (2*) or Description of non-inclusion criteria (2*) |
|
7. Exclusion criteria: None (0) or Description of exclusion criteria (2) 8. Control of possible bias: Non-randomised, or non-blinded, study with subjective assessment (0), Non-randomised, or non-blinded, study with objective assessments (1*), Research hypotheses and objectives clearly stated (0.5/each*), Ethics committee approval indicated (1*), Manuscript edited according to ARRIVE or CONSORT criteria (1*), Declaration of any conflict of interest (1*), Randomised, blinded study (2*) or No indication of the dose used (−5*) 9. Data collection and analysis: No information (0), Electronic collection, or methods already used (1), Quality assurance control (2*), Statistical analyses clearly described (1 or 2*) | |
| Strengths of the scientific evidence |
10. Sample size: <10 per group (0), Between 10 and 20 per group (2) or >20 per group (4) 11. Nature of data: Non-validated subjective (0*), Validated subjective (2*), Non-validated objective (1*) or Validated objective (4*) outcomes 12. Repetition of results obtained (according to the level of risk of bias): Only one study carried out (except if [A]) (0), Several studies [C] or [D] (1), One study [A] (2), Several studies [B or less] (3), Several studies [A and/or less] (4) or Several studies of level [A] (6) |
[A] = Prospective, randomised, controlled, blinded study; [B] = prospective, randomised, observational cohort; [C] = non-randomised, controlled interventional trial (historical or prospective); [D] = cross-sectional study, or clinical case, or interventional trial, non-randomised, non-controlled. Scores followed by an asterisk (*) are cumulative and were therefore not exclusive.