How do systematic reviews incorporate risk of bias assessments into the synthesis of evidence? A methodological study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Systematic reviews (SRs) are expected to critically appraise included studies and privilege those at lowest risk of bias (RoB) in the synthesis. This study examines if and how critical appraisals inform the synthesis and interpretation of evidence in SRs.

Methods

All SRs published in March-May 2012 in 14 high-ranked medical journals and a sample from the Cochrane library were systematically assessed by two reviewers to determine if and how: critical appraisal was conducted; RoB was summarised at study, domain and review levels; and RoB appraisals informed the synthesis process.

Results

Of the 59 SRs studied, all except six (90%) conducted a critical appraisal of the included studies, with most using or adapting existing tools. Almost half of the SRs reporte

SUBMITTER: Katikireddi SV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4316857 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature