| Ref ID | 223 |
| First Author | H.B. Xu |
| Journal | FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES |
| Year Of Publishing | 2013 |
| URL | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fct.12039 |
| Keywords |
• Heterogeneity • Low reporting quality • Searching • Pre-specification • Complementary & Alternative |
| Problem(s) |
• Individual study characteristics not reported sufficiently • Errors or omissions in search strategy • Intervention not described / defined • Lack of prespecification in eligibility criteria • Inadequate analysis of heterogeneity |
| Article Type | Editorial |
| Article Subtype | Comment/letter |
| First Author Country | United Kingdom |
| Aim | A commentary highlighting flaws with one systematic review and meta-analysis of Chinese herbal medicine for diabetic peripheral neuropathy published in 2011. |
| Level of Investigation | Descriptive |
| Summary of Findings | The authors highlight that in this one systematic review of Chinese herbal medicine, results from 15 different interventions were pooled into a meta-analysis, ignoring key clinical heterogeneity in the interventions. The authors also highlight that it is not clear how the studies included in the review were selected. Key data about patient characteristics and randomisation in the included trials are missing. Outcome measures are not defined. The search strategy was also too vague to encompass all included interventions and therefore relevant studies may have been missed. |
| Number of systematic reviews included | 1 |
| Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed | 1 |
| Treatment impacted | No |
| Treatment impacted description | |
| Interpretation impacted | Not Applicable |
| Interpretation impacted description |