| Ref ID | 297 |
| First Author | P. Hutton |
| Journal | ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA |
| Year Of Publishing | 2012 |
| URL | https://core.ac.uk/download/43706356.pdf |
| Keywords |
• Cochrane • Missing data • Pharmacological • Mental health |
| Problem(s) |
• Failure to address missing outcome data in analyses |
| Article Type | Empirical |
| Article Subtype | Small analytical study |
| First Author Country | United Kingdom |
| Aim | To assess how Cochrane reviews of five popular or frequently prescribed second-generation antipsychotics in the UK (olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, amisulpride and aripiprazole) approached the problem of high drop-out in placebo-controlled trials. |
| Level of Investigation | Descriptive |
| Summary of Findings | All Cochrane reviews included a number of studies they said they had excluded, or intended to exclude, because of high levels of attrition. Several reviews also excluded data from a number of relatively low-attrition studies because of missing standard deviations. Five Cochrane reviews of five popular antipsychotics for schizophrenia misrepresented the available evidence on their efficacy. |
| Number of systematic reviews included | 5 |
| Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed | 5 |
| Treatment impacted | Yes |
| Treatment impacted description | The authors attempted to quantify the level of missing data each efficacy outcome in each review relied upon and also the impact of excluding studies with high drop-out. |
| Interpretation impacted | Yes |
| Interpretation impacted description | The impact of including high-attrition studies was stated to be difficult to quantify because of the exclusion of relevant low-attrition studies. |