| Ref ID | 635 |
| First Author | A. C. Ford |
| Journal | AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY |
| Year Of Publishing | 2010 |
| URL | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19920807/ |
| Keywords |
• Pharmacological • Missing data • Error • Cochrane |
| Problem(s) |
• Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews • Errors in study inclusion or omission of relevant studies • Data extraction errors and double counting |
| Article Type | Empirical |
| Article Subtype | Meta-epidemiological analysis |
| First Author Country | United States |
| Aim | To identify and replicate all published systematic reviews and meta-analyses that examined pharmacological interventions for IBS. |
| Level of Investigation | Analytical |
| Summary of Findings | In fi ve of the eight meta-analyses 13 – 29 % of included trials were ineligible according to investigators ’ criteria, constituting 8 – 26 % of included patients. Six of the meta-analyses missed 17 separate published eligible trials; 3 – 11 % of eligible patients were, as a result, not included. All eight meta-analyses contained errors in dichotomous data extraction, in 29 – 100 % of truly eligible trials, leading to errors in 15 of 16 reported pooled treatment effects. |
| Number of systematic reviews included | 8 |
| Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed | 120 |