- Framework of problems / Rigourous
- Flawed risk of bias undertaken
- Inclusion of nonrandomized studies in Cochrane systematic reviews was found to be in need of improvement
| Ref ID | 755 |
| First Author | S. Ijaz |
| Journal | JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY |
| Year Of Publishing | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24725644 |
| Keywords |
Cochrane Observational studies Risk of bias |
| Problem(s) |
Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews Flawed risk of bias undertaken Inclusion of observational / non-randomised studies |
| Number of systematic reviews included | 202 |
| Summary of Findings | Of the included 202 included Cochrane reviews that considered non-randomised studies published between 2000-2013 most reviews (n=114; 56%) did not justify including non-randomised studies. When they did, most were not in line with Cochrane recommendations. The reasons were divided into two major categories: non-randomised studies were included because randomized controlled trials are wanted (N 5 81, 92%) but not feasible, lacking, or insufficient alone or because RCTs are not needed (N 5 7, 8%). Risk of bias assessment varied across reviews and needs improvement. |
| Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? | Not Applicable |
| Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? | Yes |