The quality of Cochrane systematic reviews of acupuncture: an overview

Ref ID 821
First Author Z. Ji
Journal BMC COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE & THERAPIES
Year Of Publishing 2020
URL https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-020-03099-9
Keywords • Cochrane
• Publication bias
• Low methodological quality
• Disclosure
• Complementary & Alternative
Problem(s) • Low methodological (AMSTAR) quality
• Funding or sponsor of systematic review not reported
• Conflict of interest statement or disclosures for review authors missing
• Poor consideration of publication bias
• Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews
Article Type Empirical
Article Subtype Cross-sectional survey/Methodological systematic review
First Author Country China
Checklists • AMSTAR 2
Aim To assess the methodological quality (AMSTAR 2) of a sample of 500 systematic reviews of acupuncture published in the Cochrane Database of Reviews up to June 2019.
Level of Investigation Descriptive
Summary of Findings From a sample of 500 systematic reviews of acupuncture published in the Cochrane Database of Reviews up to June 2019, 52% were of low quality according to AMSTAR 2. The least satisfied critical domain was inadequate investigation and discussion of publication bias. Declaration of potential sources of conflict of interest, and funding of the authors of the review and of the included studies were other important weaknesses.
Number of systematic reviews included 50
Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed 126