Striking Errors in the Methodology, Execution, and Conclusions of the Cochrane Library Review of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Low Back Pain by Traeger et al

Ref ID 865
First Author S. Durbhakula
Journal PAIN MEDICINE
Year Of Publishing 2023
URL https://academic.oup.com/painmedicine/article/24/8/923/7126436
Keywords Cochrane
Missing data
Pain
Expertise
Error
Equity
Heterogeneity
Team
Searching
Problem(s) Inadequate analysis of heterogeneity
Errors or omissions in search strategy
Overly stringent inclusion criteria affecting external validity
Lack of clinical expert/ stakeholder/ user perspective
Incorrect interpretation or statistical inference error from meta-analysis
Financial conflicts of interest of review authors
Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews
Number of systematic reviews included 1
Summary of Findings From a letter highlighting methodological concerns in a Cochrane review on spinal cord stimulation for low back pain published in 2023. The letter raised concerns including the design of the search strategies which were did not ensure a comprehensive selection of studies; the interpretation and synthesis of studies based on their inclusion/exclusion criteria; a lack of diversification of authorship to include contributions from individuals with clinical and content expertise in neuromodulation for CLBP; incorrect inferences drawn from meta-analyses; and potential unmanaged conflicts of interests of review authors.
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?