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
• Heterogeneity
• Expertise
• Pain
• Missing data
• Searching
• Error
• Team
• Equity
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
• Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews
• Incorrect interpretation or statistical inference error from meta-analysis
• Financial conflicts of interest of review authors
Article Type Editorial
Article Subtype Comment/letter
First Author Country United States
Aim A letter highlighting methodological concerns in a Cochrane review entitled “Spinal cord stimulation for low back pain”.
Level of Investigation Descriptive
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.
Number of systematic reviews included 1
Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed 1
Treatment impacted No
Treatment impacted description
Interpretation impacted Not Applicable
Interpretation impacted description