Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for polycystic ovary syndrome: An overview of systematic reviews

Ref ID 915
First Author H. Yang
Journal THE JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
Year Of Publishing 2023
URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095496422001261?via%3Dihub
Keywords Protocols
Transparency
Complimentary & Alternative
Pre-specification
Disclosure
Gynaecology
Low methodological quality
Problem(s) Poor consideration of publication bias
Reasons for excluding potentially eligible studies not provided
Conflicts of interest or funding of included studies not assessed
Financial conflicts of interest of review authors
No registered or published protocol
Individual study characteristics not reported sufficiently
Errors in study inclusion or omission of relevant studies
Number of systematic reviews included 11
Summary of Findings From 11 included systematic reviews of acupuncture for Polycystic ovary syndrome indexed across nine electronic databases from inception to July 27 2022. Many of the included systematic reviews had deficiencies. Only 4 systematic reviews (36.36%) registered their protocol before the study began. Only 1 systematic review (9.09%) provided a list of excluded studies and justified the exclusions. Only 1 systematic review (9.09%) reported the sources of funding for the included RCTs. Only 2 systematic reviews (18.18%) examined the possibility of publication bias, and 6 systematic reviews (54.55%) stated no conflict of interest. There were 10 systematic reviews (90.91%) that had shortcomings, including incomplete retrieval and insufficiently detailed descriptions of the included randomised controlled trials.
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