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Agarwal A, Johnston BC, Vernooij RWM, Carrasco-Labra A, Brignardello-Petersen R, Neumann I, Akl EA, Sun X, Briel M, Busse JW, Ebrahim S, Granados CE, Iorio A, Irfan A, Martínez García L, Mustafa RA, Ramirez-Morera A, Selva A, Solà I, Sanabrai AJ, Tikkinen KAO, Vandvik PO, Zhang Y, Zazueta OE, Zhou Q, Schunemann HJ, Guyatt GH, Alonso-Coello P. Authors seldom report the most patient-important outcomes and absolute effect measures in systematic review abstracts. J Clin Epidemiol 2016; 81:3-12. [PMID: 27555080 DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2015] [Revised: 07/08/2016] [Accepted: 08/09/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Explicit reporting of absolute measures is important to ensure treatment effects are correctly interpreted. We examined the extent to which authors report absolute effects for patient-important outcomes in abstracts of systematic review (SR). STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING We searched OVID MEDLINE and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews to identify eligible SRs published in the year 2010. Citations were stratified into Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews, with repeated random sampling in a 1:1 ratio. Paired reviewers screened articles and recorded abstract characteristics, including reporting of effect measures for the most patient-important outcomes of benefit and harm. RESULTS We included 96 Cochrane and 94 non-Cochrane reviews. About 117 (77.5%) relative measures were reported in abstracts for outcomes of benefit, whereas only 34 (22.5%) absolute measures were reported. Similarly, for outcomes of harm, 41 (87.2%) relative measures were provided in abstracts, compared with only 6 (12.8%) absolute measures. Eighteen (9.5%) abstracts reported both absolute and relative measures for outcomes of benefit, whereas only two (1.1%) abstracts reported both measures for outcomes of harm. Results were similar between Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews. CONCLUSION SR abstracts seldom report measures of absolute effect. Journal editors should insist that authors report both relative and absolute effects for patient-important outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnav Agarwal
- School of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Bradley C Johnston
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, 4th Floor, 155 College St, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M6, Canada; Systematic Overviews through advancing Research Technology (SORT), Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, University of Toronto, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada; Department of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada.
| | - Robin W M Vernooij
- Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Department, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167, Pavelló 18, planta 0, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alonso Carrasco-Labra
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Evidence-Based Dentistry Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de Chile, Sergio Livingstone 943, Santiago, Chile
| | - Romina Brignardello-Petersen
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Evidence-Based Dentistry Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de Chile, Sergio Livingstone 943, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ignacio Neumann
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Department of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Libertador Bernardo O Higgins 340, Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile
| | - Elie A Akl
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, P.O. Box: 11-0236, Riad-El-Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon
| | - Xin Sun
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Chinese Evidence-based Medicine Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Matthias Briel
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel, Spitalstrasse 12, Basel 4031, Switzerland
| | - Jason W Busse
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Shanil Ebrahim
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Carlos E Granados
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Área de investigaciones, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Sabana, Campus del Puente del Común Km, 7 Autopista Norte, Chía, Colombia
| | - Alfonso Iorio
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Affan Irfan
- Internal Medicine Residency Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 506 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Laura Martínez García
- Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Department, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167, Pavelló 18, planta 0, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Reem A Mustafa
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Departments of Medicine and Biomedical & Health Informatics, University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine, M4-303, 2411 Holmes St, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Anggie Ramirez-Morera
- CCSS Permanent Medical Advisor, Health Care Development Division, IHCAI Foundation & Central America Cochrane, 1st Ave., 35th and 37th St, Number 3530, Barrio Escalante, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Anna Selva
- Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Department, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167, Pavelló 18, planta 0, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ivan Solà
- Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Department, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167, Pavelló 18, planta 0, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andrea J Sanabrai
- Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Department, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167, Pavelló 18, planta 0, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Kari A O Tikkinen
- Departments of Urology and Public Health, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 4, Helsinki 00029, Finland
| | - Per O Vandvik
- Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, P.O. Box 4404 Nydalen, Oslo 0403 Norway
| | - Yuqing Zhang
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Oscar E Zazueta
- Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Department, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167, Pavelló 18, planta 0, 08025 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Qi Zhou
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Holger J Schunemann
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Gordon H Guyatt
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Pablo Alonso-Coello
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada; Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Department, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), C/ Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167, Pavelló 18, planta 0, 08025 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP-IIB Sant Pau), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, Pabellón 11, Planta 0, Madrid 28029, Spain
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Xie C, Li J, Wang K, Li Q, Chen D. Probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in older patients: a systematic review. Travel Med Infect Dis 2015; 13:128-34. [PMID: 25805164 DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2015.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2014] [Revised: 02/28/2015] [Accepted: 03/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Here, we evaluated the efficacy of probiotic interventions in prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) and Clostridium difficile diarrhoea (CDD) in older patients. METHODS PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and Web of Science were comprehensively searched from their dates of inception to May 2014. Only randomised controlled trials reporting data on probiotics including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Bacillus-alone or in combination-versus placebo or absence of treatment in older patients (age ≥65 years) were included. Risk ratios (RRs) for AAD and CDD relative to placebo or absence of treatment were estimated. RESULTS Six trials with a total of 3562 patients were included. Only one trial showed that Bacillus licheniformis was effective for preventing AAD in older patients. However, there was no preventive effect for AAD and CDD with Lactobacillus acidophilus (Florajen), Lactobacillus casei Shirota, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (boulardii) lyo, mixture of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum (Cultech strains), and mixture of Lactobacillus acidophilus CUL60, CUL21, Bifidobacterium bifidum CUL20 and B. lactis CUL34. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that probiotics may not reduce the risk of AAD and CDD in older patients. However, with current published data, it is difficult to draw concrete conclusions. To confirm these findings, sample sizes, multi-centre, double-blind studies that consider factors such as probiotic strains and types of antibiotics are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunhong Xie
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jiajing Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Kejia Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Banan People's Hospital of Chongqing, Chongqing, China
| | - Qinqin Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Daorong Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
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