Arnav Agarwal1, Bradley C Johnston2, Robin W M Vernooij3, Alonso Carrasco-Labra4, Romina Brignardello-Petersen4, Ignacio Neumann5, Elie A Akl6, Xin Sun7, Matthias Briel8, Jason W Busse9, Shanil Ebrahim10, Carlos E Granados11, Alfonso Iorio12, Affan Irfan13, Laura Martínez García3, Reem A Mustafa14, Anggie Ramirez-Morera15, Anna Selva3, Ivan Solà3, Andrea J Sanabrai3, Kari A O Tikkinen16, Per O Vandvik17, Yuqing Zhang12, Oscar E Zazueta3, Qi Zhou12, Holger J Schunemann12, Gordon H Guyatt12, Pablo Alonso-Coello18. 1. 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. 2. 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. Electronic address: bradley.johnston@sickkids.ca. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. 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. 8. 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. 9. 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. 10. 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. 11. 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. 12. Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada. 13. Internal Medicine Residency Program, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 506 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA. 14. 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. 15. 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. 16. Departments of Urology and Public Health, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 4, Helsinki 00029, Finland. 17. Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, P.O. Box 4404 Nydalen, Oslo 0403 Norway. 18. 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.
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.
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.
Authors: Mandeep S Sawhney; Mohammad Bilal; Heiko Pohl; Vladimir M Kushnir; Mouen A Khashab; Allison R Schulman; Tyler M Berzin; Prabhleen Chahal; V Raman Muthusamy; Shyam Varadarajulu; Subhas Banerjee; Gregory G Ginsberg; Gottumukkala S Raju; Joseph D Feuerstein Journal: Gastrointest Endosc Date: 2020-05-16 Impact factor: 9.427
Authors: Mario A Jimenez-Mora; Andrea Ramírez Varela; Jose F Meneses-Echavez; Julia Bidonde; Adriana Angarita-Fonseca; Reed A C Siemieniuk; Dena Zeraatkar; Jessica J Bartoszko; Romina Brignardello-Petersen; Kimia Honarmand; Bram Rochwerg; Gordon Guyatt; Juan José Yepes-Nuñez Journal: Syst Rev Date: 2021-11-01