The art of quality assessment of RCTs included in systematic reviews.
Affiliations:
Source: J Clin Epidemiol. 2001 Jul;54(7):651-4.
DOI: 10.1016/S0895-4356(00)00360-7
Publication date:
2001 Jul
E-Publication date:
Not specified
Availability: abstract
Copyright: © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Language: English
Countries: Not specified
Location: Not specified
Correspondence address: A.P. Verhagen :
Department of General Practice, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Tel.: +31 10 408 8109; fax: +31 10 408.9491.
Email : verhagen@hag.fgg.eur.nl
Department of General Practice, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Tel.: +31 10 408 8109; fax: +31 10 408.9491.
Email : verhagen@hag.fgg.eur.nl
Keywords
Article abstract
The best evidence on the efficacy of medical interventions is provided by high-quality trials summarized in high-quality systematic reviews or meta-analyses. The methodological quality of studies included in a systematic review can have a substantial impact on the estimates of the treatment effect and therefore on the conclusions of such a review. But what is the empirical evidence to support quality assessment of randomized clinical trials (RCTs)? We elaborate on questions such as: what is the concept of quality of individual studies (RCTs), can quality be measured validly and reliably? Plans for future research on this issue are proposed.