Table 2 Composition of Reference Standard
From: Identifying observational studies of surgical interventions in MEDLINE and EMBASE
Study design | Total | MEDLINE | EMBASE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | % | N | % | N | % | |
Comparative – prospective | 19 | (8.7) | 18 | (8.7) | 16 | (8.4) |
Comparative – retrospective | 16 | (7.4) | 14 | (6.8) | 13 | (6.8) |
Case series – prospective | 104 | (47.9) | 99 | (48.1) | 93 | (48.7) |
Case series – retrospective | 70 | (32.3) | 67 | (32.5) | 61 | (31.9) |
Case series – unclear | 8 | (3.7) | 8 | (3.9) | 8 | (4.2) |
TOTAL | 217 | (100.0) | 206 | (100.0) | 191 | (100.0) |