Table 2 Adherence to individual items of PRISMA-A in analyzed systematic reviews and frequency of discrepancies between two authors for each item
No. | PRISMA-A item | Description | Adherent, N (%)a | Non-adherent, N (%)a | Discrepancies in rating between raters, N (%)a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Title | Identify the report as a systematic review, meta-analysis, or both | 234 (95.9) | 10 (4.1) | 0 (0) |
2 | Objectives | The research question including components such as participants, interventions, comparators, and outcomes | 216 (88.5) | 28 (11.5) | 46 (19) |
3 | Eligibility criteria | Study and report characteristics used as criteria for inclusion | 17 (7) | 227 (93) | 3 (1.2) |
4 | Information sources | Key databases searched and search dates | 71 (29.1) | 173 (70.9) | 0 (0) |
5 | Risk of bias | Methods of assessing risk of bias | 12 (4.9) | 232 (95.1) | 16 (6.6) |
6 | Included studies | Number and type of included studies and participants and relevant characteristics of studies | 29 (11.9) | 215 (88.1) | 28 (11) |
7 | Synthesis of results | Results for main outcomes (benefits and harms), preferably indicating the number of studies and participants for each. If meta-analysis was done, include summary measures and confidence intervals | 202 (82.8) | 42 (17.2) | 9 (3.7) |
8 | Description of the effect | Direction of the effect (i.e. which group is favoured) and size of the effect in terms meaningful to clinicians and patients | 210 (86.1) | 34 (13.9) | 143 (59) |
9 | Strengths and limitations of evidence | Brief summary of strengths and limitations of evidence (e.g. inconsistency, imprecision, indirectness, or risk of bias, other supporting or conflicting evidence) | 48 (19.7) | 196 (80.3) | 23 (9.4) |
10 | Interpretation | General interpretation of the results and important implications | 236 (96.7) | 8 (3.3) | 7 (2.9) |
11 | Funding | Primary source of funding for the review | 0 (0) | 244 (100) | 0 (0) |
12 | Registration | Registration number and registry name | 2 (0.8) | 242 (99.2) | 0 (0) |