Tools for assessing quality and susceptibility to bias in observational studies in epidemiology: a systematic review and annotated bibliography

Sanderson, Simon; Tatt, Iain; Higgins, Julian P T

doi:10.1093/ije/dym018

Cited by 1,340 publications

(1,076 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Additionally, authors should provide a rationale if they do not intend to assess risk of bias. Many methods exist to assess the overall risk of bias in included studies, including scales, checklists, and individual components (34,35). As summarized in the PRISMA elaboration document,17 scales that numerically summarize multiple components into a single number are misleading and unhelpful (36).…”

Section: Data Analysis and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, systematic reviews are now conducted to investigate cost-effectiveness [31], diagnostic [32] or prognostic questions [33], genetic associations [34], and policy making [35]. The general concepts and topics covered by PRISMA are all relevant to any systematic review, not just those whose objective is to summarize the benefits and harms architectural changes that have traditionally been grouped under the term dysplasia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Laryngeal preneoplastic lesions and cancer: challenging diagnosis. Qualitative literature review and meta-analysis.

Mannelli

Cecconi

Gallo

2016

Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology

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Abstract.Background: Multi-step cancerogenesis guides laryngeal cancer onset and it includes a wide variety of pre-cancerous lesions that are macroscopically challenging to identify and distinguish from initial cancerous foci. Since the treatment of laryngeal cancer and its precursor lesions has a great impact on important laryngeal basic functions, early detection and preoperative assessment are important for a curative and function-preserving therapy. Nowadays, despite the high number of more advanced diagnostic techniques and methods, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for different clinicians to use different nomenclature or to identify different stage for the same laryngeal lesion. From these observations, it is obvious that an instrument offering the possibility to detect precancerous lesions, early cancerous lesions, and satellite foci or second primaries would be the key to improving management and outcome in laryngeal patients. Object. Different modalities of diagnostic techniques of laryngeal lesions exist. Rather than difference between benign and obvious malignant diseases, more difficult is to detect the presence of precancerous epithelial alterations. Not all tests achieve the same diagnostic accuracy, hence this meta-analysis of literature aimed to synthesize the validity of each single diagnostic technique in identifying and staging laryngeal disease. Methods: A systematic review of literature was led searching for articles mentioning the following terms including their various combinations to maximize the yield: larynx, laryngeal precancerous lesions, laryngeal cancer, white light (WL) endoscopy, stroboscopy, contact endoscopy (CE), autofluorescence (AF), ultrasound (US), narrow band imaging (NBI), computed axial tomography (CAT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), CAT/PET. Then, a quantitative analysis was carried on for paper published after 2005 onward, reporting a minumun series of 10 patients each study, declaring sensitivity and specificity of each diagnostic system. Results: The search identified 7215 publications, of which 3616 published after 2005, with a final results of a total of 214 articles stratified and included by our selection criteria. 42 out of 214 articles were selected for quantitative synthesis. 25 out of 41 studies had a quality score of ≥ 6 (good), 16 presented a score between 4 and 5 (fair). While objections can be raised about the pooling of different diagnostic procedures under the same group and the high level of heterogeneity in the meta-analyses, the inclusion of over 4400 laryngeal lesions makes the results fairly robust. Conclusions: A comprehensive overview of the most recent advances in laryngeal imaging technology combined with all of the information needed to interpret findings and successfully manage patients with voice disorders can be found herein. With these data, clinicians can riskstratify patients and select proper examination modalities in order to provide appropriate care. Moreover, study limitations, together with p...

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Section: Data Analysis and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laryngeal preneoplastic lesions and cancer: challenging diagnosis. Qualitative literature review and meta-analysis.

Mannelli

Cecconi

Gallo

2016

Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology

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“…[25] Observational studies were assessed using Project Methodology 5 from the Division of Information Services, University of Wales College of Medicine, and RCTs were assessed using the Critical Appraisal of Therapy Articles from the University of Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epinephrine in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest:A critical review

Reardon¹,

Magee²

2013

World Journal of Emergency Medicine

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BACKGROUND:Epinephrine is recommended in advanced cardiac life support guidelines for use in adult cardiac arrest, and has been used in cardiopulmonary resuscitation since 1896. Yet, despite its long time use and incorporation into guidelines, epinephrine suffers from a paucity of evidence regarding its influence on survival. This critical review was conducted to address the knowledge deficit regarding epinephrine in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and its effect on return of spontaneous circulation, survival to hospital discharge, and neurological performance.METHODS:The EMBASE and MEDLINE (through the Pubmed interface) databases, and the Cochrane library were searched with the key words “epinephrine”, “cardiac arrest” and variations of these terms. Original research studies concerning epinephrine use in adult, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were selected for further review.RESULTS:The search yielded nine eligible studies based on inclusion criteria. This includes five prospective cohort studies, one retrospective cohort study, one survival analysis, one case control study, and one RCT. The evidence clearly establishes an association between epinephrine and increased return of spontaneous circulation, the data were conflicting concerning survival to hospital discharge and neurological outcome.CONCLUSIONS:The results of this review exhibit the paucity of evidence regarding the use of epinephrine in out of hospital cardiac arrest. There is currently insufficient evidence to support or reject its administration during resuscitation. Larger sample, placebo controlled, double blind, randomized control trials need to be performed to definitively establish the effect of epinephrine on both survival to hospital discharge and the neurological outcomes of treated patients.

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“…A scoring system also entails greater variability and inconsistency among reviewers in applying weighting to different study domains, which is a major established limitation (Sanderson et al, 2007). The domain-based structure adopted for this tool is similar in design to other tools for assessing bias in original studies, such as QUADAS-2 (Whiting et al, 2011) and the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool (Higgins and Green, 2011).…”

Section: Preliminary Conceptual Design and Item Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The International Evidence-Based Anatomy Working Group (iEBA-WG) strongly believes that for anatomical studies, methodological and reporting qualities are equally important in gauging overall reliability and reproducibility, hallmarks of a "high quality" study. It is vital to remember that high reporting quality does not mean that the study also has high methodological quality or low susceptibility to bias (Sanderson et al, 2007). Therefore, we sensed the need for a consensus regarding critical elements that need to be assessed before the quality of an anatomical study can be determined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the Anatomical Quality Assessment (AQUA) Tool for the quality assessment of anatomical studies included in meta‐analyses and systematic reviews

Henry¹,

Tomaszewski²,

et al. 2016

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Critical appraisal of anatomical studies is essential before the evidence from them undergoes meta-epidemiological synthesis. However, no instrument for appraising anatomical studies with inherent applicability to different study designs is available. We aim to develop a generic yet comprehensive tool for assessing the quality of anatomical studies using a formal consensus method. The study steering committee formulated an initial conceptual design and generated items for a preliminary tool on the basis of a literature review and expert opinion. A Delphi procedure was then adopted to assess the validity of the preliminary tool. Feedback from the Delphi panelists was used to improve it. The Delphi procedure involved 12 experts in anatomical research. It comprised two rounds, after which unanimous consensus was reached about the items to be included. The preliminary tool consisted of 20 items, which were phrased as signaling questions and organized into five domains: 1. Aim and subject characteristics, 2. Study design, 3. Characterization of methods, 4. Descriptive anatomy, and 5. Results reporting. Each domain was set to end with a risk of bias question. Following round 1, some of the items underwent major revision, although agreement was reached regarding inclusion of all the domains and signaling questions in the preliminary tool. The tool was revised only for minor language inaccuracies after round 2. The AQUA Tool was designed to assess the quality and reliability of anatomical studies. It is currently undergoing a validation process. Clin. Anat. 30:6-13,

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Tools for assessing quality and susceptibility to bias in observational studies in epidemiology: a systematic review and annotated bibliography

Cited by 1,340 publications

References 59 publications

Laryngeal preneoplastic lesions and cancer: challenging diagnosis. Qualitative literature review and meta-analysis.

Laryngeal preneoplastic lesions and cancer: challenging diagnosis. Qualitative literature review and meta-analysis.

Epinephrine in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest:A critical review

Development of the Anatomical Quality Assessment (AQUA) Tool for the quality assessment of anatomical studies included in meta‐analyses and systematic reviews

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