Table 2 Comparison of compliance to conduct standards outlined by AMSTAR
Item | Published (n = 33) (%) | Unpublished (n = 33) (%) |
|---|---|---|
1. Was an ‘a priori’ design provided? | 15.2 | 33.3 |
2. Was there duplicate study selection and data extraction? | 21.2 | 9.1 |
3. Was a comprehensive literature search performed? | 42.4 | 30.3 |
4. Was the status of publication (i.e. grey literature) used as an inclusion criterion? | 24.2 | 48.5 |
5. Was a list of studies (included and excluded) provided? | 3.0 | 15.2 |
6. Were the characteristics of the included studies provided? | 48.5 | 72.7 |
7. Was the scientific quality of the included studies assessed and documented? | 54.5 | 48.5 |
8. Was the scientific quality of the included studies used appropriately in formulating conclusions? | 51.5 | 45.5 |
9. Were the methods used to combine the findings of studies appropriate? | 100 | 81.8 |
10. Was the likelihood of publication bias assessed? | 0.0 | 6.1 |
11. Was the conflict of interest included? | 69.7 | 33.3 |