Table 1 Bibliographical characteristics of 79 included meta-analyses on COPD treatments
Bibliographical characteristics | Results |
|---|---|
Cochrane review | 47 (59.5%) |
An update of a previous meta-analysis (MA) | 49 (62.0%) |
Median impact factor of the journal for which the MA was published (range) | 5.18 (0.00–6.25) |
Median number of review authors (range) | 4.00 (2–8) |
Location of corresponding author | |
North America | 21 (26.6%) |
Europe | 27 (34.2%) |
Australasia | 21 (26.6%) |
Other regions | 10 (12.7%) |
Type of treatment | |
Pharmacological | 43 (54.4%) |
Non-pharmacological | 36 (45. 6%) |
Total number of included primary studies | 1,099 |
Total number of participants in included primary studies | 801,294 |
Number of MA that reported harm of the intervention | 46 (58.2%) |
Funding location of the MA | |
Europe | 23 (29.1%) |
Australia or New Zealand | 9 (11.4%) |
Multiple region | 9 (11.4%) |
North America | 8 (10.2%) |
South America | 1 (1.3%) |
Not reported | 29 (36. 7%) |
Number of MA that declared conflicts of interest | 15 (19.0%) |
Number of MA that declared no conflicts of interest | 26 (32.9%) |
Number of MA that did not mention conflicts of interest | 38 (48.1%) |
Number of MA that searched international databases | 78 (98. 7%) |
Median number of international databases searched (range) | 4.00 (0–12) |
Number of MA searched non-English databases | 8 (10.1%) |
Reporting of coverage year of search: | |
Yes, reported both starting and ending years | 26 (32.9%) |
Partially, only reported starting years | 48 (60.8%) |
Not mentioned | 5 (6.3%) |
Search terms reported for one or more electronic databases | |
Topics/free text/keywords/MeSH | 62 (78.5%) |
Full Boolean | 14 (17.7%) |
Readers are referred elsewhere for full search strategy | 3 (3.8%) |
Eligibility of study design | |
RCT only | 75 (94.9%) |
RCT and observational studies | 4 (5.1%) |
Eligibility criteria based on language of publication | |
Included English publications only | 11 (13.9%) |
English and languages other than English | 42 (53.2%) |
Language criteria not reported | 26 (32.9%) |
Number of MA that included a PRISMA-Iike flow diagram | 37 (46.8%) |
Tools for assessing risk of bias of primary studies | |
Cochrane risk of bias tool | 31 (39.2%) |
Jadad scale | 16 (20.3%) |
Pedro scale | 6 (7.6%) |
Others | 4 (5.1%) |
Two or more of the above-mentioned tools | 13 (16.5%) |
Not reported | 9 (11.4%) |
