Reboxetine for acute treatment of major depression: systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished placebo and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor controlled trials

Objectives To assess the benefits and harms of reboxetine versus placebo or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in the acute treatment of depression, and to measure the impact of potential publication bias in trials of reboxetine

Reporting of loss to follow-up information in randomised controlled trials with time-to-event outcomes: a literature survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To assess the reporting of loss to follow-up (LTFU) information in articles on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with time-to-event outcomes, and to assess whether discrepancies affect the validity of study results.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Literature survey of all issues of the BMJ, Lancet, JAMA, and New England Journal of Medicine published between 2003 and 2005. Eligible articles were reports of RCTs including at least one Kaplan-Meier plot. Articles were classified as "assessable" if sufficient information was available to assess LTFU. In these articles, LTFU information was derived from Kaplan-Meier plots, extracted from the text, and compared. Articles were then classified as "consistent" or "not consistent". Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the validity of study results.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>319 eligible articles were identified. 187 (59%) were classified as "assessable", as they included sufficient information for evaluation; 140 of 319 (44%) presented consistent LTFU information between the Kaplan-Meier plot and text. 47 of 319 (15%) were classified as "not consistent". These 47 articles were included in sensitivity analyses. When various imputation methods were used, the results of a chi²-test applied to the corresponding 2 × 2 table changed and hence were not robust in about half of the studies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Less than half of the articles on RCTs using Kaplan-Meier plots provide assessable and consistent LTFU information, thus questioning the validity of the results and conclusions of many studies presenting survival analyses. Authors should improve the presentation of both Kaplan-Meier plots and LTFU information, and reviewers of study publications and journal editors should critically appraise the validity of the information provided.</p

Negative pressure wound therapy in patients with wounds healing by secondary intention: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Background!#!Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a widely used method of wound treatment. We performed a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the patient-relevant benefits and harms of NPWT with standard wound therapy (SWT) in patients with wounds healing by secondary intention.!##!Methods!#!We searched for RCTs in MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and study registries (last search: July 2018) and screened reference lists of relevant systematic reviews and health technology assessments. Manufacturers and investigators were asked to provide unpublished data. Eligible studies investigated at least one patient-relevant outcome (e.g. wound closure). We assessed publication bias and, if feasible, performed meta-analyses, grading the results into different categories (hint, indication or proof of a greater benefit or harm).!##!Results!#!We identified 48 eligible studies of generally low quality with evaluable data for 4315 patients and 30 eligible studies with missing data for at least 1386 patients. Due to potential publication bias (proportion of inaccessible data, 24%), we downgraded our conclusions. A meta-analysis of all wound healing data showed a significant effect in favour of NPWT (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.13, p = 0.008). As further analyses of different definitions of wound closure did not contradict that analysis, we inferred an indication of a greater benefit of NPWT. A meta-analysis of hospital stay (in days) showed a significant difference in favour of NPWT (MD - 4.78, 95% CI - 7.79 to - 1.76, p = 0.005). As further analyses of different definitions of hospital stay/readmission did not contradict that analysis, we inferred an indication of a greater benefit of NPWT. There was neither proof (nor indication nor hint) of greater benefit or harm of NPWT for other patient-relevant outcomes such as mortality and adverse events.!##!Conclusions!#!In summary, low-quality data indicate a greater benefit of NPWT versus SWT for wound closure in patients with wounds healing by secondary intention. The length of hospital stay is also shortened. The data show no advantages or disadvantages of NPWT for other patient-relevant outcomes. Publication bias is an important problem in studies on NPWT, underlining that all clinical studies need to be fully reported

Additional file 1 of Systemic therapy in children and adolescents with mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Supplementary file 1: Additional file 1. PRISMA 2020 Checklist. Additional file 2. Search strategies. Additional file 3. Study pool of included RCTs. Additional file 4. Characteristics of included RCTs. Additional file 5. Risk-of-bias assessment. Additional file 6. All results