Improving the quality of reports of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials: the QUOROM statement
Abstract
Background The Quality of Reporting of Meta-analyses (QUOROM) conference was convened to address standards for improving the quality of reporting of meta-analyses of clinical randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Methods The QUOROM group consisted of 30 clinical epidemiologists, clinicians, statisticians, editors, and researchers. In conference, the group was asked to identify items they thought should be included in a checklist of standards. Whenever possible, checklist items were guided by research evidence suggesting that failure to adhere to the item proposed could lead to biased results. A modified Delphi technique was used in assessing candidate items.Findings The conference resulted in the QUOROM statement, a checklist, and a flow diagram. The checklist describes our preferred way to present the abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections of a report of a meta-analysis. It is organised into 21 headings and subheadings regarding searches, selection, validity assessment, data abstraction, study characteristics, and quantitative data synthesis, and in the results with "trial flow", study characteristics, and quantitative data synthesis; research documentation was identified for eight of the 18 items. The flow diagram provides information about both the numbers of RCTs identified, included, and excluded and the reasons for exclusion of trials.Interpretation We hope this report will generate further thought about ways to improve the quality of reports of meta-analyses of RCTs and that interested readers, reviewers, researchers, and editors will use the QUOROM statement and generate ideas for its improvement.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Similar initiatives have followed for other research areas, e.g., for the reporting of meta-analyses of randomised trials or diagnostic studies.
“Similar initiatives have followed for other research areas—e.g., for the reporting of meta-analyses of randomised trials [16] or diagnostic studies [17].”
From The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for Reporting Observational Studies (2007) · cites this paper as [16]
Meta-analysis was performed according to the QUORUM guidelines for the quality of reporting of meta-analyses.
“Meta-analysis was performed according to the QUORUM guidelines (quality of reporting meta-analyses).”
From Comparative Efficacy and Harms of Duloxetine, Milnacipran, and Pregabalin in Fibromyalgia Syndrome (2010) · cites this paper as [47]
Mobile technology is increasingly used to promote health and prevent disease.
“Mobile technology is also increasingly used to promote health and prevent disease (11, 13–17).”
From Text messaging as a tool for behavior change in disease prevention and management (2010) · cites this paper as [17]
Reporting guidelines have been demonstrated to improve reporting of research, thereby allowing consumers of the research to be aware of the strengths, limitations, and accuracy of conclusions.
“Reporting guidelines have been demonstrated to improve reporting of research, thereby allowing for consumers of the research to be aware of the strengths, limitations, and accuracy of conclusions [12,82–84].”
From The Reporting of Studies Conducted Using Observational Routinely-Collected Health Data (RECORD) statement. (2015) · cites this paper as [83]
Similar initiatives have followed for other research areas, e.g., for the reporting of meta-analyses of randomised trials or diagnostic studies.
“Similar initiatives have followed for other research areas d e.g., for the reporting of meta-analyses of randomised trials [16] or diagnostic studies [17].”
From The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies (2014) · cites this paper as [16]
Quality of meta-analysis reporting had improved after the release of the QUORUM reporting guidelines.
“Examination of changes in reporting quality of MAs published in Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, suggested that quality had improved after the release of the QUORUM reporting guidelines [18], [19].”
From Epidemiology, Quality and Reporting Characteristics of Systematic Reviews of Traditional Chinese Medicine Interventions Published in Chinese Journals (2011) · cites this paper as [18]
The QUOROM Statement was developed in 1996 and published in 1999, conceived as a reporting guidance for authors reporting a meta-analysis of randomized trials.
“The QUOROM Statement, developed in 1996 and published in 1999 [8], was conceived as a reporting guidance for authors reporting a meta-analysis of randomized trials.”
From The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration (2009) · cites this paper as [8]
In 1996, an international group developed the QUOROM Statement to address suboptimal reporting of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.
“In 1996, to address the suboptimal reporting of meta-analyses, an international group developed a guidance called the QUOROM Statement (QUality Of Reporting Of Meta-analyses), which focused on the reporting of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials [8].”
From Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement (2009) · cites this paper as [8]
Cites
Assessing the quality of reports of randomized clinical trials: Is blinding necessary?
Jadad, A. R., Moore, R. A., Carroll, D., Jenkinson, C., Reynolds, D. J. M., Gavaghan, D. J., & McQuay, H. J. (1996) · Controlled Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/0197-2456(95)00134-4 · Cited by 17,582 · see citing works
Schulz (1995) · doi:10.1001/jama.1995.03520290060030 · Cited by 5,634 · see citing works
Moher, D., Pham, B., Jones, A., Cook, D. J., Jadad, A. R., Moher, M., Tugwell, P., & Klassen, T. P. (1998) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(98)01085-x · Cited by 3,560 · see citing works
Self-citationImproving the Quality of Reporting of Randomized Controlled Trials: The CONSORT Statement
Begg, C. (1996) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03540080059030 · Cited by 3,127 · see citing works
Publication bias in clinical research
Easterbrook, P. J., Gopalan, R., Berlin, J. A., & Matthews, D. R. (1991) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/0140-6736(91)90201-y · Cited by 3,109 · see citing works
Systematic Reviews: Identifying relevant studies for systematic reviews
Dickersin, K., Scherer, R. W., & Lefebvre, C. (1994) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.309.6964.1286 · Cited by 2,255 · see citing works
Systematic Reviews: Synthesis of Best Evidence for Clinical Decisions
Cook, D. J., Mulrow, C. D., & Haynes, R. B. (1997) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-126-5-199703010-00006 · Cited by 2,184 · see citing works
Self-citationMeta-Analysis in Clinical Research
L'ABBÉ, K. A., DETSKY, A. S., & O'ROURKE, K. (1987) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-107-2-224 · Cited by 1,267 · see citing works
Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials
Sacks, H. S., Berrier, J., Reitman, D., Ancona-Berk, V. A., & Chalmers, T. C. (1987) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm198702193160806 · Cited by 1,253 · see citing works
Discrepancies between Meta-Analyses and Subsequent Large Randomized, Controlled Trials
LeLorier, J., Grégoire, G., Benhaddad, A. A., Lapierre, J., & Derderian, F. (1997) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199708213370806 · Cited by 1,171 · see citing works
Language bias in randomised controlled trials published in English and German
Egger, M., Zellweger-Zähner, T., Schneider, M., Junker, C., Lengeler, C., & Antes, G. (1997) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(97)02419-7 · Cited by 1,028 · see citing works
Systematic Review: Why sources of heterogeneity in meta-analysis should be investigated
Thompson, S. G. (1994) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.309.6965.1351 · Cited by 1,017 · see citing works
The Medical Review Article: State of the Science
MULROW, C. D. (1987) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-106-3-485 · Cited by 856 · see citing works
Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: IX. A Method for Grading Health Care Recommendations
Guyatt, G. H. (1995) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1995.03530220066035 · Cited by 846 · see citing works
Users' Guides to the Medical Literature
Oxman, A. D. (1994) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1994.03520170077040 · Cited by 813 · see citing works
Leucht, S., Pitschel‐Walz, G., Abraham, D., & Kissling, W. (1999) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/s0920-9964(98)00105-4 · Cited by 795 · see citing works
Publication bias: the case for an international registry of clinical trials.
Simes, R. J. (1986) · Journal of Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1200/jco.1986.4.10.1529 · Cited by 747 · see citing works
Bero, L. A. (1995) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1995.03530240045039 · Cited by 715 · see citing works
Impact of covert duplicate publication on meta-analysis: a case study
Tramèr, M. R., Reynolds, D. J. M., Moore, R. A., & McQuay, H. J. (1997) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.315.7109.635 · Cited by 702 · see citing works
Do Certain Countries Produce Only Positive Results? A Systematic Review of Controlled Trials
Vickers, A. J., Goyal, N., Harland, R., & Rees, R. W. (1998) · Controlled Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/s0197-2456(97)00150-5 · Cited by 684 · see citing works
Cook, D. J., Sackett, D. L., & Spitzer, W. O. (1995) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/0895-4356(94)00172-m · Cited by 573 · see citing works
Self-citationCHALMERS, I. (1993) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1993.tb26345.x · Cited by 561 · see citing works
Moher, D., Fortin, P. R., Jadad, A. R., Jüni, P., Klassen, T. P., LeLorier, J., Liberati, A., Penna, A., & Linde, K. (1996) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(96)90538-3 · Cited by 539 · see citing works
Self-citationOxman, A. D. (1994) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.272.17.1367 · Cited by 486 · see citing works
Does blinding of readers affect the results of meta-analyses?
Berlin, J. A. (1997) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)62352-5 · Cited by 478 · see citing works
Sterling, T. D., Rosenbaum, W. L., & Weinkam, J. J. (1995) · The American Statistician · doi:10.1080/00031305.1995.10476125 · Cited by 453 · see citing works
Why review articles on the health effects of passive smoking reach different conclusions
Barnes, D. E. (1998) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.279.19.1566 · Cited by 442 · see citing works
Cochrane Collaboration Handbook
Mulrow, C. (1996) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 403 · see citing works
Cochrane Collaboration helping unravel tangled web woven by international research.
Huston, P. (1996) · PubMed · Cited by 398 · see citing works
A guide to interpreting discordant systematic reviews.
Jadad, A., Cook, D. J., & Browman, G. P. (1997) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 393 · see citing works
Self-citationBero, L. A. (1995) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.274.24.1935 · Cited by 373 · see citing works
A Proposal for Structured Reporting of Randomized Controlled Trials
Andrew, E. (1994) · JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association · doi:10.1001/jama.1994.03520240054041 · Cited by 309 · see citing works
NIH clinical trials and publication bias.
Dickersin, K., & Min, Y. (1993) · PubMed · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Should Unpublished Data Be Included in Meta-analyses?: Current Convictions and Controversies
Cook, D. J. (1993) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1993.03500210049030 · Cited by 259 · see citing works
Self-citationPublication bias and meta-analysis
Smith, M. L. (1980) · Evaluation in Education · doi:10.1016/0191-765x(80)90004-x · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Taddio, A., the CIHR Team in Children’s Pain, Fassos, F. F., Boon, H., Ilersich, A. L. T., & Einarson, T. R. (1994) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Guides for reading and interpreting systematic reviews: I. Getting started.
Klassen, T. P., Jadad, A. R., & Moher, D. (1998) · PubMed · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Self-citationChalmers, I., & Haynes, B. R. (1994) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.309.6958.862 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Statistical and theoretical considerations in meta-analysis
Olkin, I. (1995) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/0895-4356(94)00136-e · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Self-citationSacks, H. S., Reitman, D., Pagano, D., & Kupelnick, B. (1996) · PubMed · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Invited Commentary: Re: “A Critical Look at Some Popular Meta-Analytic Methods”
Olkin, I. (1994) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117249 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Self-citationKhan, K. S., Daya, S., Collins, J. A., & Walter, S. D. (1996) · Fertility and Sterility · doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(16)58265-x · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Risperidone versus haloperidol: I. meta-analysis of efficacy and safety
Davies, A., ADENA, M. A., Keks, N. A., Catts, S. V., Lambert, T. J. R., & Schweitzer, I. (1998) · Clinical Therapeutics · doi:10.1016/s0149-2918(98)80034-9 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Checklist of Information for Inclusion in Reports of Clinical Trials
The Asilomar Working Group on Recommendations for Reporting of Clinical Trials in the Biomedical Literature (1996) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-124-8-199604150-00007 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
The Delphi Technique as an Alternative for Committee Meetings
Whitman, N. I. (1990) · Journal of Nursing Education · doi:10.3928/0148-4834-19901001-13 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Identification of meta-analyses
Dickersin, K., Higgins, K., & Meinert, C. L. (1990) · Controlled Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/0197-2456(90)90032-w · Cited by 38 · see citing works
The influence of 'grey' literature on meta-analysis.
McAuley, L. (1999) · Library and Archives Canada (Government of Canada) · doi:10.20381/ruor-7548 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
3 of the 50 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & for the PRISMA Group (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2535 · Cited by 83,823 · see citing works
Self-citationPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group (2009) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097 · Cited by 64,042 · see citing works
Self-citationPreferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA Statement.
(2009) · PubMed Central · Cited by 44,859 · see citing works
Self-citationTong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007) · International Journal for Quality in Health Care · doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzm042 · Cited by 42,509 · see citing works
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & the PRISMA Group* (2009) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-151-4-200908180-00135 · Cited by 37,554 · see citing works
Self-citationLiberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gøtzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P. J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000100 · Cited by 28,164 · see citing works
Self-citationvon Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., Vandenbroucke, J. P., & Initiative, F. T. S. (2007) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040296 · Cited by 23,020 · see citing works
Stroup, D. F. (2000) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.283.15.2008 · Cited by 20,623 · see citing works
Self-citationvon Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61602-x · Cited by 21,320 · see citing works
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2009.06.005 · Cited by 19,575 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, G., Ma, R., Qiao, G., Wada, K., Aizawa, Y., & Satoh, T. (2015) · Integrative Medicine International · doi:10.1159/000368408 · Cited by 18,759 · see citing works
Liberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gotzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P. J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2700 · Cited by 17,648 · see citing works
Self-citationvon Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., Vandenbroucke, J. P., & Initiative, F. T. S. (2007) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-147-8-200710160-00010 · Cited by 17,796 · see citing works
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2008) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.11.008 · Cited by 17,893 · see citing works
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2010) · International Journal of Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2010.02.007 · Cited by 12,156 · see citing works
Self-citationElm, E. V., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.39335.541782.ad · Cited by 10,766 · see citing works
Liberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gøtzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P. J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2009.06.006 · Cited by 10,578 · see citing works
Self-citationLiberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gøtzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P. J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-151-4-200908180-00136 · Cited by 10,349 · see citing works
Self-citationWhy Most Published Research Findings Are False
Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2005) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124 · Cited by 10,505 · see citing works
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2014) · International Journal of Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2014.07.013 · Cited by 9,909 · see citing works
Progressive Statistics for Studies in Sports Medicine and Exercise Science
HOPKINS, W. G., MARSHALL, S. W., BATTERHAM, A. M., & HANIN, J. (2009) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31818cb278 · Cited by 9,128 · see citing works
Hutton, B., Salanti, G., Caldwell, D. M., Chaimani, A., Schmid, C. H., Cameron, C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Straus, S., Thorlund, K., Jansen, J. P., et al. (2015) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/m14-2385 · Cited by 8,269 · see citing works
Self-citationBenchimol, E. I., Smeeth, L., Guttmann, A., Harron, K., Moher, D., Petersen, I., Sørensen, H. T., von Elm, E., Langan, S. M., & RECORD Working Committee (2015) · PLOS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001885 · Cited by 5,749 · see citing works
Self-citationMoher, D., Schulz, K. F., & Altman, D. G. (2001) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)04337-3 · Cited by 5,373 · see citing works
Self-citationReliability of the PEDro Scale for Rating Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials
Maher, C. G., Sherrington, C., Herbert, R. D., Moseley, A. M., & Elkins, M. (2003) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.1093/ptj/83.8.713 · Cited by 4,808 · see citing works
A Meta-Analysis of Cytokines in Major Depression
Dowlati, Y., Herrmann, N., Swardfager, W., Liu, H., Sham, L., Reim, E. K., & Lanctôt, K. L. (2010) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.033 · Cited by 4,729 · see citing works
The Revised CONSORT Statement for Reporting Randomized Trials: Explanation and Elaboration
Altman, D. G., Schulz, K. F., Moher, D., Egger, M., Davidoff, F., Elbourne, D., Gøtzsche, P. C., Lang, T., & for the CONSORT Group (2001) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-134-8-200104170-00012 · Cited by 3,835 · see citing works
Self-citationAllergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma
Bousquet, J., van Cauwenberge, P., & Khaltaev, N. (2001) · Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · doi:10.1067/mai.2001.118891 · Cited by 3,588 · see citing works
Systematic reviews: CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health care
Tacconelli, E. (2010) · The Lancet Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(10)70065-7 · Cited by 3,237 · see citing works
Chaudhry, B., Wang, J., Wu, S., Maglione, M., Mojica, W., Roth, E., Morton, S. C., & Shekelle, P. G. (2006) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-144-10-200605160-00125 · Cited by 3,159 · see citing works
Llovet, J. M., & Bruix, J. (2003) · Hepatology · doi:10.1053/jhep.2003.50047 · Cited by 3,014 · see citing works
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.08.012 · Cited by 2,698 · see citing works
Moher, D., Schulz, K. F., & Altman, D. G. (2001) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/1471-2288-1-2 · Cited by 2,755 · see citing works
Self-citationMoher, D. (2001) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.285.15.1987 · Cited by 2,545 · see citing works
Self-citationReprint—Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & and the PRISMA Group (2009) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.1093/ptj/89.9.873 · Cited by 2,486 · see citing works
Self-citationMitchell, A. J., Chan, M., Bhatti, H., Halton, M., Grassi, L., Johansen, C., & Meader, N. (2011) · The Lancet Oncology · doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(11)70002-x · Cited by 2,449 · see citing works
Development of a critical appraisal tool to assess the quality of cross-sectional studies (AXIS)
Downes, M. J., Brennan, M. L., Williams, H. C., & Dean, R. S. (2016) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011458 · Cited by 2,376 · see citing works
Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Garg, A. X., Hackam, D. G., & Tonelli, M. A. (2008) · Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · doi:10.2215/cjn.01430307 · Cited by 2,252 · see citing works
Updated Method Guidelines for Systematic Reviews in the Cochrane Collaboration Back Review Group
van Tulder, M., Furlan, A., Bombardier, C., & Bouter, L. (2003) · Spine · doi:10.1097/01.brs.0000065484.95996.af · Cited by 2,180 · see citing works
Reporting Recommendations for Tumor Marker Prognostic Studies (REMARK)
McShane, L. M., Altman, D. G., Sauerbrei, W., Taube, S. E., Gion, M., & Clark, G. M. (2005) · JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute · doi:10.1093/jnci/dji237 · Cited by 2,162 · see citing works
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0b013e3181577654 · Cited by 1,991 · see citing works
Costelloe, C., Metcalfe, C., Lovering, A., Mant, D., & Hay, A. D. (2010) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.c2096 · Cited by 1,981 · see citing works
Grote, N. K., Bridge, J. A., Gavin, A. R., Melville, J. L., Iyengar, S., & Katon, W. J. (2010) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.111 · Cited by 1,882 · see citing works
Elwyn, G. (2006) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.38926.629329.ae · Cited by 1,824 · see citing works
McGaghie, W. C., Issenberg, S. B., Cohen, E. R., Barsuk, J. H., & Wayne, D. B. (2011) · Academic Medicine · doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e318217e119 · Cited by 1,866 · see citing works
The case of the misleading funnel plot
Lau, J., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Terrin, N., Schmid, C. H., & Olkin, I. (2006) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7568.597 · Cited by 1,766 · see citing works
Self-citationShea, B. J., Hamel, C., Wells, G. A., Bouter, L. M., Kristjansson, E., Grimshaw, J., Henry, D. A., & Boers, M. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2008.10.009 · Cited by 1,755 · see citing works
Meta-analysis and the science of research synthesis
Gurevitch, J., Koricheva, J., Nakagawa, S., & Stewart, G. (2018) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature25753 · Cited by 1,709 · see citing works
Simon, L., Gauvin, F., Amre, D. K., Saint-Louis, P., & Lacroix, J. (2004) · Clinical Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1086/421997 · Cited by 1,779 · see citing works
2009 updated method guidelines for systematic reviews in the Cochrane Back Review Group
Furlan, A. D., Pennick, V., Bombardier, C., & van Tulder, M. (2009) · Spine · doi:10.1097/brs.0b013e3181b1c99f · Cited by 1,663 · see citing works
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., Vandenbroucke, J. P., & Initiative, F. T. S. (2007) · Bulletin of the World Health Organization · doi:10.2471/blt.07.045120 · Cited by 1,632 · see citing works
Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of prospective studies
Strazzullo, P., D'Elia, L., Kandala, N.-B., & Cappuccio, F. P. (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b4567 · Cited by 1,580 · see citing works
Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2008) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e31818105ba · Cited by 1,592 · see citing works
Sanderson, S., Tatt, I. D., & Higgins, J. P. (2007) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dym018 · Cited by 1,531 · see citing works
Gillen, S., Schuster, T., Büschenfelde, C. M. Z., Frieß, H., & Kleeff, J. H. (2010) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000267 · Cited by 1,554 · see citing works
Internet-Based Learning in the Health Professions
Cook, D., Levinson, A. J., Garside, S., Dupras, D. M., Erwin, P. J., & Montori, V. M. (2008) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.300.10.1181 · Cited by 1,552 · see citing works
Self-citationMarik, P. E., Baram, M., & Vahid, B. (2008) · CHEST Journal · doi:10.1378/chest.07-2331 · Cited by 1,516 · see citing works
Moher, D., Schulz, K. F., Altman, D. G., & for the CONSORT Group* (2001) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-134-8-200104170-00011 · Cited by 1,426 · see citing works
Self-citationZhang, W., Doherty, M., Bardin, T., Pascual, E., Barskova, V., Conaghan, P. G., Gerster, J., Jacobs, J. W. G., Leeb, B., Lioté, F., et al. (2006) · Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases · doi:10.1136/ard.2006.055269 · Cited by 1,398 · see citing works
REporting recommendations for tumour MARKer prognostic studies (REMARK).
for the Statistics Subcommittee of the NCI-EORTC Working Group on Cancer Diagnostics, McShane, L. M., Altman, D. G., Sauerbrei, W., Taube, S. E., Gion, M., & Clark, G. M. (2005) · British Journal of Cancer · doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602678 · Cited by 1,394 · see citing works
Urrútia, G., & Bonfill, X. (2010) · Medicina Clínica · doi:10.1016/j.medcli.2010.01.015 · Cited by 1,370 · see citing works
Algorithm for neuropathic pain treatment: An evidence based proposal
Finnerup, N. B., Otto, M., McQuay, H. J., Jensen, T. S., & Sindrup, S. H. (2005) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2005.08.013 · Cited by 1,325 · see citing works
Effective Exercise for the Prevention of Falls: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Sherrington, C., Whitney, J. C., Lord, S. R., Herbert, R. D., Cumming, R. G., & Close, J. C. T. (2008) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.02014.x · Cited by 1,309 · see citing works
Behavior change interventions delivered by mobile telephone short message service
Fjeldsoe, B. S., Marshall, A. L., & Miller, Y. D. (2009) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.040 · Cited by 1,213 · see citing works
Marik, P. E., Cavallazzi, R., Vasu, T. S., & Hirani, A. (2009) · Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1097/ccm.0b013e3181a590da · Cited by 1,271 · see citing works
Text messaging as a tool for behavior change in disease prevention and management
Cole-Lewis, H., & Kershaw, T. (2010) · Epidemiologic Reviews · doi:10.1093/epirev/mxq004 · Cited by 1,190 · see citing works
Tang, B. M., Eslick, G. D., Nowson, C., Smith, C., & Bensoussan, A. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61342-7 · Cited by 1,248 · see citing works
Mozaffarian, D., Micha, R., & Wallace, S. (2010) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000252 · Cited by 1,215 · see citing works
Fundamental Movement Skills in Children and Adolescents: Review of Associated Health Benefits
Lubans, D. R., Morgan, P. J., Cliff, D. P., Barnett, L. M., & Okely, A. D. (2010) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.2165/11536850-000000000-00000 · Cited by 1,548 · see citing works
Egger, M., Jüni, P., Bartlett, C., Holenstein, F., & Sterne, J. (2003) · Health Technology Assessment · doi:10.3310/hta7010 · Cited by 1,181 · see citing works
Smith, G. C. S., & Pell, J. P. (2003) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7429.1459 · Cited by 1,155 · see citing works
The Effect of Mediterranean Diet on Metabolic Syndrome and its Components
Kastorini, C.-M., Milionis, H. J., Esposito, K., Giugliano, D., Goudevenos, J. A., & Panagiotakos, D. B. (2011) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2010.09.073 · Cited by 1,087 · see citing works
Local opinion leaders: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes
Flodgren, G., Parmelli, E., Doumit, G., Gattellari, M., O'Brien, M. A., Grimshaw, J., & Eccles, M. P. (2011) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd000125.pub4 · Cited by 1,070 · see citing works
Monticone, S., D'Ascenzo, F., Moretti, C., Williams, T. A., Veglio, F., Gaita, F., & Mulatero, P. (2018) · The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology · doi:10.1016/s2213-8587(17)30319-4 · Cited by 1,072 · see citing works
McCormack, G. R., Rock, M. J., Toohey, A. M., & Hignell, D. (2010) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.03.003 · Cited by 1,042 · see citing works
A Meta-analysis of the Efficacy of Second-Generation Antipsychotics
Davis, J. M., Chen, N., & Glick, I. D. (2003) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.6.553 · Cited by 1,022 · see citing works
Type 2 diabetes incidence and socio-economic position: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Agardh, E. E., Allebeck, P., Hallqvist, J., Moradi, T., & Sidorchuk, A. (2011) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyr029 · Cited by 1,067 · see citing works
Iniciativa STROBE: subsídios para a comunicação de estudos observacionais
Malta, M., Cardoso, L. O., Bastos, F. I., Magnanini, M. M. F., & da Silva, C. M. F. P. (2010) · Revista de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/s0034-89102010000300021 · Cited by 1,038 · see citing works
Lawlor, D. A., & Hopker, S. W. (2001) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7289.763 · Cited by 995 · see citing works
Radial versus femoral approach for percutaneous coronary diagnostic and interventional procedures
Agostoni, P., Biondi‐Zoccai, G., Benedictis, M. D., Rigattieri, S., Turri, M., Anselmi, M., Vassanelli, C., Zardini, P., Louvard, Y., & Hamon, M. (2004) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2004.04.034 · Cited by 995 · see citing works
Defining knowledge translation
Straus, S. E., Tetroe, J., & Graham, I. D. (2009) · Canadian Medical Association Journal · doi:10.1503/cmaj.081229 · Cited by 984 · see citing works
Opioids in chronic non-cancer pain: systematic review of efficacy and safety
Kalso, E., Edwards, J. E., Moore, A. R., & McQuay, H. J. (2004) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2004.09.019 · Cited by 1,216 · see citing works
Exercise for overweight or obesity
Shaw, K. A., Gennat, H. C., O'Rourke, P., & Del Mar, C. (2006) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd003817.pub3 · Cited by 950 · see citing works
Haddaway, N. R., Macura, B., Whaley, P., & Pullin, A. S. (2018) · Environmental Evidence · doi:10.1186/s13750-018-0121-7 · Cited by 946 · see citing works
Facial Emotion Perception in Schizophrenia: A Meta-analytic Review
Kohler, C. G., Walker, J. B., Martin, E. A., Healey, K. M., & Moberg, P. J. (2009) · Schizophrenia Bulletin · doi:10.1093/schbul/sbn192 · Cited by 933 · see citing works
Short physical performance battery and all-cause mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis
Pavasini, R., Guralnik, J., Brown, J. C., di Bari, M., Cesari, M., Landi, F., Vaes, B., Legrand, D., Verghese, J., Wang, C., et al. (2016) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-016-0763-7 · Cited by 911 · see citing works
Direction and impact of language bias in meta-analyses of controlled trials: empirical study
Jüni, P., Holenstein, F., Sterne, J., Bartlett, C., & Egger, M. (2002) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/31.1.115 · Cited by 892 · see citing works
Epidemiology and reporting characteristics of systematic reviews.
Moher, D., Tetzlaff, J., Tricco, A. C., Sampson, M., & Altman, D. G. (2007) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040078 · Cited by 891 · see citing works
Self-citationPsychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder.
Stoffers-Winterling, J. M., Völlm, B. A., Rücker, G., Timmer, A., Huband, N., & Lieb, K. (2012) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd005652.pub2 · Cited by 895 · see citing works
Moher, D. (2009) · Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine · doi:10.3736/jcim20090918 · Cited by 909 · see citing works
Self-citationWeisz, J. R., Kuppens, S., Ng, M. Y., Eckshtain, D., Ugueto, A. M., Vaughn-Coaxum, R., Jensen-Doss, A., Hawley, K. M., Krumholz Marchette, L. S., Chu, B. C., et al. (2017) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/a0040360 · Cited by 862 · see citing works
Renal Impairment and Outcomes in Heart Failure
Smith, G. L., Lichtman, J. H., Bracken, M. B., Shlipak, M. G., Phillips, C. O., DiCapua, P., & Krumholz, H. M. (2006) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2005.11.084 · Cited by 895 · see citing works
Knaepen, K., Goekint, M., Heyman, E. M., & Meeusen, R. (2010) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.2165/11534530-000000000-00000 · Cited by 882 · see citing works
Normal Ranges of Left Ventricular Strain: A Meta-Analysis
Yingchoncharoen, T., Agarwal, S., Popović, Z., & Marwick, T. H. (2012) · Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography · doi:10.1016/j.echo.2012.10.008 · Cited by 888 · see citing works
Marik, P. E., & Cavallazzi, R. (2013) · Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1097/ccm.0b013e31828a25fd · Cited by 866 · see citing works
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Acute Myeloid Leukemia in First Complete Remission
Koreth, J., Schlenk, R. F., Kopecky, K. J., Honda, S., Sierra, J., Djulbegović, B., Wadleigh, M., DeAngelo, D. J., Stone, R. M., Sakamaki, H., et al. (2009) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2009.813 · Cited by 887 · see citing works
Panic, N., Leoncini, E., de Belvis, G., Ricciardi, W., & Boccia, S. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083138 · Cited by 883 · see citing works
Systems to rate the strength of scientific evidence.
West, S. L., King, V., Carey, T. S., Lohr, K. N., Mckoy, N. A., Sutton, S. F., & Lux, L. J. (2002) · PubMed Central · Cited by 873 · see citing works
Skakon, J., Nielsen, K. M., Borg, V., & Guzmán, J. (2010) · Work & Stress · doi:10.1080/02678373.2010.495262 · Cited by 907 · see citing works
Opioids for chronic noncancer pain: A meta-analysis of effectiveness and side effects
Furlan, A. D. (2006) · Canadian Medical Association Journal · doi:10.1503/cmaj.051528 · Cited by 873 · see citing works
- Authors
- Moher, D., Cook, D. J., Eastwood, S., Olkin, I., Rennie, D., & Stroup, D. F.
- Affiliations
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- McMaster University (CA)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
- Corresponding author
- Moher, David
- Venue
- The Lancet
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1999-11
- Volume
- 354
- Issue
- 9193
- Pages
- 1896-1900
- ISSN
- 0099-5355 (ISSN-L)
- 0140-6736
- OpenAlex
- W2000442546
- Cited by
- 4,826
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 24 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 64 · 2023: 75 · 2022: 81 · 2021: 88 · 2020: 100 · 2019: 91 · 2018: 104 · 2017: 136 · 2016: 139 · 2015: 181 · 2014: 232 · 2013: 253 · 2012: 256
- FWCI
- 131.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Lancet (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Abbott Laboratories
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Delphi Technique in Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Clinical practice guidelines implementation
- Keywords
- reporting quality, meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials, reporting guidelines, checklists, flowcharts, trial selection, data synthesis, research documentation
- MeSH terms
- Authorship, Humans, Software Design, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Guidelines as Topic
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
