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Methodological quality and synthesis of case series and case reports
Open accessAbstract
Case reports and case series are uncontrolled study designs known for increased risk of bias but have profoundly influenced the medical literature and continue to advance our knowledge. In this guide, we present a framework for appraisal, synthesis and application of evidence derived from case reports and case series. We propose a tool to evaluate the methodological quality of case reports and case series based on the domains of selection, ascertainment, causality and reporting and provide signalling questions to aid evidence-based practitioners and systematic reviewers in their assessment. We suggest using evidence derived from case reports and case series to inform decision-making when no other higher level of evidence is available.
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“A modified version of Murad and colleague’s methodological quality assessment tool will be used to assess quantitative studies [68].”
From The psychological processes of classic psychedelics in the treatment of depression: a systematic review protocol (2022) · cites this paper as [68]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Murad, M. H., Sultan, S., Haffar, S., & Bazerbachi, F.
- Affiliations
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Corresponding author
- Murad, Mohammad Hassan
- Venue
- BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2018-02-02
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 60-63
- ISSN
- 1356-5524 (ISSN-L)
- 2515-446X
- 2515-4478
- PMC
- PMC6234235
- OpenAlex
- W2785755264
- Cited by
- 2,242
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 224 · 2025: 310 · 2024: 298 · 2023: 298 · 2022: 338 · 2021: 392 · 2020: 269 · 2019: 89 · 2018: 21
- FWCI
- 146.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Keywords
- case series, methodological quality assessment, risk of bias, evidence synthesis, reporting quality, causality, selection bias, ascertainment bias, evidence-based practice, clinical decision-making
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