1. Quality assessment tools used in systematic reviews of in vitro studies: A systematic review
- Author
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Abdelrahman Elshafay, Dao Ngoc Hien Tam, Thao Dang, Nguyen Tien Huy, Kenji Hirayama, and Linh Tran
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,PubMed ,Medicine (General) ,Web of science ,Databases, Factual ,Epidemiology ,Computer science ,Health Informatics ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,R5-920 ,Bias ,medicine ,In vitro study ,Humans ,Medical physics ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Protocol (science) ,Quality assessment ,030206 dentistry ,Guideline ,Clinical trial ,Meta-analysis ,Systematic review ,Research Design ,Quality assessment tool ,Systematic Reviews as Topic ,Research Article - Abstract
Background: Systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) are commonly conducted to evaluate and summarize medical literature. This is especially useful in assessing in vitro studies for consistency. Our study aims to systematically review all available quality assessment (QA) tools employed on in vitro SRs/MAs. Method: A search on four databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Virtual Health Library and Web of Science, was conducted from 2006 to 2020. The available SRs/MAs of in vitro studies were evaluated. DARE tool was applied to assess the risk of bias of included articles. Our protocol was developed and uploaded to ResearchGate in June 2016. Results: Our findings reported an increasing trend in publication of in vitro SRs/MAs from 2007 to 2020. Among the 244 included SRs/MAs, 126 articles (51.6%) had conducted the QA procedure. Overall, 51 QA tools were identified; 26 of them (51%) were developed by the authors specifically, whereas 25 (49%) were pre-constructed tools. SRs/MAs in dentistry frequently had their own QA tool developed by the authors, while SRs/MAs in other topics applied various QA tools. Many pre-structured tools in these in vitro SRs/MAs were modified from QA tools of in vivo or clinical trials, therefore, they had various criteria. Conclusion: Many different QA tools currently exist in the literature; however, none cover all critical aspects of in vitro SRs/MAs. There is a need for a comprehensive guideline to ensure the quality of SR/MA due to their precise nature., BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21, art. no. 101; 2021
- Published
- 2021