Lee, M. orcid.org/0000-0001-9971-1635, Coe, P., O'Donoghue, R. et al. (2 more authors) (2020) Variation in descriptors of patient characteristics in randomized clinical trials of peptic ulcer repair: a systematic review. British Journal of Surgery, 107 (12). pp. 1570-1579. ISSN 0007-1323
Abstract
Background The ability to compare findings across surgical research is important. Inadequate description of participants, interventions or outcomes could lead to bias and inaccurate assessment of findings. The aim of this study was to assess consistency of description of participants using studies comparing laparoscopic and open repair of peptic ulcer as an example.
Methods This systematic review is reported in line with the PRISMA checklist. Searches of MEDLINE and Embase databases were performed to identify studies comparing laparoscopic and open repair of perforated peptic ulcer in adults, published in the English language. Manuscripts were dual‐screened for eligibility. Full texts were retrieved and dual‐screened for inclusion. Data extracted from studies included descriptors of participants in studies from tables and text. Descriptors were categorized into conceptual domains by the research team, and coverage of each domain by study was tabulated.
Results Searches identified 2018 studies. After screening, 37 full texts were retrieved and 23 studies were included in the final synthesis. A total of 76 unique descriptors were identified. These were classified into demographics (11 descriptors), vital signs (9 descriptors), disease‐specific characteristics (10 descriptors), presentation and pathway factors (4 descriptors), risk factors (8 descriptors), laboratory tests (14 descriptors) and baseline health (28 descriptors). The number of descriptors in a single study ranged from three to 31. All studies reported at least one demographic descriptor. Laboratory tests was the least frequently described domain.
Conclusion Study participants are described inconsistently in studies of a single example surgical condition.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Surgery published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJS Society Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Department of Human Metabolism (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Department of Oncology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 18 May 2020 15:19 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jan 2022 11:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley (now published by OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/bjs.11771 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:160865 |