Objective To assess the quality of diagnostic studies on detecting the tuberculosis antibody to diagnose tuberculosis.Methods CBM (1978 to 2006) and VIP (1994 to 2006) were searched; any author-claimed diagnostic studies which used the dot immunogold filtration assay (DIGFA) to detect the tuberculosis antibody and to diagnose tuberculosis were included. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) was used to assess the quality of included diagnostic studies by two reviewers independently.Results Thirty-eight papers were included and assessed. We found that most of the quality items were not met with QUADAS. Most papers adopted the retrospective diagnostic case-control design. Thirty-one papers did not describe the selection criteria clearly, 18 did not describe whether all the included patients were verified by using a reference standard of diagnosis, 36 did not describe whether the index test results were interpreted without knowledge of the results of the reference standard, 37 did not report the uninterpretable/intermediate test results, and 34 did not report the withdrawals from the study.Conclusion There are few high quality studies on using DIGFA to detect tuberculosis antibody to diagnose tuberculosis.
Objective To assess the quality of randomised controlled trials on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for coronary heart disease (CHD) angina published from 1977 to 2002. Method We did electronic search in Medline, Embase and hand searched 83 journals of traditional Chinese medicine (the earliest published in 1977 and the latest in June 2002). We assessed the quality of obstained studies. Results Four hundred and forty articles met the criteria,of which 33 (7.5%) described randomization. None of them mentioned allocation concealment; 94.77% (417 studies) mentioned diagnosis criteria; only one mentioned the calculation basement of sample size; 84.09% (370 studies) mentioned comparability of baseline. Fifty three studies (12.05%) noted double-blind; 28 studies used single blind. Twenty-five studies used double-blind. Drop-outs were described in 7 cases without intention-to-treat (ITT); 159 studies applied statistical methods properly, while 4 did not. Ten studies never mentioned statistical methods; 73.18％ (322 studies) used forms to express their results. Conclusions Till now, the quantity and quality of RCTs of traditional Chinese medicine for coronary heart disease angina were inadequate. Some well designed scientific methods were not adequately applied.
ObjectivesTo assess the methodological quality of clinical practice guidelines of cervical cancer in China published from 2014 to 2018.MethodsCNKI, WanFang Data, CBM, VIP, Medlive.cn, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and EMbase were searched for cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines published in China from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2018. Four reviewers searched and selected the literature independently according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and assessed the methodological quality of the included guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ.ResultsA total of 9 guidelines were included. The average score for each area was: scope and purpose 75.47%, stakeholders’ involvement 35.09%, the rigor of development 43.70%, clarity of presentation 87.74%, applicability 80.76%, and editorial independence 0%.ConclusionsThe quality of cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines in China requires further improvement.
Objective To evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of clinical guidelines and consensus for adult AIDS. Methods Databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI were electronically searched and major guideline websites such as GIN, NICE, NGC and Yimaitong were also searched to collect guidelines and consensus for adult AIDS from inception to December 2021. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Four reviewers evaluated the methodological and reporting quality of the included guidelines and consensus by using AGREE Ⅱ and RIGHT, respectively. Results A total of 17 adult AIDS guidelines and consensus were included. The average scores of AGREE Ⅱ in various domains were 59.48% for scope and purpose, 37.17% for stakeholder involvement, 30.76% for rigor of development, 74.75% for clarity of presentation, 35.54% for applicability, and 50.49% for editorial independence. The items with the highest reporting rate among the RIGHT evaluation items were 1a, 1b and 1c (100.00%), followed by 3 and 4 (94.12%), 13a and 13b (88.24%), 7b and 11a (76.47%), and 5 (64.71%), and the remaining items were all reported below 60%. Results of subgroup analysis showed that the clarity of presentation, applicability and editorial independence of the guidelines for adult AIDS expressed in AGREE Ⅱ and the average score of RIGHT were higher than those of the consensuses for adult AIDS; the average scores of guidelines and consensuses based on evidence-based medicine in five domains of AGREE Ⅱ (scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity of presentation and applicability) and RIGHT were higher than those based on expert opinions or reviews. The foreign guidelines and consensus had higher average scores in the six domains of AGREE Ⅱ and the RIGHT score than the domestic guidelines. Conclusion The methodological quality and reporting quality of the published clinical guidelines and consensuses for adult AIDS is low; in particular, there is a certain gap between the national and international guidelines and consensuses. It is suggested that future guideline developers should refer to international standards, such as AGREE Ⅱ and RIGHT, formulate high-quality guidelines and promote their application to better regulate the diagnosis and treatment of adult AIDS.
Objective To assess the methodology and report quality of Chinese systematic reviews/ meta-analyses on prevention and control of six major diseases in public health. Methods Chinese literatures of systematic reviews/ meta-analyses on prevention and control of six major diseases, including cancer, cerebrovascular disease, cardiovascular disease, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, and AIDS were searched in CQVIP, WANFANG Database, CNKI, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database from the establishment date to June, 2010. Two researchers independently screened and evaluated the data, disagreements were resolved by discussion. Methodology quality and report quality of included reviews were evaluated by OQAQ scale and PRISMA scale. Result Of the 139 literatures included in the analysis, 32 were systematic reviews while 107 were meta-analyses. The highest and lowest scores of methodology quality were 6.5 and 1.5 respectively. The average score was 4.66±0.92 and no literature could meet all nine items. The main problems were insufficient in literatures resource, bias in data selection, lack of rigorous quality assessment for included original studies and so on. The average score of report quality were 15.28±2.91 and the main problems were incomplete report in abstract, data collection and analysis methods, bias control, conclusion and so on. Conclusion Both of the methodology quality and report quality of included literatures have problems in different levels, which require to be further improved.
ObjectiveThis study aims to conduct a systematic review and quality assessment of published domestic and foreign studies on the pharmacoeconomics of Chinese patent medicines, with the goal of identifying relevant issues and proposing improvement suggestions. MethodsThe methods used in this study involved systematic searches of the CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, and PubMed databases for domestic and foreign studies related to the pharmacoeconomics of Chinese patent medicines, with a search deadline of May 20, 2022. The studies were evaluated systematically based on various aspects such as title, year, author, journal, research perspective, research type, disease area, research object, research design type, research method, application model, model calibration, sensitivity analysis, cost calculation, effectiveness indicators, and adverse reaction comparison. The evaluation of report quality and methodological quality was conducted using the consolidated health economic evaluation reporting standards 2022 (CHEERS 2022) and the quality of health economic studies (QHES) tools, respectively. ResultsThis study included a total of 249 articles, including 247 in Chinese and 2 in English. The first article on the pharmacoeconomics of Chinese patent medicine was published in 2000. The diseases studied covered 59.26% of the ICD-11 disease areas. Articles reporting on the research perspective accounted for 16.87% of the total number of studies, while 32.4% of studies provided an explanation of the research type. The main method used was cost-effectiveness analysis, accounting for 86.75% of the studies, and the main cost component was direct medical costs, accounting for 89.56%. The primary effectiveness indicator was the overall effective rate, accounting for 78.31% of the studies. The average compliance rate with the CHEERS 2022 standard was 43.58%, and the average QHES score was 56.7. ConclusionA considerable part of the existing research on the pharmacoeconomics of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) suffers from problems such as the lack of research methods or non-standardized methods. Therefore, the relevant research abilities of researchers who conduct TCM pharmacoeconomic research need to be improved.
Objectives To assess the quality of clinical practice guidelines for primary hepatic carcinoma published in 2016 and 2017 in China. Methods CNKI, WanFang Data, CBM and VIP databases were searched for clinical practice guidelines for primary hepatic carcinoma in China. The search date was from Jan. 1st, 2016 to Jan. 1st, 2018. Four researchers independently selected literatures and extracted data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ (AGREE Ⅱ) was utilized to assess the methodological quality of the guidelines. Results A total of 7 guidelines were included. The average scores of six domains for these guidelines were: 65.1% for scope and purpose, 39.4% for stakeholders’ involvement, 64.3% for rigor of development, 55.6% for clarity of presentation, 61.8% for applicability and 6.1% for editorial independence. Conclusions The quality of clinical practice guidelines for primary hepatic carcinoma in China is relative high, of which the recommendations are of great value in clinical practice, yet still required to be improved in some ways.
ObjectiveTo assess the methodological quality of guidelines for bronchoscopic alveolar lavage. MethodsCNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, CBM, Web of Science, PubMed, EMbase databases and medlive.cn, the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), the National Guideline International Network (GIN), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), and the World Health Organization (WHO) websites were electronically searched to collect guidelines of bronchoscopic alveolar lavage from inception to December 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of the guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ tool. ResultsA total of 19 guidelines were included, with 5 from China, 5 from the USA, 3 from Europe, 2 from the UK, 1 from Australia, 1 from Israel, 1 from Spain, and 1 from India. The average standard score rates of the 19 guidelines in the six fields were 50.73% for scope and purpose, 20.02% for participants, 15.13% for formulation rigor, 36.40% for clarity of presentation, 3.51% for applicability, and 22.37% for editorial independence.ConclusionsThe quality of bronchoalveolar lavage guidelines remains relatively low.
ObjectivesTo assess the methodological quality of Chinese clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for respiratory diseases published in 2017, so as to provide evidence for developing and updating CPGs of this field in the future.MethodsWanFang Data, CNKI, VIP, CBM databases, Medlive and other related websites were electronically searched to collect Chinese CPGs for respiratory diseases published from January 2017 to December 2017. Four reviewers independently evaluated the quality of eligible guidelines by using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ (AGREE Ⅱ) instrument.ResultsA total of 37 guidelines were included. The mean scores of the six AGREE Ⅱ domains (scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity and presentation, applicability, editorial independence) were 59.3%, 25.1%, 10.8%, 59.1%, 25.8%, and 7.3%, respectively. Only 1 guideline (2.7%) was recommended for clinical use, and 2 guidelines (5.4%) were recommended with modification.ConclusionsThe CPGs for respiratory diseases published in China in 2017 have higher quality than CPGs published prior to 2017, however great discrepancies exist when comparing with international guidelines of average level. More attention should be paid on the rigorousness of methodology and the practicality of content in the future development of CPGs.
Objective
Through assessing the quality of systematic reviews/meta-analyses conducted by hospital pharmacists in China, to learn relevant situations and to promote the development and application of evidence-based pharmacy in hospital.
Methods
The following databases such as CBM, CNKI, Wanfang Database, VIP, CMCI, The Cochrane Library, EMbase and PubMed were searched from the establishment date to April 15th, 2011, to collect all published systematic reviews/meta-analyses conducted by hospital pharmacists in China. Two reviewers independently extracted the published information according to the inclusive and exclusive criteria, and assessed the methodology and reporting quality of the included literatures with OQAQ and PRISMA. Disagreements were discussed or resolved by the third reviewer. Data analysis was conducted by using SPSS17.0 software.
Results
Two hundred and sixteen Chinese literatures (including 40 on traditional Chinese medicine), and 15 English literatures were identified. The number of literatures has increased rapidly since 2008. Beijing and Sichuan were the top 2 districts in the number of literatures. All of the included literatures were published in 62 magazines sponsored by 87 hospitals, such as China Pharmacy, and Chinese Journey of Evidence-Based Medicine. The total downloads of Chinese literatures were 14346, and the total citations of all literatures were 154. The methodology and reporting quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involved in 220 systematic reviews/meta-analyses literatures were assessed, which showed the highest and lowest scores of methodological quality were 6 and 3, respectively, and the average score was 4.27±0.55. The highest and lowest scores of reporting quality were 22.5 and 9, respectively, and the average score was 16.49±2.98.
Conclusion
Although the evidence-based pharmacy in hospital begins late in China, it develops rapidly, and offers lots of evidence to policy decision, guidelines and rational drug use. However, there is still room for improvement of the methodology and reporting quality in future reviews.
