Most systematic reviews of adverse effects did not include unpublished data

Golder, Su, Loke, Yoon K, Wright, Kath and Sterrantino, Carmelo (2016) Most systematic reviews of adverse effects did not include unpublished data. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 77. 125–133. ISSN 0895-4356

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Abstract

Objectives: We sought to identify the proportion of systematic reviews of adverse effects which search for unpublished data and the success rates of identifying unpublished data for inclusion in a systematic review.  Study Design and Setting: Two reviewers independently screened all records published in 2014 in the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) for systematic reviews where the primary aim was to evaluate an adverse effect or effects. Data were extracted on the types of adverse effects and interventions evaluated, sources searched, how many unpublished studies were included, and source or type of unpublished data included.  Results: From 9,129 DARE abstracts, 348 met our inclusion criteria. Most of these reviews evaluated a drug intervention (237/348, 68%) with specified adverse effects (250/348, 72%). Over a third (136/348, 39%) of all the reviews searched, a specific source for unpublished data, such as conference abstracts or trial registries, and nearly half of these reviews (65/136, 48%) included unpublished data. An additional 13 reviews included unpublished data despite not searching specific sources for unpublished studies. Overall, 22% (78/348) of reviews included unpublished data/studies.  Conclusion: Most reviews of adverse effects do not search specifically for unpublished data but, of those that do, nearly half are successful.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	adverse effects,systematic review,unpublished data,gray literature,trial registry,information retrieval
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Services and Primary Care Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	10 Jun 2016 14:00
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2024 14:55
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/59289
DOI:	10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.05.003

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