ArticleZeitschrift fur Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie2016
Trust, but verify. The errors and misinterpretations in the Cochrane analysis by O. J. Storebo and colleagues on the efficacy and safety of methylphenidate for the treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD.
Article in Zeitschrift fur Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Methylphenidate for children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Extended-release methylphenidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Does Methylphenidate Work in Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?Pediatric reports · 2021Article
- Article
- Article
- The Cochrane Collaboration withdraws a review on methylphenidate for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Evidence-based medicine · 2017Article
- Methylphenidate use and school performance among primary school children: a descriptive study.BMC psychiatry · 2017Article
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2017Review
- Evidence on methylphenidate in children and adolescents with ADHD is in fact of 'very low quality'.Evidence-based mental health · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: A recent Cochrane review published by O. J. Storebo and colleagues (2015) raised substantial doubts about the benefit from stimulant medication with methylphenidate in the treatment of childhood ADHD due to the overall poor quality of studies. The systematic review thus contradicts all previous reviews and meta-analyses. Method: We here detail various examples of errors, inconsistencies, and misinterpretations in the review which led to false results and inadequate conclusions. Results: We demonstrate that the study selection is flawed and undertaken without sufficient scientific justification resulting in an underestimation of effect sizes, which, furthermore, are inadmissibly clinically interpreted. The methodology of the assessment of bias and quality is not objective and cannot be substantiated by the data. Conclusions: Cochrane reviews lay claim to a high scientific quality and substantial relevance for evidence-based clinical decisions. The systematic review by Storebo and colleagues (2015) illustrates that, despite adhering to strict standards and high-quality protocols, even Cochrane works should be critically read and verified, sometimes with surprising results.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.