Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28320705›Full record

ArticleEvidence-based medicine2017

Rating the certainty in evidence in the absence of a single estimate of effect.

M Hassan Murad, Reem A Mustafa, Holger J Schünemann, Shahnaz Sultan, Nancy Santesso

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Evidence-based medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 347 papers, 126 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
347citing papers in PubMed, 126 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

347 citing papers in PubMed, 126 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Creatine supplementation in soccer players: a systematic review.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026
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287 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

M Hassan MuradEvidence-based Practice Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Reem A MustafaDepartment of Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Holger J SchünemannDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Shahnaz SultanDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, and Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Nancy SantessoDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

When studies measure or report outcomes differently, it may not be feasible to pool data across studies to generate a single effect estimate (ie, perform meta-analysis). Instead, only a narrative summary of the effect across different studies might be available. Regardless of whether a single pooled effect estimate is generated or whether data are summarised narratively, decision makers need to know the certainty in the evidence in order to make informed decisions. In this guide, we illustrate how to apply the constructs of the GRADE (Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach to assess the certainty in evidence when a meta-analysis has not been performed and data were summarised narratively.

Indexed as

Clinical Decision-MakingDecision MakingEvidence-Based MedicineGuidelines as TopicHealth PolicyHumansUncertaintyEPIDEMIOLOGYSTATISTICS & RESEARCH METHODS

Identifiers

PMID28320705
PMCPMC5502230

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.