Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38907276›Full record

ArticleTrials2024

Disagreements in risk of bias assessment for randomized controlled trials in hypertension-related Cochrane reviews.

Yi Yao, Jing Shen, Jianzhao Luo, Nian Li, Xiaoyang Liao, Yonggang Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Trials, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Observational
  3. Article
  4. Article
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

6 authors.

Yi Yao *General Practice Ward/International Medical Center Ward, General Practice Medical Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China. yaoyicz@163.com.
Jing Shen *General Practice Ward/International Medical Center Ward, General Practice Medical Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Jianzhao LuoGeneral Practice Ward/International Medical Center Ward, General Practice Medical Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Nian LiDepartment of Medical Administration, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Xiaoyang LiaoGeneral Practice Ward/International Medical Center Ward, General Practice Medical Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China. liaoxiaoyang@wchscu.cn.
Yonggang ZhangDepartment of Periodical Press and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China. jebm_zhang@yahoo.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5251-3815

Funding

National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University Z20191009Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program 2023YFQ0071Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program 2023YFS0027
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe inter-reviewer reliability of the risk of bias (RoB) assessment lacked agreement in previous studies. It is important to analyse these disagreements to improve the repeatability of RoB assessment. The objective of the study was to evaluate the frequency and reasons for disagreements in RoB assessments for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that were included in multiple Cochrane reviews in the field of hypertension.

methodsA cross-sectional study was employed. We retrieved any RCTs that had been included in multiple Cochrane reviews in the field of hypertension from ARCHIE. The results of the RoB assessments were extracted, and the distributions of agreements and possible reasons for disagreement were analyzed.

resultsTwenty-six Cochrane reviews were included in this study. A total of 78 RCTs appeared in more than one Cochrane review. The level of agreement ranged from domain to domain. "Blinding of outcome assessment" showed a reasonably high level of agreement (94.9%), while "incomplete outcome data", "selective outcome reporting" and "other sources of bias" showed moderate levels of agreement (74.6%, 79.2% and 75.6%, respectively). However, the domains of "allocation concealment", "random sequence generation" and "blinding of participants and personnel" showed low levels of agreement (24.4%, 23.5%, and 47.4%, respectively). In the domains of "allocation concealment" and "blinding of participants and personnel", the agreement group had higher proportion of publication year ≤ 1996 than the disagreement group (P = 0.008 and P < 0.001, respectively). In the "blinding of participants and personnel", the impact factor was higher in the agreement group (P < 0.001). By analyzing the support text, we found that the most likely reason for disagreement was extracting different information from the same RCT.

conclusionFor Cochrane reviews in the field of hypertension using the 2011 version of the RoB tool, there was a large disagreement in the RoB assessment. It is suggested that the results of RoB assessments in systematic reviews that used the 2011 version of the RoB tool need to be interpreted with caution. More accurate information from RCTs needs to be collected when we synthesize clinical evidence.

Indexed as

BiasHypertensionRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicCross-Sectional StudiesHumansObserver VariationReproducibility of ResultsResearch DesignReview Literature as TopicRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsTreatment OutcomeCochraneRandomized controlled trialRisk of biasSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID38907276
PMCPMC11191165

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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.