Quality analysis of prior systematic reviews of carpal tunnel syndrome: an overview of the literature

BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common condition greatly affects patients’ quality of life and ability to work. Systematic reviews provide useful information for treatment and health decisions. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the methodological quality of previously published sys...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cavalcante, Marcelo Cortes, Moraes, Vinicius Ynoe de, Osés, Guilherme Ladeira, Nakachima, Luis Renato, Belloti, João Carlos
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:Brasil
Institución:Associação Paulista de Medicina
Repositorio:São Paulo medical journal (Online)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.diagnosticoetratamento.emnuvens.com.br:article/504
Acceso en línea:https://periodicosapm.emnuvens.com.br/spmj/article/view/504
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Evidence-based medicine
Quality control
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common condition greatly affects patients’ quality of life and ability to work. Systematic reviews provide useful information for treatment and health decisions. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the methodological quality of previously published systematic reviews on the treatment of CTS. DESIGN AND SETTING: Overview of systematic reviews conducted at the Brazilian public higher education institution, São Paulo, Brazil METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE and Cochrane Library database for systematic reviews investigating the treatment of CTS in adults. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and measurement tool to assess systematic reviews (AMSTAR) were applied by two independent examiners. RESULTS: Fifty-five studies were included. Considering the stratification within the AMSTAR measurement tool, we found that more than 76% of the analyzed studies were “low” or “very low”. PRISMA scores were higher when meta-analysis was present (15.61 versus 10.40; P = 0.008), while AMSTAR scores were higher when studies performed meta-analysis (8.43 versus 5.59; P = 0.009) or when they included randomized controlled trials (7.95 versus 6.06; P = 0.043). The intra-observer correlation demonstrated perfect agreement (> 0.8), a Spearman’s correlation coefficient of 0.829, and an ICC of0.857. The inter-observer correlation indicated that AMSTAR was more reliable than PRISMA. CONCLUSION: Overall, systematic reviews of the treatment of CTS are of poor quality. Reviews with better- quality conducted meta-analysis and included randomized controlled trials. AMSTAR is a better tool than PRISMA because it has a better performance and should be recommended in future studies. REGISTRATION NUMBER IN PROSPERO: CRD42020172328 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_ record.php?ID=CRD42020172328).