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Pediatric Cardiology
Published in: Pediatric Cardiology 4/2017

01-04-2017 | Original Article

Potential and Limitations of Cochrane Reviews in Pediatric Cardiology: A Systematic Analysis

Authors: Martin Poryo, Sara Khosrawikatoli, Hashim Abdul-Khaliq, Sascha Meyer

Published in: Pediatric Cardiology | Issue 4/2017

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Abstract

Evidence-based medicine has contributed substantially to the quality of medical care in pediatric and adult cardiology. However, our impression from the bedside is that a substantial number of Cochrane reviews generate inconclusive data that are of limited clinical benefit. We performed a systematic synopsis of Cochrane reviews published between 2001 and 2015 in the field of pediatric cardiology. Main outcome parameters were the number and percentage of conclusive, partly conclusive, and inconclusive reviews as well as their recommendations and their development over three a priori defined intervals. In total, 69 reviews were analyzed. Most of them examined preterm and term neonates (36.2%), whereas 33.3% included also non-pediatric patients. Leading topics were pharmacological issues (71.0%) followed by interventional (10.1%) and operative procedures (2.9%). The majority of reviews were inconclusive (42.9%), while 36.2% were conclusive and 21.7% partly conclusive. Although the number of published reviews increased during the three a priori defined time intervals, reviews with “no specific recommendations” remained stable while “recommendations in favor of an intervention” clearly increased. Main reasons for missing recommendations were insufficient data (n = 41) as well as an insufficient number of trials (n = 22) or poor study quality (n = 19). There is still need for high-quality research, which will likely yield a greater number of Cochrane reviews with conclusive results.
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Metadata
Title
Potential and Limitations of Cochrane Reviews in Pediatric Cardiology: A Systematic Analysis
Authors
Martin Poryo
Sara Khosrawikatoli
Hashim Abdul-Khaliq
Sascha Meyer
Publication date
01-04-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Pediatric Cardiology / Issue 4/2017
Print ISSN: 0172-0643
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1971
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-017-1572-2

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