title: The art of quality assessment of RCTs included in systematic reviews.
abstract: The best evidence on the efficacy of medical interventions is provided by high-quality trials summarized in high-quality systematic reviews or meta-analyses. The methodological quality of studies included in a systematic review can have a substantial impact on the estimates of the treatment effect and therefore on the conclusions of such a review. But what is the empirical evidence to support quality assessment of randomized clinical trials (RCTs)? We elaborate on questions such as: what is the concept of quality of individual studies (RCTs), can quality be measured validly and reliably? Plans for future research on this issue are proposed.
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Verhagen@hag.fgg.eur
authors: A P
authors: AP
authors: Verhagen
authors: H C
authors: HC
authors: de Vet
authors: R A
authors: RA
authors: de Bie
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Boers
authors: P A
authors: PA
authors: van den Brandt
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results