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ObjectiveTo estimate the proportion of healthcare interventions tested within Cochrane Reviews that are effective according to high-quality evidence.MethodsWe selected a random sample of 2,428 (35%) of all Cochrane Reviews published between 1 January 2008 and 5 March 2021. We extracted data about interventions within these reviews that were compared with placebo, or no treatment, and whose outcome quality was rated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. We calculated the proportion of interventions whose benefits were based on high-quality evidence (defined as having high quality GRADE rating for at least one primary outcome, statistically significant positive results, and being judged by review authors as effective. We also calculated the proportion of interventions that suggested harm.ResultsOf 1,567 eligible interventions, 87 (5.6%) had high-quality evidence supporting their benefits. Harms were measured for 577 (36.8%) interventions. There was statistically significant evidence for harm in 127 (8.1%) of these. Our dependence on the reliability of Cochrane author assessments (including their GRADE assessments) was the main potential limitation of our study.ConclusionMore than 9 in 10 healthcare interventions studied within recent Cochrane Reviews are not supported by high-quality evidence, and harms are under-reported.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.04.017

Type

Journal article

Journal

Journal of clinical epidemiology

Publication Date

08/2022

Volume

148

Pages

160 - 169

Addresses

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Kleijnen Systematic Reviews Ltd., Escrick, York YO19 6FD, United Kingdom. Electronic address: jeremy.howick@philosophy.ox.ac.uk.

Keywords

Humans, Reproducibility of Results, Delivery of Health Care