The art of quality assessment of RCTs included in systematic reviews

Verhagen, Arianne P; de Vet, Henrica C.W; de Bie, Robert A; Boers, Maarten; A van den Brandt, Piet

Next »Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume 54, Issue 7 , Pages 651-654, July 2001

The art of quality assessment of RCTs included in systematic reviews

Arianne P Verhagen
- Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of General Practice, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author. Department of General Practice, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Tel.: +31 10 408 8109; fax: +31 10 408.9491.(A.P. Verhagen)
Henrica C.W de Vet
- Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Institute of Extramural Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Robert A de Bie
- Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Maarten Boers
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Vrije Universiteit, University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Piet A van den Brandt
- Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Received 4 January 2000; received in revised form 3 October 2000; accepted 23 October 2000.

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.