Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume 62, Issue 12 , Pages 1253-1260.e4 , December 2009

Not only randomized controlled trials, but also case series should be considered in systematic reviews of rapidly developing technologies

,Accepted 5 December 2008.

References 

  1. Hartling L, McAlister FA, Rowe BH, Ezekowitz J, Friesen C, Klassen TP, et al. Challenges in systematic reviews of therapeutic devices and procedures. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142(12 Pt 2):1100–1111
  2. McCulloch P, Taylor I, Sasako M, Lovett B, Griffin D. Randomised trials in surgery: problems and possible solutions. BMJ. 2002;324:1448–1451
  3. Chou R, Helfand M. Challenges in systematic reviews that assess treatment harms. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142(12 Pt 2):1090–1099
  4. Dalziel K, Round A, Stein K, Garside R, Castelnuovo E, Payne L, et al. Do the findings of case series vary significantly according to methodological characteristics?. Health Technol Assess. 2005;9(2):1–146
  5. Stein K, Dalziel K, Garside R, Castelnuovo E, Round A. Association between methodological characteristics and outcome in health technology assessments which included case series. Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2005;21:277–287
  6. Linde K, Scholz M, Melchart D, Willich SN. Should systematic reviews include non-randomized and uncontrolled studies? The case of acupuncture for chronic headache. J Clin Epidemiol. 2002;55:77–85
  7. Reeves BC, Vardulaki KA, Tsang VTC, Bennett-Lloyd BD, O'Riordan PA. A systematic review of case series of paediatric cardiac surgery. 8th Annual Cochrane Colloquium. Cape Town, South Africa; 2000.
  8. Rodgers M, McKenna C, Palmer S, Chambers D, Van Hout S, Golder S, et al. Curative catheter ablation in atrial fibrillation and typical atrial flutter: systematic review and economic evaluation. Health Technol Assess, in press.
  9. US Food and Drug Administration (Center for Devices and Radiological Health) . Clinical study designs for percutaneous catheter ablation for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Rockville, Maryland: US Food and Drug Administration; 2004;p. 11
  10. Young J, Fry-Smith A, Hyde C. Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with underlying severe emphysema. Thorax. 1999;54:779–789
  11. Wake B, Hyde C, Bryan S, Barton P, Song F, Fry-Smith A, et al. Rituximab a54s third-line treatment for refractory or recurrent Stage III or IV follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a systematic review and economic evaluation. Health Technol Assess. 2002;6(3):1–85
  12. NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination . Undertaking systematic reviews of research on effectiveness. CRD's guidance for those carrying out or commissioning reviews. 2nd edition. York: NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination; 2001;
  13. Galbraith RF. A note on graphical presentation of estimated odds ratios from several clinical trials. Stat Med. 1988;7:889–894
  14. Krittayaphong R, Raungrattanaamporn O, Bhuripanyo K, Sriratanasathavorn C, Pooranawattanakul S, Punlee K, et al. A randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of radiofrequency catheter ablation and amiodarone in the treatment of symptomatic atrial fibrillation. J Med Assoc Thai. 2003;86(Suppl 1):S8–16
  15. Pappone C, Augello G, Sala S, Gugliotta F, Vicedomini G, Gulletta S, et al. A randomised trial of circumferential pulmonary vein ablation versus antarrhythmic drug therapy in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006;48(11):2340–2347
  16. Wazni OM, Marrouche NF, Martin DO, Verma A, Bhargava M, Saliba W, et al. Radiofrequency ablation vs antiarrhythmic drugs as first-line treatment of symptomatic atrial fibrillation: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2005;293:2634–2640
  17. Cappato R, Calkins H, Chen SA, Davies W, Iesaka Y, Kalman J, et al. Worldwide survey on the methods, efficacy, and safety of catheter ablation for human atrial fibrillation. Circulation. 2005;111:1100–1105
  18. Bourke JP, Dunuwille A, O'Donnell D, Jamieson S, Furniss SS. Pulmonary vein ablation for idiopathic atrial fibrillation: six month outcome of first procedure in 100 consecutive patients. Heart. 2005;91:51–57
  19. Chen MS, Marrouche NF, Khaykin Y, Gillinov AM, Wazni O, Martin DO, et al. Pulmonary vein isolation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in patients with impaired systolic function. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;43:1004–1009
  20. Deisenhofer I, Estner H, Schneider MAE, Schreieck J, Zrenner B, Schmitt C, et al. Long term outcome after segmental electric isolation of pulmonary veins in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and implications for re-ablation procedures [abstract]. Eur Heart J. 2004;25(Suppl):277
  21. Della Bella P, Riva S, Fassini G, Casella M, Carbucicchio C, Trevisi N, et al. Long-term follow-up after radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: role of the acute procedure outcome and of the clinical presentation. Europace. 2005;7:95–103
  22. Herweg B, Sichrovsky T, Polosajian L, Vloka M, Rozenshtein A, Steinberg JS, et al. Anatomic substrate, procedural results, and clinical outcome of ultrasound-guided left atrial-pulmonary vein disconnection for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Am J Cardiol. 2005;95:871–875
  23. Hindricks G, Piorkowski C, Tanner H, Kobza R, Gerds-Li JH, Carbucicchio C, et al. Perception of atrial fibrillation before and after radiofrequency catheter ablation: relevance of asymptomatic arrhythmia recurrence. Circulation. 2005;112:307–313
  24. Jais P, Hocini M, Hsu LF, Sanders P, Scavee C, Weerasooriya R, et al. Technique and results of linear ablation at the mitral isthmus. Circulation. 2004;110:2996–3002
  25. Kumagai K, Ogawa M, Noguchi H, Nakashima H, Zhang B, Miura S, et al. Comparison of 2 mapping strategies for pulmonary vein isolation. Circ J. 2005;69:1496–1502
  26. Marrouche NF, Dresing T, Cole C, Bash D, Saad E, Balaban K, et al. Circular mapping and ablation of the pulmonary vein for treatment of atrial fibrillation: impact of different catheter technologies. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002;40:464–474
  27. Nademanee K, McKenzie J, Kosar E, Schwab M, Sunsaneewitayakul B, Vasavakul T, et al. A new approach for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: mapping of the electrophysiologic substrate. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;43:2044–2053
  28. Nilsson B, Chen X, Pehrson S, Kober L, Hilden J, Svendsen JH, et al. Recurrence of pulmonary vein conduction and atrial fibrillation after pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation: a randomised trial of the ostial versus the extraostial ablation strategy. Am Heart J. 2006;152(3):e1–e537
  29. Pappone C, Manguso F, Vicedomini G, Gugliotta F, Santinelli O, Ferro A, et al. Prevention of iatrogenic atrial tachycardia after ablation of atrial fibrillation—a prospective randomized study comparing circumferential pulmonary vein ablation with a modified approach. Circulation. 2004;110:3036–3042
  30. Hsieh MH, Tai CT, Tsai CF, Lin WS, Lin YK, Tsao HM, et al. Clinical outcome of very late recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2003;14:598–601
  31. Lee SH, Tai CT, Hsieh MH, Tsai CF, Lin YK, Tsao HM, et al. Predictors of early and late recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. J Intervent Card Electrophysiol. 2004;10:221–226
  32. Hsu LF, Jais P, Sanders P, Garrigue S, Hocini M, Sacher F, et al. Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in congestive heart failure. NEJM. 2004;351:2373–2383
  33. Pappone C, Rosanio S, Augello G, Gallus G, Vicedomini G, Mazzone P, et al. Mortality, morbidity, and quality of life after circumferential pulmonary vein ablation for atrial fibrillation: outcomes from a controlled nonrandomized long-term study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2003;42:185–197
  34. Oral H, Pappone C, Chugh A, Good E, Bogun F, Pelosi F, et al. Circumferential pulmonary-vein ablation for chronic atrial fibrillation. NEJM. 2006;354:934–941
  35. Stabile G, Bertaglia E, Senatore G, De Simone A, Zoppo F, Donnici G, et al. Catheter ablation treatment in patients with drug-refractory atrial fibrillation: a prospective, multi-centre, randomized, controlled study (Catheter Ablation for the Cure of Atrial Fibrillation Study). Eur Heart J. 2006;27:216–221
  36. Easterbrook PJ, Berlin JA, Gopalan R, Matthews DR. Publication bias in clinical research. Lancet. 1991;337:867–872
  37. Yoshimoto Y. Publication bias in neurosurgery: lessons from series of unruptured aneurysms. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2003;145:45–48

PII: S0895-4356(09)00026-2

doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2008.12.010

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume 62, Issue 12 , Pages 1253-1260.e4 , December 2009

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution