Introduction Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the criterion standard for assessing new interventions. However bias can result from poor reporting which also makes critical appraisal and systematic review challenging. The CONSORT criteria for non-pharmacological trials (CONSORT NPT) published in 2008 provided a set of 23 mandatory items that should be reported in an RCT. This is the first...

Almost all the medical journals have included a special section for “Letter to the Editor” or “Correspondence” in order to raise the level of discussion on their publications. Historically, articles published in this section have consisted of several categories depending on the journal policy: Letters criticizing published papers Letters written in agreement of the published papers Letters crit...

Welcome to a new age in publishing systematic reviews. We hope the launch of Systematic Reviews will resonate with a broad spectrum of readers interested in using them in a variety of ways, such as providing comprehensive and up to date evidence for patient management, informing health policy, and developing rigorous practice guidelines. Systematic reviews are increasingly popular. Our journal ...

OBJECTIVES Partners are a significant influence on individuals' health, and concordance in health behaviours increases over time in couples. Several theories suggest that couple-focused interventions for health behaviour change may therefore be more effective than individual interventions. DESIGN A systematic review of health behaviour change interventions for couples was conducted. METHODS...

Information retrieval models have been studied for decades, leading to a huge body of literature on the topic. In this paper, we briefly review this body of literature along with a discussion of some recent trends.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate (1) the state of the art in sustainability research and (2) the outcomes of professionals' adherence to guideline recommendations in medical practice. DESIGN Systematic review. DATA SOURCES Searches were conducted until August 2015 in MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Guidelines International Network (GIN) librar...

Background The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement was developed in response to concerns about the quality of reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The checklist is an evidencebased minimum set of recommendations for reporting RCTs, intended to facilitate the complete and transparent reporting of RCTs and aid in their critical appraisal and interpretation....

Study selection Randomized controlled trials (RCT) of SOTI versus allergen avoidance with the following criteria: clinical history of Immunoglobulin E mediated food allergy diagnosed using double blind placebo-control food challenge; three phases SOTI protocol (induction, build-up, maintenance); children aged 0-18 years; final status (tolerance/allergy) and safety data reported in both groups. ...

OBJECTIVE Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) support the efficacy of psychological interventions for procedural pain management. However, methodological limitations (e.g., inadequate randomization) have affected the quality of this research, thereby weakening RCT findings. METHODS Detailed quality coding was conducted on 28 RCTs included in a systematic review of psycho...

The study of adaptivity, i.e., the capability to react to changes in the environment, is becoming ever more important in many fields of study, and in the development of software in particular. This paper presents a systematic review in which both the extension and complexity of this notion are examined. After studying the influence from external fields, this review checks the hypothesis of usin...