A low proportion of systematic reviews in physical therapy are registered: a survey of 150 published systematic reviews

Author(s)

Oliveira, Crystian B. ^[1] ; Elkins, Mark R. ^{[2, 3]} ; Lemes, Italo Ribeiro ^[1] ; Silva, Danilo de Oliveira ^[4] ; Briani, Ronaldo V. ^[1] ; Monteiro, Henrique Luiz ^[5] ; de Azevedo, Fabio Micolis ^[1] ; Pinto, Rafael Zambelli ^{[1, 6]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias & Tecnol, Dept Fisioterapia, Presidente Prudente, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sydney, Sydney Med Sch, Sydney, NSW - Australia

^[3] Univ Sydney, Sch Publ Hlth, Musculoskeletal Hlth Sydney, Ctr Evidence Based Physiotherapy, Sydney, NSW - Australia

^[4] La Trobe Univ, La Trobe Sports & Exercise Med Res Ctr, Sch Allied Hlth, Bundoora, Vic - Australia

^[5] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias, Dept Educ Fis, Bauru, SP - Brazil

^[6] Univ Fed Minas Gerais UFMG, Dept Fisioterapia, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

• Document type: Review article
• Source: BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL THERAPY; v. 22, n. 3, p. 177-183, MAY-JUN 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Background: Systematic reviews provide the best evidence about the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. Although systematic reviews are conducted with explicit and transparent methods, discrepancies might occur between the protocol and the publication. Objectives: To estimate the proportion of systematic reviews of physical therapy interventions that are registered, the methodological quality of (un)registered systematic reviews and the prevalence of outcome reporting bias in registered systematic reviews. Methods: A random sample of 150 systematic reviews published in 2015 indexed on the PEDro database. We included systematic reviews written in English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. A checklist for assessing the methodological quality of systematic reviews tool was used. Relative risk was calculated to explore the association between meta-analysis results and the changes in the outcomes. Results: Twenty-nine (19%) systematic reviews were registered. Funding and publication in a journal with an impact factor higher than 5.0 were associated with registration. Registered systematic reviews demonstrated significantly higher methodological quality (median = 8) than unregistered systematic reviews (median =5). Nine (31%) registered systematic reviews demonstrated discrepancies between protocol and publication with no evidence that such discrepancies were applied to favor the statistical significance of the intervention (RR = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.63-2.12). Conclusion: A low proportion of systematic reviews in the physical therapy field are registered. The registered systematic reviews showed high methodological quality without evidence of outcome reporting bias. Further strategies should be implemented to encourage registration. (C) 2017 Associacao Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pos-Graduacao em Fisioterapia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/00406-2 - Influence of pain on kinetic parameters in individuals with patellofemoral pain during stair ascent
• Grantee: Ronaldo Valdir Briani
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 16/03826-5 - Investigating the effect of a physical activity intervention enhanced with health coaching and FitBit on physical activity levels of patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial
• Grantee: Crystian Bitencourt Soares de Oliveira
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/11534-1 - INFLUENCE OF PAIN IN THE ANALYSIS OF PROXIMAL, LOCAL AND DISTAL KINEMATIC PARAMETERS IN FEMALES WITH PATELLOFEMORAL PAIN DURING STAIR ASCENT AND DESCENT
• Grantee: Danilo de Oliveira Silva
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/17777-3 - Physical activity, risk factors for metabolic syndrome and healthcare expenditures among users of the Brazilian national health system: 8-year longitudinal study
• Grantee: Ítalo Ribeiro Lemes
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate