Journal of clinical epidemiology
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Systematic reviews are an integral component of evidence-based health care. However, little is known on how well they report the potential harms of interventions. We assessed the reporting of harms in recently published systematic reviews of interventions relevant to clinical gastroenterology. ⋯ The reporting of harms in gastroenterology systematic reviews is largely inadequate and highly asymmetrical compared with the reporting of benefits. We suggest that review authors routinely assess both efficacy and harms outcomes of an intervention and that reporting guidelines specifically targeting harms reporting be developed.
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In randomized trials, the primary analysis should be consistent with the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle and should address missing data appropriately to draw valid inferences. This review focuses on current practices relating to the ITT principle and methods to handle missing data in the major musculoskeletal journals. ⋯ It appears that many trials reporting missing data are inappropriately analyzed and may therefore be prone to biased estimates and invalid inferences.
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To evaluate the performance of the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) in the prediction of mortality, 30-day readmission, and length of stay (LOS) in a hip fracture population using algorithms designed for use in International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10)--coded administrative data sets. ⋯ The CCI is a valid tool for predicting mortality but not resource utilization after hip fracture. We recommend the use of the Quan algorithm rather than Sundararajan algorithm and to model individual conditions rather than categorized weighted scores.
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To develop a framework to identify and classify interactions within and among treatments and conditions and to test this framework with guidelines on chronic heart failure (CHF) and its frequent comorbidity. ⋯ The interaction matrix provides a structure to present different types of interactions between an index disease and comorbidity. Guideline developers may consider the matrix to support clinical decision making in multimorbidity. Further research is needed to show its relevance to improve guidelines and health outcomes.
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Self-efficacy theory, as developed by Bandura, suggests that self-efficacy is an important predictor of future behavior. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program was designed to enhance self-efficacy as one approach to improving health behaviors and outcomes for people with varying chronic diseases. The six-item Self-Efficacy to Manage Chronic Disease Scale (SEMCD) and the four-item Spanish-language version (SEMCD-S) were developed to measure changes in self-efficacy in program participants and have been used in a numerous evaluations of chronic disease self-management programs. This study describes the development of the scales and their psychometric properties. ⋯ The SEMCD and SEMCD-S are reliable and appear to be valid instruments for assessing self-efficacy for managing chronic disease. There was remarkable consistency across a range of studies from varying countries using two languages.