Table 1 Risk of bias tool
From: Descending pain modulation in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): a systematic review and meta-analysis
Author and year of publication | ||
|---|---|---|
Study identifier | ||
Reviewer | ||
Bias domain | Issues to consider for judging overall rating of “risk of bias” | Rating |
Yes/no/unclear | ||
1. Cases representative of population | ||
Diagnosis of IBS | Diagnosis of IBS made according to the ROME criteria | |
2. Comparability of cases and controls | ||
Inclusion/exclusion criteria for healthy controls specified | Ensure controls also use ROME criteria | |
Ensure controls are comparable to cases in terms of age and gender | ||
3. Participants clearly defined | ||
All clinical and demographical characteristics described | • Clinical and demographical characteristics were fully described (yes/no) | |
• Sample size (yes/no) | ||
• Mean age (yes/no) | ||
• Gender percentages (yes/no) | ||
• Mean pain duration (yes/no) | ||
• Mean pain intensity (yes/no) | ||
Clinical setting | Clinical setting clearly specified | |
4. Quality of conditioned pain modulation (CPM) protocol | ||
Testing explicitly described | • Testing protocol (CPM) explicitly described (yes/no) | |
• Number of examiners preforming assessments (yes/no) | ||
• Equipment used (yes/no) | ||
• Clear description of procedure including number of assessments and sites (yes/no) | ||
5. Blinding | ||
Assessor blinding | Assessors were blinded to participant group or condition | |
6. Statistical methods and study size | ||
Method of determining study size described and appropriate | Method of determining study design was explicitly described and appropriate | |
Confounding variables controlled | Were confounding variables controlled? (e.g. through exclusion criteria, matched controls, statistical analysis) | |
• Medication (yes/no) | ||
• Caffeine (yes/no) | ||
• Day of testing (yes/no) | ||
• Pain on test day (yes/no) | ||
• Time of day testing was undertaken (yes/no) | ||
• Menstrual cycle phase (yes/no) | ||
• Other pain or sensory conditions (yes/no) | ||
Presentation of analytical strategy | Statistical analysis explicitly described and appropriate | |