| Domains pertaining to strength of evidence | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of studies; subjects | Design | Risk of bias/study quality | Consistency | Directness | Precision | Strength of evidence |
| Laboratory measures of inflammation | Low | |||||
| 7; 624 | RCT | Fair (open-label or unblinded) | Inconsistent | Direct | Imprecise | - |
| 1; 63 | Cohort | Poor (open-label) | NA | Direct | Imprecise | - |
| Radiologic progression | Low | |||||
| 1; 69 | RCT | Good | NA | Direct | Imprecise | - |
| 0; 0 | Cohort | - | - | - | - | - |
| Symptoms | Moderate (MTX) Low (other non-biologic) | |||||
| 7; 624 | RCT | Fair (open-label or unblinded) | Consistent | Direct | Imprecise | - |
| 1; 63 | Cohort | Poor (open-label) | NA | Indirect | Imprecise | - |
| Health status | Moderate (MTX) Low (other non-biologic) | |||||
| 7; 624 | RCT | Fair (open-label or unblinded) | Consistent | Direct | Imprecise | - |
| 1; 63 | Cohort | Poor (open-label) | NA | Indirect | Imprecise | - |
Abbreviations: DMARDs = disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; MTX = methotrexate; NA = not applicable; RCT = randomized controlled trial
From: Summary and Discussion
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