Literature Search Methods
A limited literature search was conducted on key resources including Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, University of York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) databases, ECRI, Canadian and major international health technology agencies, as well as a focused Internet search. Methodological filters were applied to limit retrieval to health technology assessments, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, and guidelines. Where possible, retrieval was limited to the human population. The search was also limited to English language documents published between January 1, 2005 and May 21, 2015.
Rapid Response reports are organized so that the evidence for each research question is presented separately.
Selection Criteria and Methods
One reviewer screened citations and selected studies. In the first level of screening, titles and abstracts were reviewed and potentially relevant articles were retrieved and assessed for inclusion. The final selection of full-text articles was based on the inclusion criteria presented in .
Exclusion Criteria
Articles were excluded if they did not meet the selection criteria outlined in , they were duplicate publications or included in a selected systematic review/meta-analysis, or if the systematic reviews/meta-analyses or RCTs were published prior to 2013. Systematic reviews/meta-analyses with a more recent update were considered duplicates and were excluded; the most recent update was considered as the primary publication.
Critical Appraisal of Individual Studies
The methodological quality of the included systematic reviews and meta-analyses was evaluated using the AMSTAR checklist.12 The Downs and Black Checklist was used to assess included RCTs,13 and evidence-based guidelines were assessed with the AGREE II instrument.14 Summary scores were not calculated for the included studies; rather, a review of the strengths and limitations of each included study were described.
