Table 3 Effect estimates and quality of evidence ratings for comparisons in pairwise meta-analyses on alleviation of global symptoms
Outcome | Study design (Number of participants) | Risk of bias | Inconsistency | Indirectness | Imprecision | Publication bias | Pooled result (95% CI) | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alleviation of global symptoms (4-week follow-up) | 20 RCTs (1924 participants) | No serious | No serious | No serious | Serious | Strongly suspected | RD: 0.14 (0.10, 0.19) Trim and fill adjusted RD: 0.10 (0.05, 0.15) RR: 1.21 (1.11, 1.25) | ⨁⨁◯◯ Low |
Alleviation of global symptoms (4-week follow-up) (Included only RCTs on CHM versus domperidone) | 17 RCTs (1688 participants) | No serious | No serious | No serious | Serious | Strongly suspected | RD: 0.16 (0.10, 0.21) Trim and fill adjusted RD: 0.12 (0.06, 0.17) RR: 1.20 (1.13, 1.28) | ⨁⨁◯◯ Low |
Alleviation of global symptoms (4-week follow-up) (Included only RCTs on CHM versus mosapride) | 3 RCTs (234 participants) | No serious | No serious | No serious | Very serious | Not applicable | RD: 0.07 (− 0.03, 0.17) RR: 1.08 (0.96, 1.21) | ⨁⨁◯◯ Low |
Alleviation of global symptoms (2-week follow-up) | 7 RCTs (692 participants) | No serious | No serious | No serious | Serious | Not applicable | RD: 0.14 (0.04, 0.23) RR: 1.18 (1.04, 1.35) | ⨁⨁⨁◯ Moderate |
Alleviation of global symptoms (2-week follow-up) (Included only RCTs on CHM versus domperidone) | 6 RCTs (512 participants) | No serious | No serious | No serious | Serious | Not applicable | RD: 0.11 (0.02, 0.20) RR: 1.13 (1.01, 1.26) | ⨁⨁⨁◯ Moderate |