Interpreting results of Cochrane Reviews and 'Summary of findings' tables

Tags: Workshop
Santesso N1, Mustafa R2, Rojas MX3, Meerpohl J4, Schuenemann H2, Akl E5, Brozek J6, Brignardello-Petersen R7
1Cochrane Applicability and Recommendations Methods Group, McMaster University, 2McMaster University, 3Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 4German Cochrane Centre, 5Cochrane Applicability and Recommendations Methods Group, Lebanon, 6Cochrane Applicability and Recommendations Methods Group, Canada, 7University of Chile, Chile

Objectives:

To learn to use GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) to interpret findings and to create a 'Summary of findings' (SoF) table.

Description:

The GRADE criteria have been adopted by the Cochrane Collaboration to evaluate the quality of evidence for outcomes reported in systematic reviews, to interpret findings and to draw conclusions. This information as well as the result for each outcome, is presented in the text of the review and can be presented in a SoF table. This workshop briefly describes the GRADE criteria to assess the quality of evidence (risk of bias, indirectness, imprecision, inconsistency, publication and others) and the process to create a SoF table (choosing outcomes and comparisons; grading the evidence; and presenting effects in user friendly numbers). Then, in small groups, participants will apply these concepts and create a SoF table. The small groups will be led by experts in GRADE and SoF tables.