Living related and living unrelated kidney transplantations: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Table 2 Quality assessment items and possible scores

Was the assigned treatment adequately concealed prior to allocation?

2 = method did not allow disclosure of assignment

1 = small but possible chance of disclosure of assignment or unclear

0 = quasi-randomized or open list/tables

Were the outcomes of participants who withdrew described and included in the analysis (intention-to-treat)?

2 = withdrawals well described and accounted for in analysis

1 = withdrawals described and analysis not possible

0 = no mention, inadequate mention, or obvious differences and no adjustment

Were the outcome assessors blinded to treatment status?

2 = effective action taken to blind assessors

1 = small or moderate chance of unblinding of assessors

0 = not mentioned or not possible

Were the treatment and control groups comparable at entry? (likely confounders may be age, partial or total rupture, activity level, acute or chronic injury)

2 = good comparability of groups, or confounding adjusted for in analysis

1 = confounding small; mentioned but not adjusted for

0 = large potential for confounding, or not discussed

Were the participants blind to assignment status after allocation?

2 = effective action taken to blind participants

1 = small or moderate chance of unblinding of participants

0 = not possible, or not mentioned (unless double-blind), or possible but not done

Were the treatment providers blind to assignment status?

2 = effective action taken to blind treatment providers

1 = small or moderate chance of unblinding of treatment providers

0 = not possible, or not mentioned (unless double-blind), or possible but not done

Were care programes, other than the trial options, identical?

2 = care programes clearly identical

1 = clear but trivial differences

0 = not mentioned or clear and important differences in care programes

Were the inclusion and exclusion criteria clearly defined?

2 = clearly defined

1 = inadequately defined

0 = not defined

Were the interventions clearly defined?

2 = clearly defined interventions are applied with a standardized protocol

1 = clearly defined interventions are applied but the application protocol is not standardized

0 = intervention and/or application protocol are poorly or not defined

Were the outcome measures used clearly defined? (by outcome)

2 = clearly defined

1 = inadequately defined

0 = not defined

Were diagnostic tests used in outcome assessment clinically useful? (by outcome)

2 = optimal

1 = adequate

0 = not defined, not adequate

Was the surveillance active, and of clinically appropriate duration?

2 = active surveillance and appropriate duration

1 = active surveillance, but inadequate duration

0 = surveillance not active or not defined