Many studies were underpowered to detect impact on stillbirths, having been designed to measure other outcomes.
Two special events measured other outcomes by surveys regarding the importance of screening, knowledge about cancer screening, and intentions to get screened [ 35], or scheduling of screening appointments [ 26].
Of these 34 articles, 30 were excluded from this meta-analysis for the following reasons: 18 trials were not randomized controlled trials; 8 trials were only abstracts; and 3 trials [ 20– 22] measured other outcome variables.
Additionally, investigators are now measuring other deleterious outcomes that may (at least in part) stem from sedation.
A broader focus and measuring other child outcomes, most notably disruptive behaviour and substance use may be informative.
We were unable to measure other meaningful outcomes such as time to return to work or patient satisfaction.
Outcome measures other than withdrawals were not reported consistently across trials.
If a study reported absolute measures for some outcomes and relative measures for other outcomes, we categorised it as presenting both absolute and relative measures.
Drug regulatory authorities require that short term disease activity is measured, but other outcome domains are not mandatory for licensing and marketing purposes.
