CONCLUSIONS: An indirect comparison of new anticoagulants based on existing trial data indicates that in patients with a CHADS(2) score >/=3 dabigatran 150 mg, apixaban 5 mg, and rivaroxaban 20 mg resulted in statistically similar rates of stroke and systemic embolism, but apixaban had a lower risk of major hemorrhage compared with dabigatran and rivaroxaban.
This may exclude relevant data contained in full economic evaluations based on reviews of existing trials, those based on effectiveness data from sources other than randomised controlled trials, and other economics studies, or partial economic evaluations (e.g. costing studies).
In these cases, efficacy and effectiveness may be evaluated through the establishment of a scientific consensus between experts on the basis of existing trial experience [ 51, 52].
Existing trials on the primary prevention of asthma are, however, insufficient on their own to inform the decision of stakeholders regarding the cost-effectiveness of such prevention strategies.
Chronic low back pain patients have been included in two of the existing trials on various chronic pain conditions [ 22, 23] but no study has exclusively focused on this patient group.
This narrower focus of the existing trials on the elicitation of treatment preferences or creation of advance directives, rather than the broader range of activities that are part of ACP, and the fact that all the included studies were carried out in the USA, raise questions about the applicability of the available evidence in other countries and in the context of changing definitions of ACP.
Finally, none of the existing trials focused on the purported mechanism of change in MBT, that is, changes in attachment and mentalizing.
Existing trials have focused on physical activity or nutrition, but the determinants of obesity and healthy lifestyle behaviours are multiple and inherently complex and interlinked.
This review is an attempt to pool all the existing trials together and update the existing knowledge on the topic.
Do any existing trials provide clues?
