The only study characteristics that may explain differences in the complication rates were different PT techniques.
The observation of heterogeneity across studies precipitated consideration of study characteristics that could explain these between-study differences.
Table 1 illustrates study characteristics that differed between included studies, with studies differing by design, enrolment criteria, specimen type, and specific HI method.
z is an effect modifier, i.e. study characteristics that explain between-study heterogeneity (assuming no interaction between the trend and the effect modifiers).
Data were insufficient to examine other study characteristics that may have influenced study outcome, such as age of participants, cause of liver disease, or symptom duration.
Utilising multivariable meta-regression, this systematic review highlights study characteristics that need to be considered when examining the association between HPV infection and OSCC.
Information about study characteristics that was extracted was: the objective of the study, its design, intervention, if any, size and characteristics of the study population, outcome variables included, instruments used to assess them and research findings.
There are no known study characteristics that would favor using one referent period over another, because the heterogeneity of the simulation studies in terms of their scenarios and results renders it impossible to draw any conclusion in this regard.
If the available evidence lacks one or more of the study characteristics that were deemed necessary, the decision-maker may advise conditional reimbursement, the condition being that further evidence has to be assembled after reimbursement.
Among participant or study characteristics that might be associated with a greater risk of adverse events, significant differences were observed between men and women, with women significantly more likely than men to experience an adverse event (80% v 62%, P<0.001).
