Journal of clinical epidemiology
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Review Meta Analysis
Methodological quality and homogeneity influenced agreement between randomized trials and nonrandomized studies of the same intervention for back pain.
To determine the influence of methodological quality and homogeneity on the agreement between pairs of randomized trials (RCTs) and nonrandomized studies (NRSs) of the same interventions for low-back problems. Homogeneity was assessed regarding settings, population, interventions, and outcomes. ⋯ Pairs of low-quality studies disagreed more than pairs where at least one study was of high quality. However, pairs with similar settings, population, interventions, and outcomes showed higher agreement than pairs that were not as homogeneous.