Bmc Med Res Methodol
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Bmc Med Res Methodol · Jan 2008
ReviewNegative pressure wound therapy: potential publication bias caused by lack of access to unpublished study results data.
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is widely applied, although the evidence base is weak. Previous reviews on medical interventions have shown that conclusions based on published data alone may no longer hold after consideration of unpublished data. The main objective of this study was to identify unpublished randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on NPWT within the framework of a systematic review. ⋯ Multi-source comprehensive searches identify unpublished RCTs. However, lack of access to unpublished study results data raises doubts about the completeness of the evidence base on NPWT.