Reporting and Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Evaluating Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Tendinopathies: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of the published systematic reviews with or without meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) that looked at the effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on tendinopathies and to summarize its effectiveness.

Methods

A search of PubMed, Scopus, PEDro, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, and REHABDATA was conducted. SRs/MAs that assessed the effectiveness of ESWT for treating tendinopathy were included. The methodological and reporting quality of the eligible SRs/MAs were assessed using AMSTAR-2 and the PRISMA checklist. In addition, the ROBIS tool was applied to evaluate the risk of bias (RoB).

Results

Eighteen SRs/MAs were included. The overall methodological quality was “critically low.” Furthermore, the reporting quality of the included reviews according to PRISMA criteria was not optimal. Based on the ROBIS, a total of 16.2% of the studies had a low RoB, 38.9% had an unclear RoB, and 44.4% of the studies were appraised as having a high RoB.

Conclusion

In this scoping review we found substantial limitations regarding the quality and RoB of SRs/MAs. Therefore, reviewers must consider the AMSTAR-2, PRISMA, and ROBIS tools to improve the quality of future studies.