Table 1

Numbers of papers remaining after each stage of the selection process of the systematic review

Raw hits from all sources
2,026
Number of studies reviewed for inclusion criteria after reading the title
121
Number of studies excluded because: administration was not oral
of pharmacological interventions
they did not report the result of a clinical trial
clinical trials were not randomised
results already reported in another paper (duplicate reports)
-23
-13
-30
-2
-2
Number of RCTs found during the reviewing process by serendipity and added to the review
+2
Number of RCTs matching inclusion criteria and reviewed here
53
Number of negative RCTs that concerned nutritional intervention for which no positive RCT was found
-11
Number of RCTs the quality of which was scored (Table 3)
42

Ameye and Chee Arthritis Research & Therapy 2006 8:R127   doi:10.1186/ar2016