What factors influence pain scores following Corticosteroid injection in patients with Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome? A systematic review

Table 3 GRADE scoring summary table

Factor investigated	Sample	Studies	Design	Limitations	Inconsistency	Indirectness	Imprecision	Publication bias	Absolute effect (95% CI)	Quality
Patient related factors	227	3	1 RCT 2 R Cohort^a	Serious limitations^c	No inconsistency	Serious Indirectness^e	Serious imprecision^f	Undetected	Due to heterogeneity of study design, outcome measures and factors investigated meta-analysis was not possible	Low ⨂ ⨂ ◯ ◯
Image guidance	95	2	2 RCT	Serious limitations^c	Inconsistency^d	Serious Indirectness^e	Serious imprecision^f	Undetected		Very low ⨂ ◯ ◯ ◯
Injection location	270	3	1 RCT 2 R Cohort^a	Serious limitations^c	Inconsistency^d	Serious Indirectness^e	Serious imprecision^f	Undetected		Very low ⨂ ◯ ◯ ◯
USS findings	264	2	1 R Cohort^a 1 P Cohort^b	Serious limitations^c	No inconsistency	Serious Indirectness^e	Serious imprecision^f	Undetected		Low ⨂ ⨂ ◯ ◯

^aR Cohort = Retrospective cohort
^bP Cohort = Prospective cohort
^cIncomplete reporting of data and lack of defined inclusion criteria
^dSignificant unexplained heterogeneity in magnitude of effects
^eSignificant differences in population, intervention, outcome measures and study design
^fVery wide confidence intervals with different outcomes based on upper and lower limits and small sample
Scoring definitions
High quality: further research is unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect
Moderate quality: further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect
Low quality: further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect
Very low quality: we are uncertain about the estimate

ISSN: 1471-2474