Table 1 Summary characteristics of included systematic reviews
From: Seeking effective interventions to treat complex wounds: an overview of systematic reviews
| Characteristic | Number of systematic reviews (n = 99) | Percentage of systematic reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Year | ||
| 1997–1999 | 6 | 6.1 |
| 2000–2002 | 9 | 9.1 |
| 2003–2005 | 15 | 15.2 |
| 2006–2008 | 21 | 21.2 |
| 2009–2011 | 36 | 36.4 |
| 2012 | 12 | 12.1 |
| Country of conduct | ||
| Europe (38 of these are from the United Kingdom) | 65 | 65.7 |
| North America | 19 | 19.2 |
| Australasia (Australia, New Zealand) | 7 | 7.1 |
| Asia (Malaysia, China, Taiwan, India) | 6 | 6.1 |
| South America | 2 | 2.0 |
| Number of studies included | ||
| 0–1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 2–10 | 53 | 53.5 |
| 11–20 | 16 | 16.2 |
| 21–30 | 10 | 10.1 |
| 31–40 | 6 | 6.1 |
| 41–100 | 8 | 8.1 |
| >100 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Study designs included * | ||
| Randomized clinical trials | 93 | 70.5 |
| Observational studies | ||
| Non-randomized clinical trials | 20 | 15.2 |
| Controlled before-after studies, interrupted | 17 | 12.9 |
| Time series | 2 | 1.5 |
| Patient population | ||
| Not specifically reported | 65 | 65.7 |
| Diabetes | 21 | 21.2 |
| Chronic venous disease | 4 | 4.0 |
| Complex lower limb wounds | 4 | 4.0 |
| Inpatients/institutionalized | 3 | 3.0 |
| Ambulatory patients | 1 | 1.0 |
| Elderly | 1 | 1.0 |
| Type of wound * | ||
| Venous leg ulcers | 36 | 31.3 |
| Diabetic foot/leg ulcers | 26 | 22.6 |
| Pressure ulcers | 20 | 17.4 |
| Mixed arterial/venous leg ulcers | 16 | 13.9 |
| Mixed complex wound unspecified | 10 | 8.7 |
| Infected surgical wounds | 7 | 7.0 |
| Interventions examined * | ||
| Adjuvant | 33 | 20.3 |
| Dressings | 26 | 16.0 |
| Biologics | 16 | 9.8 |
| Other topical | 14 | 8.6 |
| Other oral | 11 | 6.8 |
| Stockings | 10 | 6.1 |
| Support surfaces | 10 | 6.1 |
| Wound cleansing | 10 | 6.1 |
| Skin replacement | 9 | 5.5 |
| Bandages | 7 | 4.3 |
| Surgery | 7 | 4.3 |
| Nutritional supplementation | 4 | 2.5 |
| Wound care program | 4 | 2.5 |
| Complementary and alternative medicine | 2 | 1.2 |
| Comparators examined * | ||
| Usual care | 63 | 45.7 |
| Dressings | 34 | 24.6 |
| Bandages | 8 | 5.8 |
| Not reported | 8 | 5.8 |
| Support surfaces | 7 | 5.1 |
| Other topical | 5 | 3.6 |
| Wound cleansing | 5 | 3.6 |
| Stockings | 4 | 2.9 |
| Other oral | 2 | 1.5 |
| All other treatments | 1 | 0.7 |
| Skin replacement | 1 | 0.7 |
| Number of treatment comparisons per outcome | ||
| Systematic reviews with a meta-analysis | n = 143 comparisons | % |
| Wound area/size reduction | 10 | 7.0 |
| Time to healing or rate of healing | 10 | 7.0 |
| Ulcer healing | 20 | 14.0 |
| Proportion of patients with healed wounds | 97 | 67.8 |
| No healing improvement | 5 | 3.5 |
| Length of hospitalization | 1 | 0.7 |
| Systematic reviews without a meta-analysis | n = 184 comparisons | % |
| Wound area/size reduction | 18 | 9.8 |
| Time to healing or rate of healing | 53 | 28.8 |
| Ulcer healing | 92 | 50.0 |
| Proportion of patients with healed wounds | 21 | 11.4 |