Table 1 Summary characteristics of included systematic reviews and the randomised controlled trial data captured by the reviews
Characteristic | Reviews n (%) |
|---|---|
Review level information (n = 140) | |
 Cochrane reviews | 49 (35) |
 Number of unique medications investigateda | 100 |
 Number of unique patient populations investigatedb | 47 |
 Reviews focusing on medications for patients with chronic diseases | 125 (89) |
 Patient populationc | |
  Diseases of the respiratory system | 56 (40) |
  Diseases of the circulatory system | 53 (38) |
  Factors influencing health status and contact with health servicesd | 8 (6) |
  Diseases of the digestive system | 8 (6) |
  Mental and behavioural disorders | 7 (5) |
  Diseases of the genitourinary system | 5 (4) |
  Pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium | 5 (4) |
  Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases | 5 (4) |
  Mixed patient populations | 3 (2) |
  Multi-morbidity | 2 (1) |
  Othere | 4 (3) |
 Hospitalisation was a primary outcome | 61 (44) |
 Review reported pooled effect estimates showing significant reductions in hospital admissions | 78 (56) |
 AMSTAR score for review quality, median (IQR) | 8 (6 to 9) |
 Review year of publication |  |
  2010–2016 | 96 (69) |
  2000–2009 | 42 (30) |
  1991–1999 | 2 (1) |
Randomised controlled trial (RCT) information | |
 Number of unique RCTs | 1968 |
 Number of unique patients | 925,364 |
 Number of unique RCTs reporting admissions data | 690 |
 Number of unique patients with admissions data | 577,604 |
 Number of patients per RCT reporting hospital admission outcomes, median (IQR) | 190 (62 to 603) |
 Number of treatment comparisons reporting hospital admission outcomes | 517 |