Authors: Yoon K Loke, Deirdre Price and Andrew Herxheimer on behalf of the Cochrane Adverse Effects Methods Group.
Key points
To achieve a balanced perspective, all reviews should try to consider the adverse aspects of the interventions;
A detailed analysis of adverse effects is particularly relevant when evidence on the potential for harm has a major influence on treatment or policy decisions;
Interventions may have many different adverse effects, and reviews may need to focus on a few important ones in detail, together with a broader, more general summary of other potential adverse effects;
As adverse effects data are often handled with less rigour than the primary outcomes of a study, the intensity of the monitoring of adverse effects and the clarity of reporting them needs to careful scrutiny;
Data on adverse effects are often sparse, but the absence of information does not mean that the intervention is safe.
14.2 Scope of a review addressing adverse effects
14.3 Choosing which adverse effects to include
14.5 Search methods for adverse effects
14.6 Assessing risk of bias for adverse effects