Literature Search Methods
A limited literature search was conducted on key resources including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, University of York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) databases, Canadian and major international health technology agencies, as well as a focused Internet search. No filters were applied to limit the retrieval by study type. Where possible, retrieval was limited to the human population. The search was also limited to English language documents published between January 1, 2012 and March 29, 2017.
Rapid Response reports are organized so that the evidence for each research question is presented separately.
Selection Criteria and Methods
One reviewer screened citations and selected studies. In the first level of screening, titles and abstracts were reviewed and potentially relevant articles were retrieved and assessed for inclusion. The final selection of full-text articles was based on the inclusion criteria presented in .
Exclusion Criteria
Articles were excluded if they did not meet the selection criteria outlined in , they were duplicate publications, or were published prior to 2012. Studies included in the selected systematic reviews were also excluded.
Critical Appraisal of Individual Studies
The included clinical study and SR were assessed using the Downs and Black5 and AMSTAR6 checklists, respectively. Summary scores were not calculated for the included studies; rather, a review of the strengths and limitations of each included study were described, narratively.