Criteria

Criteria for inclusion of clinical trials

The following criteria are used to distinguish between clinical trials that are eligible for inclusion in PEDro and those that are not:

1. The trial must involve comparison of at least two interventions. One of these interventions could be a no treatment control, or a sham treatment. Alternatively, the trial could involve comparison of two or more interventions that are thought to be effective, with the aim of determining which is most effective. Crossover trials in which each subject is subjected to more than one intervention will be included in PEDro provided the other criteria are also met. Cluster trials in which subjects are allocated to interventions in groups will be included in PEDro provided the other criteria are also met. The interventions could include (but need not be limited to) treatments, prevention strategies, diagnostic tests or techniques, or management or education strategies.
2. At least one of the interventions being evaluated must be currently part of physiotherapy practice or could become part of physiotherapy practice. However, the study need not be carried out by physiotherapists. Nor is it necessary that the interventions be carried out by a physiotherapist in the trial.
3. The interventions should be applied to subjects who are representative (or who are intended to be representative) of those to whom the intervention might be applied in the course of physiotherapy practice. This will usually mean that the intervention is applied to people with a health condition or disability (in the case of a treatment) or at risk of developing a health condition or disability (in the case of a prevention strategy). Trials performed on animals other than humans will not be archived on PEDro.
4. The trial should involve random allocation or intended-to-be-random allocation of subjects to interventions. By intended-to-be-random allocation, we mean methods of allocation such as alternation (eg, “every second patient attending the clinic was allocated to the treatment group”), or allocation by odd and even birth dates or hospital record numbers. To be included in PEDro, the study must definitely have used random or intended-to-be-random allocation (that is, if it is not certain that one of these methods of allocation was used, the study will not be included).
5. The paper must be a full paper (not an abstract) in a peer-reviewed journal.

Judgments as to the quality of the methods used or whether the authors actually did what they claimed are not to be used to decide if a clinical trial is eligible for inclusion in PEDro.

Criteria for inclusion of systematic reviews

Systematic reviews evaluating physiotherapy interventions are also archived in PEDro. Systematic reviews (sometimes called meta-analyses, although the term is used inconsistently) are distinguished from traditional (“narrative”) reviews by the use of methods to minimise bias. The following criteria are used to distinguish between systematic reviews that are eligible for inclusion in PEDro and those that are not:

1. The review must contain a Methods section which describes the search strategy and inclusion criteria.
2. The review must include at least one trial, review or guideline (or explicitly search for but not find a trial, review or guideline) that satisfies the criteria for inclusion in PEDro.
3. The paper must be a full paper (not an abstract) in a peer-reviewed journal.

Judgments as to the quality of the methods used or whether the authors actually did what they claimed are not to be used to decide if a systematic review is eligible for inclusion in PEDro.

Criteria for inclusion of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines will be included if they satisfy the following criteria:

1. The clinical practice guideline was produced under the auspices of a health profession specialty association, relevant professional society, public or private organisation, government agency at the Federal, State, or local level; or health care organisation or plan. A clinical practice guideline developed and issued by an individual or group of individuals not officially sponsored or supported by one of the above types of organisations does not meet the inclusion criteria for PEDro.
2. The clinical practice guideline is publicly available.
3. A systematic literature search and review of existing scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed journals was performed during the guideline development OR the guidelines were based on a systematic review published in the four years preceding publication of the guideline.
4. At least one randomised controlled trial related to physiotherapy management is included in the review of existing scientific evidence.
5. The clinical practice guideline contains systematically developed statements that include recommendations, strategies, or information that assists physiotherapists or patients to make decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances.
6. At least one specific recommendation in the guideline concerns at least one intervention that is currently part of physiotherapy practice or that could become part of physiotherapy practice.

Judgments as to the quality of the methods used or whether the authors actually did what they claimed are not to be used to decide if a clinical practice guideline is eligible for inclusion in PEDro.