Poor reporting quality of observational studies in children with non-syndromic cleft palate makes evidence synthesis difficult

To assess the reporting quality of observational studies included in a systematic review of the management of chronic otitis media with effusion in children with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist. Medline, CINAHL, Scopus and Embase, were searched for studies comparing the use of ventilation tubes to surveillance. Two reviewers screened potential eligible articles, extracted data independently and assessed reporting quality using the STROBE checklist. The median compliance rate with individual STROBE items was low at 25% (range:0-100%) with 11 of the 22 items not reported in any of the studies. Items reported inconsistently pertained to potential sources of bias, sample size calculations, how loss to follow-up was addressed and management of missing data. The development of this systematic review highlights the inadequate reporting standards in this field. Differences in the way the outcomes are defined, reported, and measured leads to variability in the observed intervention effects and difficulty in interpreting the true effect size. Future researchers are encouraged to use STROBE guidelines for the design and reporting of observational studies in this field.