Search results

Its not just that they are poor quality its that they aren't linear hence the maths that cochrane is applying is simply wrong. It doesn't make sense to quote means and mean differences. Its an issue because they don't review and think about what happens but simply apply a menu of techniques in a...

For some in the UK it is since the requirement seems to be to keep certain eminent people happy.

I don't see why it is radical to dismiss unreliable results and yes they should be removed from other reviews as well. I think from a review perspective there is much more that is wrong with the GET/CBT trials There is not point to the review since there is no reliable data - but I guess...

Link https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/30/i-felt-betrayed-how-covid-research-could-help-patients-living-with-chronic-fatigue-syndrome

10 weeks also implies that the follow up is very short. We know from CBT and GET that they have short term effects on the questionnaires which dwindle after a while and long term follow up shows nothing. So it seems to be designed in to take advantage of such effects.

Given the standard of reasoning and skill he demonstrates in this interview maybe they didn't ignore his role in the trial SO if there are not objective criteria that means you can measure what ever you want and draw what ever conclusions you want. I would agree though its not about positive...

My point was intended to be as you lengthen the chain between what is measured and where you consume the measurements and put people in the way there are more ways to introduce bias.

I think it is important for any assessment/review to understand what is being measured and hence what may be subject to bias. When using questionnaires you are, at best, getting someones perception of something (like fatigue or physical function) rather than a different measure. Given that it...

I think that is why I had in mind a tool that basically captures patterns that lead to bias and force the authors to think through the issues and how they are dealt with rather than some pseudo science of imposing an arithmetic on top of personal prejudice of the reviewers (in terms of how they...

There are huge problems in applying any form of arithmetic in a simplistic way to any problem and assuming that gives an accurate sense of what is happening. I do see people do this in some areas such as risk analysis but even then its not a score they believe really just a way of trying to...

It depends what you mean by a tool and what the issues are someone needs to consider. Even those with good knowledge make mistakes or forget considerations. I would draw an anology with a threat analysis tool (the microsoft threat analysis tool) where you basically describe the system you are...

Maybe we should apologise along the lines of we are sorry for pointing out the methodological flaws, spin and data hiding issues behind some research into ME. We realize that it is particularly distressing for researchers to have the flaws in their work picked apart by patients whose place it is...

More anti patient and anti science stuff from the BMJ

If an intervention can't be followed (or patients don't take it seriously enough to follow) then this is a facit of the interverntion and should be reflected in any trial. I think lots of people have pointed out that with GET there is probably a lot of activity substitution as increasing...

Yes but not with the BS number I always thought of it as ISO9000 (or TQM) and some of the good parts have become standard practice in terms of applying a process and making sure things are reproducable etc. In my world (of IT security) there are a whole set of standards for code production to...

Having pre-specified outcome is one thing reporting them in the main research is a different thing entirely. I think PACE only reported their pre-specified outcomes after they were forced to release data.

It doesn't surprise me at all I think Cochrane is really a club of members who say what they want but feel better about it as they use the word 'evidence'

Maybe we should also have compromises on other (former) controvertial scientific debates such as whether the earth goes round the sun of the otherway around.

I get the impression that he is someone who reinvents the past to suit the current needs and for some of his papers he gets away with it because the way he writes is quite ambiguous (which in my mind is a failing in a scientist).

There is a question as to how accurate measurements need to be. If someone does say 5 mins more activity a day is that sufficient to claim a good outcome? (it may be in severe patients I guess). So if measurements only need to reflect significant improvements perhaps it is much easier and things...