Qualitative data synthesis. Primary and secondary outcomes were summarized qualitatively for each study. The sample size and demographics, setting, funding source, treatment and comparator characteristics (e.g. type, dose, and duration), study quality, and methods of adjustment for confounders (where applicable) were recorded and summarized in the text, and summary tables.
To determine the clinical utility of routine hormonal blood tests in identifying and affecting therapeutic outcomes for endocrine causes of ED (KQ 1), the reviewers identified relevant studies and synthesized data for two following constructs:
The two constructs (i.e., prevalence of hormonal abnormalities and efficacy of available hormonal treatments) jointly determine the clinical utility of routine hormonal blood tests. For example, the administration of routine hormonal blood tests might be justified only if the prevalence of hormonal abnormalities in patients with ED was relatively high (i.e., above a pre-specified threshold) and the available hormonal therapies in affecting symptoms of ED in this subgroup of patients were effective.
Thus, the results for KQ 1 are presented in two sub-sections:
1) the prevalence of hormonal abnormalities in ED patients and
2) the efficacy of hormonal therapy in treating ED in patients with hormonal abnormalities
Quantitative synthesis. The decision whether to perform statistical pooling of individual studies was based on clinical and methodological judgment. In the case of outcomes for which meta-analysis was deemed appropriate, we extracted quantitative data (e.g. number of subjects in each group, mean, standard deviation) from reports using a standardized data extraction form that included intervention characteristics and outcome variables at baseline and followup intervals.